City Council - Regular Meeting

Stand for the pledge if you'd like. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. I'd like to call this meeting to order. Tonight we are here for the City Council regular meeting. We are at City Call Council Chambers at 389 Spruce Street, second floor in Morgantown, West Virginia, 26505. Today is Tuesday, July 7, 2026.

good okay so redux i'd like to nominate daniel trumbull to the office of mayor

OK. Councilor Trumbull has been nominated for the office of mayor. Are there additional nominations for mayor?

That's not mine. That's Mark's. OK.

So we will vote on Danielle Trumbull as the mayor. Want to call your name? Say yes or no. For Mayor, Danielle Trumb. Joe Abugonam?

Yes.

Jody Hongshead? Yes. Weezy Michael?

Yes.

Jenny Saline? Yes. Danielle Trumbull? Yes. Mark Downs?

Yes.

Ryan Butcher?

Yes.

Congratulations.

We will now open the floor for nominations for deputy mayor.

I'd like to nominate Mark Downs for Deputy Mayor.

Councillor Downs has been nominated as Deputy Mayor. Are there additional nominations for Deputy Mayor?

I'd like to nominate Jenny Selene, Councillor Selene.

Councillor Selene has been nominated for Deputy Mayor. Are there any additional nominations for Deputy Mayor? Seeing none, Clerk Wade, would you please call? Thank you, Mayor.

So we have two nominations for Deputy Mayor. Councilor Downs and Councilor Selene, when I call your name, state the name of the person that you would like to see deputy mayor. Joe Bugannam.

Councilor Selene.

Jenny Hollingshead. Councilor Downs. Weezy Michael.

Councilor Selene.

Jenny Selene. Councilor Selene. Danielle Trumbull.

Councillor Downs?

Mark Downs?

Councillor Downs.

Brian Butcher?

Councillor Downs.

So we have three votes for Councillor Selene and four votes for Councillor Downs. Councillor Downs is our new Deputy Mayor. Congratulations.

With nomination and elections for mayor and deputy mayor done, our next item of business is oath of office for mayor and deputy mayor. Do you do one at a time?

Yes.

I state your name. I state your name. Daniel Humble. Having been elected to the office of mayor. Having been elected to the office of mayor. In the city of Morgantown. In the city of Morgantown. In the county of Monongalia. In the county of Monongalia. Do solemnly swear. Do solemnly swear. That I will support the Constitution of the United States. That I will support the Constitution of the United States. The state of West Virginia. The state of West Virginia. And the charter of the city of Morningtown. And the charter of the city of Morningtown. And I will faithfully and impartially. And I will faithfully and impartially. Discharge my duties as mayor.

Discharge my duties as mayor. To the best of my skill and judgment. To the best of my skill and judgment. John, do you want to come back up and have a photo with him?

I state your name. I'm Mark Adams. Having been elected to the office of deputy mayor.

Having been elected to the office of deputy mayor. In the city of Morgantown. In the city of Morgantown.

In the county of Monongalia.

In the county of Monongalia.

Do solemnly swear.

Do solemnly swear.

That I will support the Constitution of the United States.

That I will support the Constitution of the United States.

The state of West Virginia.

The state of West Virginia.

And the charter of the city of Morgantown.

And the charter of the city of Morgantown.

faithfully and impartially discharge my duties as deputy mayor to the best of my skill and judgment

Amen.

Okay, our next item of business is approval of minutes. We have the June 16th, 2026 regular meeting minutes and the June 30th, 2026 workshop meeting minutes. Are there any additions or corrections? Seeing none, approved by consensus. Great. correspondence. Tonight we have our Citizens Academy graduation and presentation of proclamation.

Thank you, Mayor, and congratulations. Today we have Shannon Davis here. She is our special projects coordinator. She is going to be presenting to our Citizens Academy graduates. Wanted to take a quick moment to say congratulations to all of you. Thank you for dedicating the last several weeks of your time with us. We hope you've enjoyed it and do want to recognize the staff that put all of the effort into this. I know Brad Riffey and the communications team is the lead on this, but I know every department plays a part in making it a successful program. So, no further ado, Shannon, if you would join us.

Whatever you want. Would you like mayor?

Where's the mayor?

community is vital to the health of the thriving city government, and whereas community education programs such as the Morgantown Citizens Academy provide residents with a unique opportunity to learn about the structure, functions, and services of their local government, whereas the Citizens Academy helps cultivate civic leaders by fostering greater understanding, transparency, and trust between the city government and the people it serves, And whereas participants of the Citizens Academy dedicate their time and energy to becoming active, informed stakeholders in our city's future, with many going on to find additional ways to volunteer their time through community initiatives, and whereas investing in civic education and leadership development contributes to a more well-informed community and a stronger, more connected city. Now therefore, I, Danielle Trumbull, Mayor of the City of Morgantown, West Virginia, on behalf of City Council, do hereby proclaim the week of July 6th through 10th, 2026 as Community Learning and Leadership Week in the City of Morgantown, and encourage all residents to learn more about their local government, participate in civic opportunities, and recognize the importance of lifelong public service and engagement. In addition, we would like to highlight our current class of Citizens Academy participants. Do you want me to read these names, or are they going to get?

They'll be up here themselves, and they'll get each of their certificates. So you don't need to read each one of them.

So we'll have this set. Yeah.

