MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Morgantown city council members held the committe of the whole met virtually and discussed the 2020 Housing Needs Assessment, imprisonment penalties for multiple building code violations and how Juneteenth will be celebrated in the future.
No official action is taken at the committee of the whole, it’s an opportunity for members to receive information and ask questions.
Council agreed to add the possibility of imprisonment for repeat violations of the same city building code to the next regular meeting agenda. Jail terms of up to 30 days in addition to fines up to $500 could be levied to people who violate the International Property Maintenance Code provisions of the Building Code.
Morgantown Director of Code Enforcement, Mike Stone told council members there are many property owners with multiple repeat violations that have demonstrated over a long period of time they have no intention of complying with city code, citations or even court orders.
“Three property owners that I can think of right now that owe the city thousands and thousands of dollars because they’ve been fined multiple times,”Stone said,”There’s no recourse, the properties are still vacant, they’re still falling down.”
Council members will consider adding the following language to the existing ordinance:
(d) Each person guilty of a third or subsequent offense in violation of the International Property Maintenance Code provisions of the Building Code based on the same conditions as an initial and second violation shall be fined a minimum of five hundred dollars ($500.00) or imprisoned for no
more than thirty (30) days, or both.
The possibility of jail time would be applied in extreme situations when the safety of the community is a concern.
“We’re looking at houses that are dilapidated that are falling down and off the foundation that are that are hazards to people walking by and to their neighbors,”Stone said,”Some neighbors have kids that can’t even go out and play because the house is ready to fall down.”
Stone told council members there are properties in the city need to be addressed before people are injured or nearby property could be damaged because of the disrepair.
“I don’t want to see anybody go to jail, but I do want to see these properties taken care of,”Stone said,”I wouldn’t want to be a neighbor to some of these properties in Morgantown, if I was a neighbor to a couple of these I would be at every council every meeting demanding that something be done with them.”
City attorney Ryan Simonton clarified the scope of the change for council members.
“The penalty would be available for egregious offenses of the property maintenance code,”Simonton said,”So it only applies to the property maintenance code violations, the remainder of the building code that governs new construction and permitting would not be eligible for imprisonment.”
Council members will also consider how to celebrate Juneteenth in the future. Options range from allowing a paid holiday to providing an unpaid day off.