MORGANTOWN — Morgantown City Council passed a resolution on Tuesday in support of resettling refugees in the city.
The resolution came at the request of Catholic Charities of West Virginia, the state’s only refugee resettlement agency.
Susan Eason, speaking on behalf of Catholic Charities, said the resolution is necessary after an executive order passed by President Donald Trump in September.
Executive Order 13888 — Executive Order Enhancing State and Local Involvement in Refugee Resettlement — allows state and local government to prevent the resettlement of refugees by requiring resettlement agencies to receive the kind of support passed by council on Tuesday.
“It has to be approved at the state level, which the governor has done, and then it must be approved by local governing bodies as well,” Eason said, explaining that a similar resolution will be requested of the Monongalia County Commission today.
She went on to explain that West Virginia requires tie-based resettlement, meaning a refugee must know somebody within the community in which they will be placed.
She said Morgantown has received five refugees over the last three years, all from Uganda.
Members of council, including Deputy Mayor Rachel Fetty, expressed regret that the resolution is needed.
“We live in very, very, very difficult times, I think. The fact that we do not experience the suffering that so many human beings are suffering is both a blessing and a curse,” she said, adding that she hopes the events unfolding in Iraq and Iran don’t ultimately result in a new wave of refugees needing aid.
Also on Tuesday, Morgantown City Manager Paul Brake explained that the meeting’s relatively light agenda provided an opportunity “to reflect and say ‘Where have we been and where are we going, and how do we get there.’ ”
Brake provided a final report on the city’s 2017-2019 Strategic Plan, spelling out notable advancements across a variety of categories, including city amenities, city services, development, fiscal stability and infrastructure, among others.
He also spelled out some objectives that he said could serve as a framework for the next 12-24 months.
Among those priorities are the funding of the runway extension, a focus on the downtown — including continued infill projects like the SunCap development currently under construction, a focus on neighborhood development and affordable housing, and the need to locate funding for municipal services.
Services like the expiring $1.7 million federal SAFER grant that allowed for the hiring of 13 additional firefighters in January of 2018.
“We have a grant that’s diminishing and will be going away. We’ll have to look for the opportunities as to whether or not we retain the 13 firefighters or if we look at some other arrangement,” Brake said.
Members of council said they would be in favor of scheduling a meeting specifically to look at the strategic plan going forward.
In other city news:
- Council Approved on first reading a zoning reclassification for Colonial Office Associates at 3280 University Avenue from R-1 (single family residential) to B-1 (business neighborhood district).
- A meeting on the placement of sharps containers around the downtown will be held at 1 p.m. Friday in council chambers.
- It was explained that people dealing with mobility issues can call 304-284-7401 for assistance with sidewalk snow removal.