So I will kind of start off the bunch by kind of talking about this year's class and everything. So Brad was more with this class than I was this year due to my transition into special projects. But this year's class did get to experience some new changes to the program that weren't in previous years. So they got to experience an orientation night that was directly dedicated to learning about the communications department and kind of prepping them for all the different things that they learned. Our sessions were kind of changed a little. We added a lot more interactive activities each week. We integrated this year with Mountaineer Micro Academy, which is part of WVU, very similar to their eCampus platform. We created a dedicated mock city council night, which Thank you to the multiple counselors who were here to help with that evening as well. And then we're also going to be working with the group to kind of facilitate them into doing Adopt-A-Street after they complete the program this year. So a little bit of changes, a little bit of tinkering that happened with this year's class. They got to kind of be my guinea pigs for some of those things. But we're really excited about everything they learned. Other than that, I am going to let them speak to what they've experienced. So if group one wants to kind of come up and talk about the things that you guys learned and why you joined, we'll start with there.

And if you guys want to stand behind him since he's your lead speaker, the other members of the group can, if not, you can leave the grunts on group one. Here's your clicker. So you can hit that little button if you need to change sides.

So the very first question we were asked is what motivated us to apply to Citizens Academy? Our group was motivated by a shared desire to become more engaged members of the Morgantown community and to better understand how our local government serves its residents. Two of our group participants had recently completed the 2025 Leadership Mon Program and were looking for meaningful ways to continue their civic involvement. Through the encouragement of fellow Leadership Month graduate Nicole Laufer, who serves with the City of Morgantown and participated in last year's Citizens Academy, we saw that this program was a perfect opportunity to deepen our understanding of local government and continue investing in our community. What were we hoping to learn or experience during this time? We entered the Citizens Academy hoping to gain a behind-the-scenes perspective of how the city of Morgantown operates on a daily basis. While many residents have a general understanding of local government, we quickly realized there's far more happening than most people ever see. We wanted to better understand the roles of each city department, learn how they work together to serve our community, and leave with the knowledge we could share with others. For some group members, this experience also represented a personal commitment to becoming more civically engaged and connected to our local government. Before the program, what was our understanding of the local government? Before participating in the Citizens Academy, many of us had a fairly limited understanding of city government. We often associated local government primarily with city council or a handful of highly visible services such as public safety, code enforcement, or parking. Through this program, we gained a much greater appreciation for the many departments working collaboratively behind the scenes to keep Morgantown operating. We also developed a deeper respect for the professionalism, organization, and dedication of the city's employees who accomplish an incredible amount despite operating with a relatively small staff. And were there any assumptions or misconceptions that we had before our first class? Perhaps our biggest takeaway was learning just how much the city accomplishes with limited resources. Many of us assumed the city had a much larger staff and a much larger budget than it actually does. We were genuinely impressed by the efficiency, collaboration, and commitment demonstrated across every department we visited. We were also surprised by how interconnected each department is and how every team plays a critical role in providing the services that make Morgantown a great place to live, work, and visit. This experience gave us a much greater appreciation for the people behind the work and the complexity of serving our community effectively. Thanks.

All right, so our group wanted to talk about what we discovered as part of our time in Citizens Academy. So we were really surprised by just how much happens behind the scenes, a lot of like what Drew said, to keep Morgantown running. So between the infrastructure, public safety events, and economic development, we gained a whole new appreciation for the planning, coordination, and dedication required, and for the passionate employees who make it all happen. In discussing whether there was a department service or project we knew very little about before, our group discovered that there are many departments that we knew the least about became some of the most memorable. So whether that was the airport, development services, planning and zoning, water and wastewater, public safety, each session challenged our assumptions and revealed how these often overlooked services play a critical role in the city's success. In terms of what we discovered behind the scenes that other people don't get to see very often, we discovered the extensive training, planning, and infrastructure and teamwork that is required to deliver these essential services. So from police and fire operations to wastewater treatment and airport management, we saw firsthand the work that keeps our community safe and functioning every single day. Our biggest takeaway from the Citizens Academy program gave our group a greater appreciation for the complexity that local government plays and how closely departments have to work together. So most importantly, it connected us with the people behind the services and strengthened our trust in local government and inspired us to become more engaged in our communities.

Good evening. So our group's first question was, how has this experience changed the way you think about the city or local government, and if so, how? And so across the board, absolutely, yes. The common theme, this experience has showed us just how much is accomplished with limited resources. Erin shared that she's gained a much better understanding of how departments run, and especially how the money is spent, given how little there is to work with. We recognize also the high level of collaboration and communication among city departments. Often an operation or issue is reliant on multiple departments working together. And something else that we noted, we were pleased to see younger folks in leadership roles. I think often the perception is leadership and council members are often older, retired, but we are happy to see youth, just younger engagement in our city leadership. And so what gave you a greater appreciation for city staff or the work they do? And across the board, you've heard this from other groups as well, but it's essentially how much is accomplished with small budgets and small teams. So hearing from the departments directly definitely gave us a greater appreciation for the city workers themselves. Blake shared that the city operating as well as it does showcases the extra effort all the staff must put in and the deep care for the job and the city. And then we also learned about the efforts made to seek additional funding through grants. So I think the perception is that it's all through taxpayer dollars, but we were pleased to learn about large-scale grants that are being sought for projects like the airport extension and for quality of life amenities like the Ruby Summer Concert Series that we're all enjoying. And then as far as a misconception, there were several that we discussed, and one of those is how fees are utilized. And so Erin in our group had a recent conversation with coworkers who claimed that nothing was being done with these fees. So she was able to explain the percentages that are allocated to police, to public works, and to the roads. And then also there's a misconception that funds are poorly managed or allocated. And I think that's not here, but just across the board with government. And so in reality, we realize that staff are doing what they can with the limited resources available. And while we may not all agree on how those funds should be allocated, we understand there are certainly competing priorities. We did gain a better understanding of the challenges faced by having limited resources. And then also a big misconception is the city gets blamed for issues that fall outside of city limits. And so now we are all armed with the roads and borders maps to help set everyone straight. And then finally, what will you never look at? Again, the same way after completing the Citizens Academy. And one that stuck out for a lot of us was sludge from our sewage treatment plant tour. So I think this session with MUB really made us grateful for the work being done to keep our water supply safe. I don't think any of us realized that that sludge was being used as fertilizer with local farms. So that was just something really cool that we learned. And then the city firefighters. I think this was a favorite session. Unfortunately, it was one that I missed, but across the board we heard just how much they do on a small budget considering how expensive equipment is. And so Erin, who works with the fire department a lot through her job, gained a much clearer understanding of what goes into a successful fire department and what they're doing for citizens. And so as a whole, we think they're a bunch of sweethearts who break down your door and escort you to safety before finishing up their chicken and cilantro rice guys. And then the airport. So most of us in this group only had experience with commercial flights, and so we really had no idea just how much the volume there was for the general aviation compared to commercial, so that was eye-opening. And then lastly, the city clerk role. We didn't realize just how much this position does. So from maintaining city records and documentation to managing elections and the appointment of the mayor. So that was also eye-opening. So really, we just wanted to thank you all. This was a great opportunity, and we learned a lot. Thank you. Thank you. And our last group.

