MORGANTOWN, W.Va. The Morgantown area Rotary community presented a $6,000 check to the Historic Morgantown Post Office Building, Inc. (HPO) to help the group with restoration work on the nearly 100-year-old structure. HPO board member Billy Atkins said when they began this journey in 2019, the group knew it was going to require a team effort from the community.
“I said when we first started down this road that the success of this project will depend on whether the community takes ownership of it,” Atkins said. “Slowly but surely we are, and what we’re doing here today with the Rotary clubs demonstrates that.”
The Rotary Club of Cheat Lake, Morgantown North Rotary, and the Rotary Club of Morgantown all donated to the cause as a way to improve downtown and preserve history. President of the Rotary Club of Cheat Lake, Jamie Summerlin, said all three Rotary chapters are able to increase the impact on the community by banding together for the gift.
“It’s not just territorial, we’re not just working in our own silos,” Summerlin said. “We are coming together for the betterment of our community as a whole; it creates a better quality of life for all the citizens here in Morgantown.”
The Rotary gift will be used as the 30 percent match required by the Morgantown Facade and Interior Grant Program. The $20,000 grant requires a $6,000 match and can be used for facade or interior improvements.
The grant funds have allowed the HPO to begin the interior improvements with Construction Design Company (CDC) of Morgantown. The workers are working with plaster to make the repairs and maintain the original finishes as much as possible.
The largest accomplishment by the HPO was the repair of the roof. The leaking roof that resulted in significant ceiling, plaster, and indoor damage had to be addressed before the project could move forward. That portion of the work was completed by Sutter Roofing & Metal Co., Arch Masonry & Restoration, and the HE Neuman Company.
“We put a new roof on the building, so the building has been preserved,” Atkins said. “The goal originally was to preserve and restore this building, so now we’re working on the restoration part.”
According to preliminary plans, MAC, YCF, and the Morgantown History Museum will occupy the building.
Atkins also thanked U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito and Joe Manchin for supporting a Congressional Directed Spending Grant of $1 million to continue work on the project.
“It’s $1 million, and we’re going to use that to finish the final design plans for the building and do the preparation work for going out and doing the major fund-raising,” Atkins said.
HPO Morgantown has a board of directors made up of members from Your Community Foundation (YCF) and the Monongalia Arts Center (MAC).