STAR CITY, W.Va. — Officials with the Town of Star City are ready to meet with the Morgantown City Council to discuss the merger of the town’s water and sewer utility system into the Morgantown Utility Board utility.
Members of the Star City Council addressed the merger during their regular meeting Tuesday, where Star City Attorney Tim Stranko confirmed that the West Virginia Public Service Commission has approved the merger on a state level and every municipal hurdle has been cleared except for the approval of the Morgantown City Council to allow for MUB to amend the tariff to include the added utility. Stranko affirmed to residents during the meeting that no issues are expected to prevent the merger, with state statutes in place to allow the agreement to proceed.
“The Public Service Commission enthusiastically endorsed the combination with MUB, you might have noticed (an article) in the paper writing that the Morgantown City Council has to sign off on it—that’s not the case,” said Stranko. “What is going to happen in front of Morgantown City Council is that MUB needs to amend its tariff.”
The initial response from town officials related to the agreed-upon merger of the Star City water and sewer utility into the MUB system stems from concerns that recent decisions involving the MUB governing board could prevent the agreement from moving forward. This comes less than a month after longtime MUB board president Barbara Parsons was replaced by Richard Brooks after serving just short of 20 years on the board in varying capacities in two different tenures. Despite only having one member on the MUB board not from the Morgantown area, Stranko expressed confidence that any potential vote that would prevent the tariff amendment from moving forward would not keep the merger from happening.
“I think there are members of the Morgantown City Council that have the opinion that they get to say yes or no about this deal, I don’t agree with that,” said Stranko. “I think I can prove it legally, no, I know I can prove it legally.”
According to Stranko, state laws involving the limitations of the PSC over municipal utility firms were passed back in 2016 as part of Senate Bill 234, with Stranko heavily involved in the development of that legislation. While the law allowed for the deregulation of municipal utilities and public service districts to set rates, borrow money, and undertake capital improvements without PSC approval, it does not state that those decisions include the voting in the inclusion of merging utilities. An aspect that Stranko believes with confidence will allow the merger of Star City water and sewer utilities into MUB to go ahead.
“What the Public Service Commission did, years ago, in this bill, was deregulate large municipal utilities,” said Stranko. “What the PSC did not agree to was giving the municipalities the unilateral control to combine or devolve utilities, that’s regulated by the PSC.”
The Star City merger into the MUB system is expected to be discussed with Star City Mayor Sharon Doyle and Star City Recorder Steve Blinco, as well as all members of the Morgantown City Council, during the council’s regular meeting scheduled within the next month. This follows previous presentations in front of the MUB board of directors back in late 2025, as well as the State Public Service Commission shortly after MUB’s initial approval. With all the legal paperwork ready to be showcased, Star City officials are ready to see a much-needed utility merger move forward.
“Our tariffs are first and second reading, so based on our schedule, we’re basically doing one meeting a month, so I’ll be attending one (meeting) and Steve will attend the other,” said Doyle.