All right, so we were tasked with looking ahead. So what moment from Citizens Academy will stay with us the longest? For our group, we'll remember the people and the passion behind the work, whether experiencing Morgantown's commitment to the arts, parks and rec, or meeting the dedicated employees who serve our community. We saw firsthand how much pride and care goes into making Morgantown a special place. I think we can all agree in terms of West Virginia, we have it. Pretty good. So just seeing how well everyone works together, whether it is Mub or you all or Brad with the comms, just seeing how much care you all put into your jobs really is meaningful for us on the outside to see. So session, which one had the biggest impact on us? We all kind of had different ones that kind of resonated with us the most, but they all shared a common thread, which was connection. From our first day, meeting all of our classmates, coming from all different backgrounds, some already on boards and commissions and things that, as well as meeting the city staff to learn how everyone works together. We were all just inspired by the genuine commitment, collaboration, and passion that we experienced throughout the program. For me personally, one that was really cool, someone mentioned it previously, was the fire department just seeing. I personally didn't know that they were 24 on, 24 off. And just seeing their dedication to that, plus the bonds that they've all created and forged with each other, was really awesome to see. So how do we hope to use what we've learned moving forward? We hope to put what we've learned into action, basically by sharing our new knowledge with others, strengthening relationships throughout the community, and finding meaningful ways to serve our neighborhoods and support the city's future. And then what's one thing that we'll do differently as a resident? We kind of were just left to become more involved, whether it's attending community events, participating in local government, doing volunteer services, serving on boards and commissions. We now see opportunities to make a positive impact impact on Morgantown. And additionally, with us being such a social media heavy era, another thing that we talked about was making sure to wait before jumping to conclusions or making decisions based on what we see, whether it is the South Park Neighborhood Association post or someone saying, there's a coyote in my backyard, stuff like that. Some things that we talked about, just really being mindful and waiting for more information to come out before you make that judgment call.

So one thing that I do want to point out about this class in particular that I've been very impressed with, these guys in particular have been very engaged with wanting to know more about boards and commissions. And I do know that a couple of them are actually working towards that effort. So this is really great. And we have had a couple of them even volunteer for other activities and things that the city is doing that they're going to help with as well. they've already started engaging a little bit more in different ways that they can. So I just wanted to highlight that as well. But overall, they were really wonderful of a class to have. I only got to do a few with them, but each of the people that I got to talk to were so wonderful and so nice. So it's great to know that we've got more people kind of on our side, understanding the hard work that not only staff are doing, but you guys are doing as well. So I just wanted to kind of say that as well in addition to it.

That is kind of the end of their presentation. If we want to kind of move on to their certificates and how you do that process.

Oh, you want me to do that?

I should have practiced these names.

I give him the choice ones.

Would it be, would you have a better hand for my cushion?

Thank you. Taking photos in the mail.

Jennifer Sire.

Michelle McShane. Logan Mayhew. Blake Caldwell.

Michael Oliveria. You look like a mini person, just like with your death. Celeste McIntyre. Jonathan Cook.

Stacey Dabbin.

Amaya William.

Liza Carter Anna Riddle

Jasmine Patrick.

Michelle Richards-Bath. Thanks. Thank you so much.

Rebecca Matuga.

Thank you. Thank you so much.

I thought I got out of it when I didn't read them all with the proclamation.

And those are our last two. Those are our students, our WVU students actually.

Shelby Davis. And Grayson Poole. Yeah.

Yes. Are you doing a group photo? I can take a photo. We can take a group photo with all of you. In the past, we have done that. Yeah, absolutely. So if we want to, we want to do it.

Why don't you work while and do it in the stairwell?

We'll be down there taking pictures for a little while.

Probably not as long as council.

Yeah, let's go downstairs. Steps is fast. Steps is better.

Is that OK in turn?

Can we leave the room? It's legal. I'm certain we can leave the room. Is there a recess? OK. Fire. Fire truck now? Sure. Thank you. They literally all look like the same person. I can't hold that for like two cameras. I have to pay attention. That's correct, yeah, public hearing. Yeah. Good to see you.

Who does she work for? She seems to have a good personality.

Which one?

That's true.

I was surprised by how many in this class worked at the hospital.

Oh, really? I mean, as a percentage.

It's the biggest employer in the state, right? Yeah, for sure.

Right, so it stands to... Much less than the city. Right, right.

I need nominations. I'm going to say I'm a council person.

But that didn't do it briefly recently.

