MORGANTOWN — The city of Morgantown said the initial public backlash and subsequent delay in constructing a raw water pipeline through White Park was brought on by a lack of due diligence on the part of the Morgantown Utility Board and its contractor, not the city.
In a press release issued Thursday, the city notes that despite the unanimous vote by MUB on Oct. 14 to abandon the possibility of a route through White Park and MUB’s announcement on Monday that it intended to cut off negotiations on Nov. 1, an agreement can still be reached.
The release also addresses MUB’s decision to make details of the ongoing negotiations available to the press.
“While negotiations over licensing agreements are not typically done in the media, we have and will continue to negotiate with MUB in good faith,” the release states.
Lastly, it addresses previous comments by MUB leadership indicating customer rate increases could be in play if MUB is forced to build a pumping station and route the line around the park, through which a more direct, gravity-fed line can be laid.
“It is also important to note that Morgantown City Council serves as the rate setting body for MUB, meaning that any rate increases, whether now or in the future, will require council approval.”
The line is needed to bring water from the George B. Flegal Dam & Reservoir — an emergency, secondary water source currently under construction along Cobun Creek — to the utility’s treatment facility on Don Knotts Boulevard.
Conversation, debate and negotiations over what route that line should take began in April, when public backlash forced MUB to halt work on its original path through the park due to the impact it would have on the public space and hundreds of its mature trees.
After months of discourse, which included numerous public meetings, MUB, Morgantown City Council and BOPARC all voted to approve an alternate route through the park and laid out a number of agreed upon concessions that MUB would need to make to be granted access. In early September, the parties began putting those concessions in writing in the form of a licensing agreement.
Frustrated over a lack of progress and what it views as unreasonable demands, MUB went public on Oct. 14, stating it was no longer interested in a route through White Park and planned to stop negotiating next week.
But according to the city, there is still time, and getting it right is just as important as avoiding additional cost.
“We do believe that there is still time for all parties to come to an agreement. The reservoir, which will be served by the pipeline, is not scheduled to be in operation until late 2020,” the statement reads.
“We recognize that delays in the planned construction schedule may result in change orders that increase project costs. However, the placement of the pipeline ties a $47 million secondary water source project to a major city recreational space, and we believe that managing these properties for the community must be the primary goal.”
MUB’s abandoned original path through White Park was estimated at $2.1 million The route ultimately agreed upon by the various bodies, Route 3, is estimated to cost $2.9 million. The route around the park, Route 5/5a, which would run beneath Mississippi Street and require a pumping station, is estimated at $8.54 million.
A map of the various potential routes, as well as documentation on the licensing agreement negotiations up to this point, is available at mub.org/waterline.
Much like the information released by MUB this past Monday, Thursday’s release from the city came near the end of the business day. MUB Spokesman Chris Dale said the utility could not respond in time for this report.
