MORGANTOWN — Communication.
The word came up again and again Tuesday evening as Morgantown City Council discussed proposed changes to operations and oversight of the Morgantown Utility Board during a relatively brief committee of the whole session held at the West Virginia Botanic Garden.
The city is looking at an ordinance that would, among other things, put a city council member in one of the five MUB Board seats and add the city manager to the board as a nonvoting member.
“I do believe what is being presented to us here, the intention is primarily to improve communications,” Councilor Bill Kawecki said, later adding, “Right now we have some difficulties that are consistent and my hope is that this will resolve some of those issues and make our future course much more cohesive and move us in a manner everybody feels more comfortable with.”
Deputy Mayor Danielle Trumble offered the most pointed comments in support of the changes, citing a story from Sunday’s edition of The Dominion Post regarding MUB’s plans to replace a sewer line in White Park.
“I don’t feel that council people or BOPARC board members, in a city park, should have to read about things like that in a newspaper and I think that most members of both of those bodies did read about that in the newspaper for the first time instead of hearing it from you all, which is very disappointing considering all the issues we’ve had specifically in White Park,” she said.
Members of council pointed out that they have to sign off on MUB rate changes and bond issues and that property currently acquired by the MUB Board is acquired for the city acting by and through MUB.
“I don’t think there’s that many changes besides putting a council member on the board, which is something that is perfectly within our right to do and I do think it is going to improve communication, because right now it is nearly non-existent,” Trumble said.
Further, a city memo circulated prior to Tuesday’s meeting explained that a change giving city council oversight to approve MUB construction projects in excess of $1 million or designated by council to be “outside the ordinary course of business” is in reaction to recent changes to state law removing that jurisdiction from the West Virginia Public Service Commission and giving it to city councils in the case of municipally-owned utilities.
Members of MUB’s executive team attended but did not address council.
MUB’s Board of Directors have a special meeting at 5:30 p.m. Thursday to discuss the ordinance. The meeting will be at MUB’s Green Bag Road office.