All right, that concludes our correspondence for the evening, and we will move into public hearings. These are on items very specific. If you're wishing to speak on any given item, you may do so at this time, but only on these specific items. The first item under public hearings is an ordinance appealing Article 160, the Housing Advisory Commission. We'll open this public hearing. Is there anyone wishing to speak on this item? Seeing none, we will close that public hearing and we will move on to an ordinance establishing a reasonable accommodations process. We'll open this public hearing. Is there anyone wishing to speak on this item?

Hello, my name is Justin Wojcik. I'm a resident of 205 Waiton Street. I'd like to thank the City Council for addressing the issue of requests for reasonable accommodation. The last two requests for reasonable accommodation that have been in front of the Board of Zoning Appeals were requests for parking accommodations that were not for use by disabled people and as such are not covered under ADA and FHA regulations. These types of egregiously unlawful requests not only create a burden for the administration and potentially the residential neighborhood, but are a disservice to the disabled people that these laws are meant to protect and uplift. A few things in the text of the ordinance, however, caught my eye. Firstly, there is a typo in 115.07a where the words the accommodation are repeated. Moving forward, the text in 115.01 is rather troublesome, if not unconstitutional. In a quasi-judicial proceeding such as what this ordinance proposes, these actions are bound by due process. As such, these decisions would absolutely be available for administrative appeal and judicial review. Also troubling is 115.04 and 115.05 which state that the hearings would not be subject to the West Virginia Open Governmental Proceedings Act. This does not exempt them from the due process clause or the fundamental fairness doctrine, which mandates that the applicant and other interested parties have notice and a meaningful opportunity to be heard before a neutral and impartial decision maker. Thank you for your time regarding these matters.

Thank you. Is there anyone else wishing to speak on this item? Approach and state your name and address for the record.

John Lambertson, 310 Wilson Avenue in Morgantown. So I request you vote no on this ordinance when it comes up for a vote. If this proposed ordinance passes, many reasonable accommodations will no longer be heard by citizen boards like the Board of Zoning Appeals. Instead, council will cede important democratic power to unelected city officials who will render decisions in secrecy. This proposed ordinance is apparently in response to a request for reasonable accommodation regarding parking standards by West Virginia Sober Living for 318 Wilson Avenue that was tabled by the BZA in May and then withdrawn from the agenda in June by the applicant. If this ordinance passes, West Virginia Sober Living's request for reasonable accommodation for parking will then pass to the planning department. This ordinance will revoke the right of citizens to testify on such matters in public and deprive them of their opportunity to appeal decisions. I plan to testify at the BZA against the request in June and present a petition from nine neighbors before West Virginia Sober Living withdrew their request. My comments would have pointed out flaws in the staff recommendation to approve and allow the city to craft a better solution. In the request of the BZA, West Virginia Sober Living asked for an exemption from city code requiring three additional off-street parking spots for this house. The city staff's recommendation implied that rejecting the accommodation would violate the Fair Housing Act. This is not the case. Disabled people could still live at the address, just not in the same density West Virginia Sober would like. The major point of the minimum off-street parking requirement is to manage density in neighborhoods. The staff recommendation of the VZA then claimed, quote, the accommodation will not fundamentally alter parking in the district because the applicant reports that most residents do not have private transportation. The recommendation ignores the additional parking needs of a residential facility, visitors, delivery staff, meetings, etc., My neighbors and I know the accommodation would alter parking in the neighborhood. We've experienced an even greater difficulty finding parking than today when 318 was previously a group home. The staff recommendation to the BZA also mischaracterized the nature of the permit parking system, claiming, quote, existing laws allow three on-street parking passes for this dwelling. In fact, each household may obtain two non-transferable permits for residence and a visitor's permit for use for no more than five days on the same vehicle. This leaves only one visitor permit for all the necessary services and visitors. Finally, the staff recommendation asserted, quote, other dwellings in this district have not been required to construct off-street parking required by the zoning code, showing that this off-street parking requirement is routinely waived. This is a profound misreading of code. There is no requirement for off-street parking for grandfathered housing, only for new housing and uses such as this one. Under this proposed ordinance, the city official who made these seriously flawed and misinformed recommendations will be charged with the decision to grant reasonable accommodation. Of course, this guarantees West Virginia's sober living obtains its accommodation. The public has no notice of the request and no right to testify. Furthermore, the ordinance denies the neighbor's right to appeal the decision. In fact, West Virginia's sober living would be granted more rights than current neighborhood residents if this ordinance passes. This is not equal treatment. It's preferential treatment. This ordinance is fundamentally undemocratic. Without public oversight and equal opportunity to appeal, uninformed decisions and unintended consequences of this ordinance will multiply in secrecy. Good democratic governance rests on citizen participation, accountability, transparency, and the rule of law. This ordinance violates all of these principles. Thank you.

Is there anyone else wishing to speak on this item? Seeing none, we will close that public hearing, move on to unfinished business. The only item of unfinished business this evening is boards and commissions. I believe we have a number of appointments.

May I nominate Darren Taylor for the planning commission? Second.

All in favor? Yes.

While I'm at it, may I also nominate Sarah Barnes to the sister cities commission?

second all in favor yes okay um i'd like to nominate michael oliverio for beau park second all in favor yes i'd also like like to uh nominate shelly johnson uh for re-employment to the woodburn commission second thank you all in favor

I'd like to nominate Catherine Fonseca for reappointment to the Civilian Police Review and Advisory Board.

Second.

All in favor? I would also like to nominate Brian Church for reappointment to the Civilian Police Review and Advisory Board.

Second.

And lastly, I would like to nominate Trevor Haddix for appointment to the Urban Landscapes Commission.

Second.

