MORGANTOWN — In 2022, Morgantown City Council voted unanimously to convey ownership of city hall, the public works garage and Norwood fire station to the Morgantown Building Commission in exchange for the issuance of up to $7 million in lease revenue bonds.
As was their stated purpose, those bonds have been used to finance a number of improvements to aging, and just plain old, city facilities.
Most notably, the city cut ribbons in 2024 celebrating a $3.5 million overhaul of the 100-year-old city hall building as well as a $1.7 million expansion and renovation of the 76-year-old Morgantown Fire Department Station 2, in Norwood.
Now the last of those dollars are ready to move.
During its most recent regular meeting, council approved a budget amendment moving the remaining $1,287,733 from the building commission into the city’s capital escrow account to be utilized for a long-overdue project addressing the city garage, located near the intersection of Green Bag Road and Mississippi Street
That project will include the addition of a 774 square-foot office space as well as a new roof and siding. The upgrades will also address stormwater management systems, a new HVAC system and numerous electrical, mechanical and plumbing enhancements.
“We’ve started the interior demo of the bathroom and office space. Also, they poured the foundation for the addition and started electrical upgrades,” Morgantown Communications Director Brad Riffee said.
Back in February 2022, internal estimates put the cost of the work at about $1.6 million.
Both that number and the scope of the project have grown over time.
When the project was initially bid, the city was looking to spend between $2 million and $2.5 million, but after three separate rounds of bidding, $3,249,277 was the best offer.
Last November, the city entered into a contract with Veritas Contracting for that amount.
In addition to the $1,287,733 in remaining bond revenue, the project will be funded utilizing $1 million from the city’s capital escrow fund, $554,868 in American Rescue Plan Act dollars, $310,675 from the city’s contingency fund and $96,000 coming through a reimbursement for stormwater work from the Morgantown Utility Board.
Riffee said substantial completion of the construction project is expected in nine months.
The forthcoming West Virginia Division of Highways project to construct roundabouts on Green Bag Road – including at the intersection with Mississippi Street – is not expected to impact the project.
