By Joe Nelson
MORGANTOWN — A new face will be appearing within Morgantown City Council.
New 6th ward councilman Dave Harshbarger along with new 3rd Ward Councilman Zach Cruze will take their oaths of office Tuesday night.
Harshbarger, a former president of the West Virginia Wellness Council and a member of the Mon River Trails Conservancy Board of Directors, is very excited to expand upon his time in public service.
“I just look forward to learning and building relationships with folks and to better serve our community,” said Harshbarger.
While there are some aspects of council that Harshbarger wants to soak up like a sponge, there are other issues that the city is currently involved with that he feels that are going to need his input on sooner than others. One such example, is the City of Morgantown’s plan to annex 3.8 square miles of surrounding community through minor boundary adjustment. The city’s written public comment period ended on June 30th and Harshbarger says he wants to hear more public input on the matter before he makes a full opinion on a topic that has very polarizing views on both sides.
“Right now it’s been more of a collection of information process,” said Harshbarger. “And I look forward to the next phase which would be the city and what would become my response as I learn more to the comments that have come in so far through the public forum opportunities,” he said.
Another issue that has been on the thoughts of several people has been the Morgantown Utility Board’s raw-water pipeline project. Details behind the project, in particular it’s original path through White Park, lead to backlash by several Morgantown residents over the project leading to it’s postponement and discussion of ten alternative routes. While stating that there were some issues in how MUB originally approached the project, Harshbarger was adamant in saying that due diligence has been made and that there’s middle ground to be found.
“I prefer the Green Bag Road option,” he said. “I think that will provide us with potential new trails and we can try and reforest as that work is complete so I am optimistic that we are going to reach a reasonable alternative that will be favorable to generally just about everyone,” he said.
With the exception of those major issues, Harshbarger says he is very much ready to learn about other issues and needs that might not be addressed otherwise. Harshbarger, a longtime Morgantown resident who has not only served on several boards but is also a WVU wellness program coordinator with more than 8,000 employees under his wing, looks forward to helping groups work together to create a better Morgantown.
“I look forward to looking at opportunities where we can partner,” he said. “To look at different organizations, different structures within the city, within the county, to try and strengthen services and programs and really kind of come together to try and improve the quality of life for our citizens,” he said.