I'd like to nominate a reappointment for Danny Trejo to the Human Rights Commission. Second. I'd also like another reappointment for Anna Robinson Savino to the Building Commission.

Second.

All in favor? Yes.

I'd like to nominate Caleb McClung for reappointment to the Human Rights Commission.

Second. Thank you. All in favor? Okay.

I'd also like to nominate Lucy Allen for reappointment to the Human Rights Commission.

Second.

All in favor? Yes. Okay. I believe that was all on my list. Are there any other appointments to be made? All right. We will move into our public portion, which is subject to rules established by council, adopted by resolution. Generally, you come to the podium, state your name and address, and you have four minutes to speak on whatever you choose, just no personal attacks. We do have a sign-up sheet. You do not have to be signed up to speak, but we will go through the sign-up sheet first. First person on the sign-up sheet is Justin Wojcik. Got it. All right. John Lambertson. Paige Rearing.

Hello. My name is Paige Rearing. I live at 231 Spruce Street. Almost forgot my address for a second. And I'm here for something good this time. I promise, I don't always just complain. But I wanted to say that I am here in support of banning the hostile architecture throughout Morgantown. I was really excited to see this on the agenda and see this reported on by Dominion Post. And so I want to thank you guys for bringing this forward. As someone who lives downtown and who shops and visits our parks here and generally spends the majority of my life down here, I love seeing our... become more accessible to people. I have noticed that the lack of seating has been a major barrier, not only for me, but to enjoy being in the city, but also for my friends as well. I have friends who are disabled and need frequent breaks to avoid hurting themselves when they're traveling, especially with some of the hills that are throughout downtown. When some of the more recent benches were removed, this friend found that he could no longer enjoy downtown the way he had in the past. He suddenly couldn't go to events, had to cancel plans based on his ability to walk that day, and the removal of these benches, especially ones that were accessible to him, was a real hindrance to him being able to get involved in the social life that is really important, especially for people who are living with disabilities. um so this is really going to open up so much more possibilities for people with disabilities pregnant people people with children and just anyone who wants to relax and enjoy the city in the way that i think that we should especially when we've done so much to cultivate the good character of this city This is gonna do so much good to keep people downtown and enhance our living, our shopping, the way that people enjoy this. So many people see cities as things, especially when we're surrounded by these beautiful suburbs, beautiful things to do outside of downtown. So many people see these places as places to just go, do your business, and leave. But we know that the way to get a fully functioning city, a city that thrives, that can grow in the future, is making sure that people don't just come downtown and leave. They come and they want to stay. And they can stay. And they can do that comfortably and accessibly. And I just wanted to say that I'm really excited about this. And I am looking forward to its speedy implementation. And thank you so much.

Thank you. Next on the list is Marianne Folse.

Howdy.

Marianne Foles, 828 Bloody Run Road. I'm here. It's been a while. You haven't seen me in a while. Hurt myself last summer. I couldn't barely walk. Couldn't do steps. Could barely balance to go upstairs. None of that. So I could not disagree with this individual more. She's 100%. has a 100% different perspective than I do as someone who was recently in a position where I couldn't get up, I couldn't get around, and I wanted to share with you a different viewpoint. So what you're considering hostile architecture, which are these benches with... armrests in the middle, are the only way I'd be able to sit and get up six months ago. So I think that you're looking at things from a perspective of a very small segment of the population, but there's a large segment of our population, the over 55 crowd, folks who have skiing accidents, knee replacements, hip replacements, who have a very different experience with having to get up and down from something that doesn't have armrests. So... I, in fact, see your proposal to eliminate these benches as exclusionary, discriminatory, unwelcoming, and, in fact, hostile to those of us in the 55-plus community, as well as those who are handicapped if they're temporarily or permanently. You know, AARP provided the money for a lot of these benches, Who do you think they're trying to help? They're trying to help folks in my demographic. So I wanted to call out the two people who had mentioned something to the Dominion Post. Mr. Butcher, I know that you'd like to see these benches constructed in a way that they're not hostile to people who want to sleep or lay down.

Comments should be directed to council as a whole, please.

Okay. these benches, I see that statement as prohibiting and actually discriminatory to me and my age group. For anyone else who had mentioned something to the Dominion Post, seeing it as negatively impacting people with larger bodies, handicapped people and the elderly, 100% disagree with that too because these armrests are the only way a lot of people can get up. I take care of a 95-year-old lady without being able to push down to get up. She can't get up. So, I am urging you to drop this nonsense, vote down this proposal to eliminate benches with armrests. And if you, because the fact that you even have it on your agenda sends a message to people of my age and in my demographic that you don't want us in your town. You don't want our money. You don't want us coming to your parades, your festivals, your concerts. You don't want us. You want young people who can lay down on a bench, not older people who need help getting up. If you decide that you want to pursue this, then I can certainly take my money to Granville, Westover, Star City. They will be glad to have my money. And so I would like to say that in closing, I have filed a complaint with the West Virginia Human Rights Organization against this city council who is attempting to take away the... public accommodations for folks who are elderly and handicapped, and I presume you'll be hearing from them. Thank you.

Next on the list, Gail Taylor.

