MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — More details have been released related to the April 19 storm that affected the majority of Monongalia County as the Monongalia County Development Authority (MCDA) received formal approval for re-appointments of well-known members of the Morgantown community onto its board of directors.
The Monongalia County Commission received a written update from First Energy Local Engagement Specialist Krissy Michael on the damage caused by the storm that left half of the City of Morgantown without power, which was detailed during the commission’s regular meeting Wednesday. This was followed by unanimous approval of the reappointments of Mylan Park Foundation President Ron Justice and Morgantown Utility Board General Manager Mike McNulty to the MCDA board.
“Their resources that they brought to bear were a total of over 475 workers, both internal and external, and they replaced 188 poles, 135 just in Monongalia County,” said Commissioner Sean Sikora.
In the report released by FirstEnergy, the over 475 workers who traveled to replace the close to 200 electrical poles around the north-central part of the state accounted for close to eight miles’ worth of electrical wires affected by the storm. The high number was due to the wind gusts that were a part of the storms, which hit as high as 70 miles per hour on that April 19 evening. With the majority of the services to the area restored within a couple of days, Sikora credited the FirstEnergy response despite also addressing harmful road hazards in the process.
“They replaced 41,000 feet of wire, and the total customers restored is 63,600,” said Sikora. “I just wanted to, again, thank Krissy and her staff for all they did to address that.”
The Monongalia County Commission unanimously approved the reappointments of Ron Justice and Morgantown Utility Board General Manager Mike McNulty. According to the commission, the reappointments of both Justice and McNulty were made at the request of the MCDA and will immediately follow the expiration of their current terms, scheduled for May 7 of this year. The commission approved the reappointments with no debate or pushback during the vote that took place during their meeting.
“The board took up the recommendations, and they sent us a letter in which they’re asking for the terms of Ron Justice and Mike McNulty to be reappointed,” said Sikora.
The reappointments of Justice and McNulty will be a part of several others that are scheduled to take place in the coming months. Before required approval of the commission of any future appointments or reappointments on the MCDA board of directors, a formal meeting of the organization will take place where written recommendations will be formally submitted. Those votes are expected to take place over the next few months.
“We do have a couple other members whose terms have expired, and I’ve asked for documentation from the development authority so that we can publicly indicate how those things will be dealt with,” said Sikora.