MORGANTOWN — Morgantown City Councilor Zack Cruze said on Tuesday that he will resign his 3rd Ward seat on April 6 in an effort to assist his fellow councilors in filling that vacancy.
According to the city’s charter, council must appoint a replacement within 30 days of the vacancy or a special election is triggered.
By staying on until early April, Cruze allows council to simply appoint the winner of the 3rd Ward seat from the April 27 municipal election to carry out the reminder of his term, which ends June 30, before starting their own two-year term.
The one caveat, however, there will be no 3rd Ward candidates on the ballot as nobody from the ward fulfilled the mandatory collection of 75 nominating signatures.
And as of yet, there are no write-in candidates from the ward, though Cruze said he’s heard of at least two people interested in the write-in process.
Cruze, who is vacating his seat due to an upcoming job-related relocation, became the first write-in candidate elected to council in 2019.
In other city news, council voted unanimously to accept $7 million in grant funding through the Federal Aviation Administration’s Airport Improvement Program for the ongoing runway extension project at the Morgantown Municipal Airport.
The FAA will provide the grant later this month, according to City Manager Kim Haws.
The funding, announced last April, was part of nearly $10 million in federal grants awarded for the extension project in 2020.
Haws explained that the local share was provided through the state in the form of $777,777 in CARES Act funding.
On Feb. 2, council awarded a $5,753,978.10 contract with Doss Enterprises for Phase 1 of the project to add 1,001 feet to the airport’s runway.
The dirt needed for that work will be pulled from the future site of a nearby business park, which, according to Haws, is the subject of ongoing discussion with leadership of the Morgantown Area Partnership.
“We’re working with the Partnership to finalize a property tax TIF (tax increment finance) for the area of the airport where the business park is being planned,” Haws said, adding “Efforts are being made to make sure that the plan takes into account the long-term vision of what the park will look like …”
In other news:
- Council heard from Delegate Danielle Walker, D-Monongalia, and Morgantown/Kingwood NAACP President Jerry Carr following the reading of a proclamation recognizing February as Black History Month.
- Deputy Mayor Rachel Fetty said a copy of the would-be ordinance creating a Morgantown Civilian Police Review and Advisory Board has been delivered to Attorney General Patrick Morrisey’s office and the city is awaiting a response.
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