Good evening, everyone. The last time I spoke with you, I- Can you state your name and address for the record? I'm so sorry. My name is Gail Taylor. My address is 678 Westview Avenue. I'm here representing myself, although you know that I hold a board seat on the Commission for Cultural Arts representing the city of Morgantown. The last time I was here, I spoke with you about the Warner Theater. And since then, I happen to have engaged in several private gatherings with people who happen to be elected officials. Not all of them are from the state of West Virginia, but most are, and you read their names in the paper. They just don't happen to be in Morgantown. But some of the things we talked about at the meeting were things that we're passionate about, things that we care about. One of the things that I care about is historic preservation. I also care about RENO's and DEMO's and making sure that people who've contributed to Morgantown's sense of humanity, creativity, and fairness are represented. And as a part of that conversation, an elected official whose name does not want to be entered into the record reminded me to remind you that The state of West Virginia has the humanities program that has grants and grant opportunities for people to apply. And no matter what's going on politically, getting the application in is important, especially when certain people have had certain conversations and at the right time at the right place. So the other thing is grants.gov is a website that you may be familiar with. After perusing it myself, I noticed several grant opportunities that might fit with not only historical preservation or reno demo projects that would recognize historical contributions, but also ACTUAL PRESERVATION OF ARCHIVES, ARCHIVAL MATTERS. SO I WOULD URGE THE CITY OF MORGANTOWN TO APPLY FOR GRANTS TO PRESERVE, HONOR, AND RECOGNIZE THE MONUMENTS, BUILDINGS, AND PEOPLE WHO HAVE MADE MORGANTOWN AND MONTGALIA COUNTY GREAT. WARNER THEATER, IT LOOKS LIKE, MIGHT BE ONE OF 11 SUCH THEATERS IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. So whether it stays or whether it goes, there should be some public recognition of that. Also, you've done a fantastic job with East End Roller Mill. And I had the opportunity to go out and take a look. And it's going to be a great service to the city and to the county. I would strongly encourage you to look at other communities' outline Morgantown, including the community of Scotts Run and Osage. Never before has it been more important since we're becoming open to the world. USA Today has recognized Ruby Amphitheater as number three summer arts series in the country. Never before, never It's up to you to recognize the fact that you have living history, rock and roll history, and R&B history right down the road in Osage. Osage is due for an upgrade and due for some attention from Morgantown before it's too late. Meaning the people who have all the great knowledge, all the great history, all the great stuff that you have not even seen yet, take advantage.

There is no one else on the list. Is there anyone else wishing to speak?

My name is Harrison York. I live at 1000 District Drive. I didn't really prepare anything to say for the council today. I just wanted to echo Paige's sentiment and support the ban on hostile architecture. I think it's a great step to making downtown spaces more livable. Vote yes on that. That's all I have to say.

Thank you. Senator Oliverio.

Good evening. I'm Mike Oliverio. I live outside the city limits but still consider myself a city resident after all those years living in the city limits. Proud to be with you tonight. Thank each of you for your public service. I want to take this opportunity tonight to recognize your mayor, members of this council, and your city administration for the parade. on Saturday. I thought it was a great opportunity for people who haven't been downtown Morgantown in a long time to come down and see the city and be involved in a very positive activity. And the event drew a lot of people, like I say, some that I think haven't been downtown in a while. And it was a really positive event. In 1991, following Desert Storm, my parents took on the challenge. having a parade like that and called it Celebration of America. And some of you older people remember that. And it was a great event and went on for several years, ran its course. Some others tried at different times. And the Fourth of July parade ended about eight years ago. So it was great to see it reconstituted and done in such a grand fashion. I also want to take just a minute and recognize Councillor Michael for her work in helping clean our community. Many of you know I've been a constant advocate pushing DOH to do more to make our area more presentable. remind me that their mowing requirements require grass to be mowed twice a year and I asked them to do it twice a month and so we go back and forth on that and so councillor Michaels efforts and with volunteers have done a lot to improve the image of our city and I like to remind folks that Morgantown doesn't compete against Fairmont and Clarksburg Morgantown competes against Blacksburg Pittsburgh and Cincinnati and College Park, we compete for college students, we compete for faculty and staff, and oftentimes we compete for physicians. And when those folks come off the interstate, that first impression of Morgantown, albeit Star City there initially, but that first impression that they see coming in the different ways to Morgantown is so important. And so, Councilor Michael, we appreciate you out there. probably fell down and hurt your elbow there recently. But just thank you all for your effort. I appreciate your public service and look forward to continuing to work with all of you. Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Anyone else wishing to speak? Seeing none, we will move on in the agenda. We have no special committee reports. We have a number of items on the consent agenda. I'll read through each item on the consent agenda. If there's any council person wishing to pull anything off of the consent agenda, they may do so at that time. Otherwise, we will have a motion to approve and we will vote on these items together. Item A, consideration of approval of second reading of an ordinance repealing Article 160, Housing Advisory Committee. First reading, June 16th, 2026. Item B, consideration of approval of a second reading of an ordinance establishing a reasonable accommodations process. First reading, June 16th, 2026. Item C, consideration of approval of a resolution authorizing the city manager to execute the Chestnut Street Streetscape Agreement. Is there anyone wishing to pull any item on the agenda? Otherwise we would entertain a motion to approve.

I'd like to, I'd like to pull the, uh, item B, um, an ordinance establishing reasonable accommodation process off the consent agenda.

I agree with that.

Okay. Any other items? So is there a motion to approve the consent agenda with items A and C?

Second.

Thank you. Clerk Wade.

Yes. Joe Buchanan.

Yes.

Jody Hollingshead. Yes. Wheezy Michael.

Yes.

Jenny Saleen.

Yes.

Deputy mayor Downs.

Yes.

Brian Butcher.

Yes.

Mayor Trumbull?

Yes. Sorry, that one threw me off guard there for a second. We will move item B to the beginning of new business. Then we will take up for consideration approval of a second reading of an ordinance establishing a reasonable accommodations process.

