MORGANTOWN — The city of Morgantown owns dozens of properties sitting unused, vacant and off the tax rolls.
The city-created Morgantown Land Reuse & Preservation Agency would like to do something about that, starting with a list of 23 “odd lots” the city previously agreed to part with.
During the LRPA’s most recent meeting, Chair Jessica McDonald asked Development Services Director Rickie Yeager to inquire about when ownership of those properties might be transferred.
McDonald indicated that members of the agency sat down with city leadership on two occasions more than a year ago and went painstakingly through a list of some 80 unused properties owned by the city.
Of that list, the city seemed willing to part with 23 parcels.
“I would describe them as odd lots; literally as odd lots. I’d say most of them are unbuildable,” LRPA member David Satterfield said. “What I think we winnowed it down to was very small parcels that are odd lots. The number one thing would be to contact the neighbors and see if they’re willing to purchase it or assume it or something like that. There were a couple on the edges of neighborhoods that are half lots that just have been abandoned.”
Satterfield said the parcels couldn’t be sold for a tremendous amount of money, but getting them back on the tax rolls and under someone’s supervision would be an overall benefit to the city.
But, he continued, there appeared to be some concern from city council that the agency wouldn’t need to come back for further approval before disposing of the properties.
“Trust. We’re looking for some trust here … It just seems the fact is they’re not able or willing to actively manage all the real estate that the city owns. We’re here to do that for them, consistent with the guidance they give us,” Tim Stranko said, later adding, “I don’t want anybody to understand that I’m criticizing city council. This is minutiae compared to what they have to manage. We can do it for them if they let us do it.”
Adelheid Schaupp asked what the city plans to do with the 57 or so properties it wasn’t willing to let the agency handle. If the answer is “nothing,” she continued, maybe the two sides should reevaluate the list.
“They want us to be able to fund ourselves. I feel like if they’re just keeping the best properties and not doing anything with them, then maybe we should [reevaluate],” Schaupp said, expressing the opinion that the city sitting on property without action for a decade or more is no better than the property being owned by an absentee landlord living in another state.
“One thing at a time,” McDonald responded.
