MORGANTOWN — The board of directors for the Morgantown Utility Board got a crash course in all things trails on Tuesday as the body continues to work with the city to hammer out the details of its remediation efforts in White Park.
On Nov. 1, 2019 MUB and the city announced it had reached an agreement that would allow the utility to clear trees and run a raw water pipeline through White Park.
Per that agreement, MUB would have to do a number of things, including build a new trail through the park with two water crossings creating a loop on the south side of the existing Cobun Creek Reservoir, extending to the end of the property, near Don Knotts Boulevard.
That work has yet to get begin, and the plan for the trail has since changed.
Drew Gatlin, staff engineer for the city of Morgantown, and the city’s lead on the project, explained.
“It became overtly clear that the original conceptual route that would take you more or less from the ice rink down to the Toyota dealership and across Cobun Creek down below the dam was not feasible,” Gatlin said, explaining that the slope of a portion of the land would require measures that would result in “a terrible user experience” and dramatically increase costs.
The plan currently being considered would be a 5,765-foot loop configuration comprised of a 39-inch-wide natural surface trail with a single water crossing.
Rich Edwards, a trail planner with WVU’s Outdoor Economic Development Collaborative, estimated MUB could expect to spend between $17-$19.50 a foot to construct the trail, plus the cost of the water crossing.
That number could go up depending on any soil remediation efforts needed and the availability of a West Virginia licensed trail construction firm.
The meeting was attended by the entirety of Morgantown City Council as well as members of city administration and representatives of BOPARC.
JoNell Strough, chair of the Mon Valley Green Space Coalition, said it’s time for MUB to follow through.
“Every time I walk by the park I see the scar that has been left there by the pipeline. The pipeline has been laid. You got what you wanted. It’s time for MUB now to make good on its promise to the residents of Morgantown,” she said
MUB Chair J.T. Straface said the utility intends to.
“I think there was some, maybe, misunderstanding of what MUB’s stance was on White Park. I think there was some thoughts that we were opposed to this. That was never the case. From our standpoint it was always just trying to clarify what we were paying for and what we agreed to pay for,” he said.