Mayor, if you'd like, I can give a brief recap from the prior introduction, and then I'm happy to answer any questions the council may have. This ordinance establishes for the city and its boards and commissions a unified process to handle requests for reasonable accommodations from the city's laws, rules, and regulations, and its operations of public programs. The city is required to consider these requests and act on them under the Federal Fair Housing Act as well as the Americans with Disabilities Act Title II, which is the provision of the act that applies to public programs and places. The process established is briefly that applicants can make these requests to the city clerk who has already designated the accessibility coordinator for the city. The city clerk will route those requests to the appropriate department or agency within the city based on the content of the request. I think the description in the council agenda item summary was that a request for accommodations summer camp might go to Bopark and a request for the provision of an accessible parking space on the street would go to the engineering There are time frames established within the ordinance such that those requests are processed timely within 30 days the appropriate staff member or Commission representative will make that decision and And the applicant has both an opportunity to present their case for that decision maker as well as an opportunity to appeal to the city manager. And at both levels, an opportunity to engage in the interactive process to determine what might be reasonable to address the disability that they are dealing with and with the capabilities that the city has. The city does have already accessibility policies in place but does not have currently a comprehensive process to address requests for reasonable accommodations under these acts. This will provide a unified clear process for those people in the community who have disabilities and want to make a request so they can either access housing on equal terms or can participate in public programs on the same footing as others.

Questions for the city attorney?

So Ryan, I mean, this is not a judicial process, correct?

This is not a judicial process through the courts. This is the decision on the request is described in the ordinance as a quasi-judicial process because it is making a decision on an application. And quasi-judicial processes are not meetings within the terms of the West Virginia Open Governmental Proceedings Act. So those are not like your council meetings where you discuss legislation that you might pass. They are decisions involving particular applications and people that are not, by definition, a meeting and subject to the same procedures.

OK. Thanks. And concerns. Can you speak to concerns about transparency?

I can certainly give the background from what I've looked at and from the legal perspective. various cities conduct these processes in various ways i looked at several samples and passed some of those along to council in in assisting with putting this ordinance together so there are of course many models available some places with respect to requests for accommodation under the fair housing act do provide for notice to adjoining property owners some do not some places establish appeals through a separately appointed board and some do not Many communities like Morgantown before this ordinance do not have a defined unified process and handle these requests on sort of an ad hoc basis depending on when and how they come in. City Council has and city administration has under this ordinance the option to allow for public notice and participation in these proceedings to an extent. These do involve people with disabilities and can often involve medical information. So we have confidentiality provisions in the ordinance and we have an obligation to keep those issues that are confidential confidential and not disclose those to third parties.

That's my concern. People experiencing a disability may not wish to make that public all the time.

Yes. And the ordinance provides a process for submitted materials to be designated as confidential and then for those to be handled in a way that is private.

Thank you.

Any other questions for the city attorney?

Speaking of the concern of due process, the appeals process cares for the concern of due process.

The government is required to provide due process of law before any person is deprived of a life, liberty, or property interest protected by the Constitution. That process takes a whole lot of forms and those property interests are defined in various ways. With respect to use of your property or a request for reasonable accommodation, generally the people who are understood to have a property interest are the people seeking to use the property. So somebody who wants to be able to use their property for housing and is asking for reasonable accommodation in order to do that, or a person who wants to participate in a public program and is making a request for accommodation so that they can participate. I am not familiar with people who are not the person making the request for accommodation asserting that they have a due process interest in that request for accommodation itself. That doesn't mean people haven't made that claim, but it's not something I've come across. If council would like, I can certainly investigate that.

Seems like part of the reason this is structured that way is that the city is working hard to meet our obligations under the law regarding persons with disabilities. And so in that light, in that focus, that's why it's structured this way versus other ways that you could structure it or that has been structured, that we're really focusing on meeting our obligations to those, because I think in the past with different requests for accommodations or people that were concerned with structural accommodations, different places and things like that. I've had people out walking up and down the street pointing out places where things were not correct. And I think this is part of our focus on that. If that is a way to look at this.

Yes, the city has an independent obligation under these federal laws to consider and decide on these requests for accommodation, separate from any enforcement of its existing land use or other laws.

Thank you. And there's a lot of different, despite the fact that public hearing comments were focused on one perceived case, there's a lot of different opportunities for this to come into play. It is certainly not just a parking request for accommodation. And it's my understanding the Board of Zoning Appeals is charged with interpreting and making rulings on our zoning law, they are not tasked with understanding or interpreting federal law, right? And the reasonable accommodations process is a federal regulation?

The reasonable accommodation requirement is based on federal law, the Federal Fair Housing Act and the Federal Americans with Disabilities Act. The Board of Zoning Appeals is charged with hearing appeals from any decision interpreting the zoning regulations under Chapter 8A, Article 8. Boards of Zoning Appeals are sometimes used to hear reasonable accommodation requests relating to the Fair Housing Act because they involve requests for accommodation from the existing land use laws, but there's no mandate for that. And you're right that the standards involved in interpreting the local zoning regulations versus determining what might be reasonable for the city to do based on a given individual's disability and their request for accommodation are different standards and also involve evaluating some capacities of the city that may not be available to appointed boards or commissions.

Other questions for Attorney Simonton? Is there a motion? Move to approve.

Second.

Thank you. Further discussion?

This is just taking the pressure off. citizens to make a decision on federal law.

To me, this process ensures that we don't run afoul of violating federal law, which we feel we've been in danger of.

And to not put the onus on volunteers. Correct.

And there's certainly no guarantee that every request for accommodation would be granted. That's why they're reasonable accommodations.

Clerk Quaid. Yes. Joe Buganan.

Yes.

Jody Hollingshead. Yes. We see Michael.

Yes.

Jenny Selene. Yes. Deputy mayor downs.

Yes.

Brian butcher.

Yes.

Mayor Trimble.

Yes. Passes 7-0. Next item of new business, consideration of approval of first reading of an ordinance of the City of Morgantown amending zone of unclassification of one parcel of real estate on Elmer Prince Drive, address 990 Elmer Prince Drive.

