MORGANTOWN — Morgantown Utility Board Chair J.T. Straface said he walked away from a Tuesday meeting with city officials believing the placement of a Morgantown City Council member on the MUB Board of Directors appears to be non-negotiable.
Prior to Tuesday’s regular MUB meeting, MUB General Manager Mike McNulty and Straface sat down with Morgantown City Manager Kim Haws and Mayor Jenny Selin to begin dialogue surrounding an ordinance before city council that would alter Article 169 of city code pertaining to the utility board.
That ordinance, which was tabled on a 4-3 vote by council on Oct. 4, would do a number of things, including reserve one of MUB’s five board seats for a city council member and make the city manager a sixth, non-voting board member.
MUB has come out adamantly opposed to the changes.
Straface characterized Tuesday’s meeting with the city as “somewhat productive” and added, “I think it was very open. I think nobody was holding back.”
The city presented the ordinance with the stated goal of improving communication between itself and MUB. The relationship has soured in recent years; in particular following the placement of a water line through White Park, a lingering issue that became a public fight in April 2019.
Also included in the changes to Article 169 is a provision that would require MUB to bring projects before city council if they meet a certain monetary threshold — the tabled ordinance said $1 million — or are deemed by council to fall outside the “ordinary course of business.”
“I took it as a very open conversation. I took it as them trying to understand what our issues were with the amendments and why they were there,” Straface said of the meeting with the city. “Like the $1 million. That was just a number. I think that’s something that’s on the table.”
He said details of a second meeting to be held Monday are being finalized. That meeting would likely include a larger contingency from both sides, and potentially a third-party facilitator.
“The fact that the city is interested and willing to have the conversations with us is a great opportunity. It could have been moved forward last week but it was tabled so these discussions can happen, and I think that’s a very positive step,” MUB member Erik Carlson said.
