In what’s expected to be its final meeting in the Monongalia County Courthouse, Morgantown City Council made quick work of a light committee of the whole agenda Tuesday evening.
Council and other city boards and commissions have been meeting in the Monongalia County Commission chamber since July 2022 to allow for the renovation of the 100-year-old Morgantown City Hall.
The city has scheduled a ribbon cutting ceremony for 5:30 p.m. Tuesday to be followed by building tours until 6:45 p.m. and council’s regularly scheduled meeting at 7 p.m.
As for this week’s agenda items, Morgantown Parking Authority Executive Director Dana McKenzie said the MPA is looking for council’s feedback on a handful of potential changes.
The first, he said, would be a code amendment that would allow the MPA to change monthly permit prices within the city’s parking garages by 20% without needing city council’s permission.
McKenzie said it’s common for permit rates to fluctuate as demand rises or falls. Morgantown’s rates, he continued, haven’t changed in at least a decade.
“Sometimes we’re a little higher and sometimes we’re a little lower, but we do try to check around every year to see what the going rates are,” he said. “We try to keep our rates as low as possible to be fair but as high as possible so that we meet our budget projections.”
Depending on the daily hours the permit is active, a one-month permit for the Spruce Street and University Avenue garages range from $45 (5 a.m.- 6 p.m.) to $115 (24 hours). Rates for the Wharf garage range from $35 to $90.
The MPA is also looking into how best handle folks needing temporary parking access within neighborhoods while using short-term rental options like Airbnb.
“They’ve been using visitors passes, which, technically they’re not supposed to do that, but we don’t have anything else on the books yet either, so there’s been some leniency there,” McKenzie said.
The MPA’s recommendation is a $50 permit for the property owner that would provide one, one-year pass allowing parking in any of the city’s residential districts.
Lastly, the parking authority is hoping to reduce the hassle of updating blue curb permits — or at least make it less frequent.
“We’re looking at the possibility of offering a two-year permit for permanent residents,” he said, adding “I think it would be a nice offering to the community is my thought process.”
In other city news, Tuesday’s meeting included recognition of Class 3 of the Morgantown Citizens Academy, which recently concluded an eight-week dive into the inner workings of city government and the city’s various departments.
