MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The construction of a new extension and 4-H center in Morgantown will provide residents with many opportunities in agritourism, community service, and youth development.
The ground breaking ceremony was held Monday morning and conducted by the Mylan Park Foundation, a partner on the project.
“This is an investment in Monongalia County,” County Commissioner Ed Hawkins said. “The motto of 4-H is to make the best better. We have one of the best programs, but we did not have one of the best facilities. Right now, we are going to have the best facility. WVU has to be proud of this, extension has to be proud of this, I am proud of this.”
The new facility will provide residents a place to host the local fair, animal shows and green space. The building also has the opportunity for education such as a beekeeping class. Hawkins even mentioned the potential for wedding receptions at the facility.
According to Hawkins, the extension and 4-H center will feature an incubator kitchen where community members can develop new recipes, get them USDA approved and then sell them.
“There is going to be a lot of things come here that you really haven’t seen before because we didn’t have the place or the opportunity to offer it,” he said.
The goal of the new facility is to promote agriculture in the community.
“Sometimes in a county such as ours, I hate to say it, but agriculture kind of gets pushed to the side,” Hawkins said. “What we have here is the opportunity for youth to be enjoying in agriculture.”
The facility is expected to be finished by the start of 2019. The only thing holding the process back is the steel order which couldn’t be completed until the finances were configured.
“It would not be wise to have sat there and said ‘oh, we’re just going to bank on the fact that Shawn’s boxes [finances and numbers] were correct,'” Hawkins said. “No, we didn’t do that.”
Hawkins predicts that the income from renting out space in the facility will allow for it to be paid off within seven years.
Story by Hannah Williams