MORGANTOWN — More than $500,000 in design and engineering work aimed at servicing the expansion of the Morgantown Industrial Park was approved Monday during a special meeting of the Morgantown Utility Board.
The MUB board of directors awarded two contracts to Charleston-based engineering firm E.L. Robinson.
The contracts are $315,000 for the design and engineering of water infrastructure upgrades and $251,000 for the engineering and design of sewer infrastructure enhancements.
MUB General Manager Mike McNulty said MUB is contracting the work due to a compressed timeframe requested by Enrout Properties, the company that owns the Morgantown Industrial Park.
McNulty also noted Enrout Properties is paying for the design and engineering work.
McNulty said construction estimates currently put the water upgrades at about $4.16 million and the sewer upgrades at about $3.7 million.
As a part of their efforts, E.L. Robinson will work with the Region VI Planning and Development Council to secure an Economic Development Administration Grant to help cover the cost of construction.
“The water project will not hinge on the grant being successful. Enrout understands they would have to pay those fees if the grant doesn’t materialize,” McNulty said.
In September, the Monongalia County Commission, Enrout Properties and the West Virginia Department of Transportation signed a memorandum of understanding that set a roadmap for the construction of a redesigned Harmony Grove interchange off I-79 as early as March 2022.
In October, the Monongalia County Commission extended the Morgantown Industrial Park TIF from 25 to 30 years and increased the principal amount of the district by $1.5 million to help finance studies of the new interchange, which would provide direct interstate access to the back of the park and open an additional 100-plus acres for development.
Tom Aman, bond counsel for the project, previously said if the interchange moves forward, a second industrial park TIF would be created to pay for utility and infrastructure upgrades and begin reimbursing the state for the redesigned exit.
This arrangement is similar to the public-private agreement between the state, county and developer WestRidge that resulted in the construction of I-79 Exit 153, which opened in fall 2016 and has since been paid off.
