Brake optimistic for Morgantown’s future as 2017 begins to wind down

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Optimistic: that’s the outlook towards the future of Morgantown through the eyes of it’s City Manager.

It’s been approximately nine months since Paul Brake officially took the job. So far, he said, his outlook on the city as a whole is not much different than what it was when he was sworn in.

“A lot of optimism, but where things stand right now, we’re very strong financially and able to equip the challenges that are presented to us,” Brake said Friday on Morgantown AM.

Looking toward to 2018, City Council has established a comprehensive strategic plan that they hope will address some of the goals many of them campaigned for,

“We’re really focusing on the Riverfront Redevelopment,” Brake said. “I think that could be a catalyst, that could drive additional investment, private investment elsewhere along the river.”

Along with building up the Wharf District, Brake said there’s also the age old goal for not only Morgantown but for West Virginia as a whole, which is to fix up the roads in a timely manner. Brake said council is looking to future sidewalks project to work in conjunction with 12 miles of recent road repairs.

“We’re hoping that there’s some way that we can kind of lessen the sting financially,” he said. “I don’t know what the particulars are but I would say that that’s probably a conversation that we’ll have in the upcoming year.”

According to Brake, city code makes property owners responsible for sidewalks. He expects council to explore that as part of the strategic plan.

 

Morgantown City Council will meet four more times this year, starting with a dual Committee of the Whole and Regular Council Meeting Nov. 28.