MORGANTOWN — The May 15 opening of Morgantown’s Private Outdoor Designated Area, or PODA, is just over 50 days away.
There’s still plenty of work to do.
A PODA is a defined district in which participating businesses can sell beverages containing alcohol to customers who can carry those beverages in identifiable cups to other locations within the district.
In Morgantown, the designated area will be comprised of the city’s downtown and Wharf districts between the hours of 4-10 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m.-10 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
During its most recent regular meeting, Morgantown City Council put together its initial PODA review committee.
“For a business to be approved for a PODA license, they have to first get city approval and then go to the [Alcohol Beverage Control Administration] with that letter of approval,” Councilor Danielle Trumble explained. “This would be the committee who would be looking at those applications and determining whether or not they get city approval.”
Trumble, who spearheaded passage of the state’s PODA bill in 2023 as well as a handful of changes in the recently completed legislative session, will represent city council on the six-member committee.
Other members include Steve Bennett, representing Main Street Morgantown, and four business owners — two representing businesses within the district that sell alcohol (Grace Hutchens, Stephen Wilson) and two representing businesses that do not (Stephanie Swaim, Shannon Dowling).
The initial PODA legislation limited participating businesses to those with a full liquor license. That’s now been changed to allow beer/wine bars to participate.
Trumble said legislators also tweaked the law to allow fairs and festivals to be held within a PODA district and remove a provision that made every participating business jointly and severally liable for any violations.
City Attorney Ryan Simonton said city staff is attacking the project on multiple fronts, including the creation of a landing page that will provide information to both businesses and patrons.
The logo that will be included on signage marking the boundaries of the district as well participating businesses and PODA cups is also in the works.
The May 15 opening of the district falls on a Wednesday.
According to Trumble, there’s a cruise-in scheduled for High Street that evening and additional activities are being explored.