Thank you, Mayor. We have Director Yeager here tonight to present on this item.

Good evening. Good evening, Mayor, members of the council.

Hope you all have a nice holiday weekend. So the subject site pertaining to this ordinance is currently zoned as an office and institutional district. The applicant is seeking to rezone the site so that it is consistent with recent changes to the city zoning map. associated with WVU Medicine's new Eye Institute and parking garage facility. After review, the Planning Commission found the proposed amendment to be consistent with the city's land management plan and made a motion to Morgantown City Council recommending approval of the zone change. The vote was unanimous. Please note that in your meeting packet, the case summary report that was initially provided was incorrect. The correct one is now on the dias in front of you. It's pretty straightforward in terms of what is asked of the applicant and what is provided. But that is before you now. And if you have any questions, please let me know.

Questions for Director Yeager? Thank you. Is there a motion?

Move to approve.

Second. Thank you.

Further discussion?

Clerk wait. Yes. Joe Buchanan?

Yes.

Jody Hollingshead?

Yes.

Wheezy Michael?

Yes.

Jenny Saline? Yes. Deputy Mayor Downs?

Yes.

Brian Butcher?

Yes.

Mayor Trumbull?

Yes. Passes 7-0. Next item, Consideration to Receive and File Planning Commission Recommendation to Deny a Petition to Reclassify 100 Fennell Street, City Tax District 13 in the Fifth Ward, Tax Map 25, Parcel 506 from R1A Single Family Residential District to R2 Single and Two Family Residential District, case number MAP26-029.

Yes, Mayor, Director Yeager again before you tonight. Still here.

So this site is located in R1A, single family residential district. The applicant is seeking to rezone the property to an R2 single and two family district so that the existing principal structure on the property can be utilized as a two family dwelling. The potential use of the property came to City staff attention when the owner tried to register the property as two rentals. Upon review, it was noted that the two-family dwelling was not permitted in the R1A district. In making the applicant aware of the situation and discussing potential options, the applicant submitted a request to rezone the property to enable the desired use. After review, the Planning Commission made a motion to recommend that Morgantown City Council deny the petitioner's request with the finding that it was not consistent with the comprehensive plan. As such, staff was also asked to work with the applicant in the future on a potential accessory dwelling unit once that legislation's put in effect at the city. That'll conclude staff's report.

Questions for Director Yeager?

Why hasn't the accessory dwelling unit legislation been enacted? For the cities, I... From the city perspective, yeah. That's something I think the city administration was...

I believe, and I'll defer to the city attorney, but I believe the city has until the end of this year to do that, and I believe the administration has been working through specifically that.

Yes, Deputy Mayor. I am working on a draft ordinance for Council that incorporates the state law requirements of the recently passed legislation and also offers some options for Council to regulate ADUs consistent with the ordinance that Council had actually brought before and passed. The legislation It became effective in June but has a sort of effective date beginning in January after which any zoning regulation that would prohibit an ADU permitted by that state legislation would be void. So the city will need to update its zoning code prior to January 1st to address those ADUs and has, although more limited, some options with respect to how and where council would like to allow the ADUs to operate. I should have a draft document out to council within the week with some options for you to consider, and then we'll be happy to do any follow-up on options and discuss how either council or the planning commissioner both will move that through the legislative process.

Thank you.

Other questions for Director Yeager?

I mean, when I looked at this particular case, I was a little confused about it because I felt like we had addressed several similar cases as this over the course of the last year. So I spent a lot of time with it and, in fact, met with the mayor earlier today to talk about her experience from the planning commission. And so, you know, I generally understand it. I think a couple things. I think they should ‑‑ so one of the differences with ‑‑ uh... for instance height street was a a property that we dealt with recently and they were uh... directed to conditional use right so i'd suggest that that be something we look at here uh... i'd also suggest that with respect to them being out of compliance with their letter of compliance uh... that uh... that we consider seriously some sort of amnesty period for folks to get back into compliance. I think it doesn't serve anyone in the community any good for us to have properties that are just dead or can't be used as they were once used at home. sometime or another because I know there are a lot of cases COVID had a huge impact The transition, our transition to the City Works system had some impact. There are lots of reasons that properties have fallen out of compliance and I think it serves us well, it serves the property owners, it serves the community, it serves the city well to bring those properties back out of compliance so that they can, you know, thrive in whatever capacity they're intended to or can best be used by.

Was there a question?

No. Okay. He's got an answer. But I'd like to hear your perspective on that.

No, absolutely. Thank you, Deputy Mayor. I appreciate that. Yes. And that's something actually city administration has discussed for all the reasons that you mentioned because of COVID and because of some other matters. of coming up with maybe a program to make that happen to a certain extent. But I do want to compliment city staff. They did do a lot of research, and we don't take making these decisions lightly or interpretation. So trying to work with the property owner, and obviously they didn't have the records to be able to put forward to say this was a legally pre-established nonconforming use. And so our team took that kind of on. And because there was still a gray area, that's kind of why they decided or the applicant decided to go through that process that they went through. with the Planning Commission and now that's here before City Council. So yes, happy to work on that. Totally agree. We do not want properties, underutilized properties sitting, being derelict and not being able to be reutilized. So totally agree with that. I knew you did.

Is there a motion one way or the other before further discussion?

Move to approve and then we can discuss again.

second thank you further discussion um i've worked very hard with attorney simonton and counselor downs on the non-conforming use ordinance that we have um considered in the past to kind of extend some grandfathering with discretion of non-conforming uses i think it's important to note this one is not like, it's been 18 months, it's been 19 years since they had a letter of compliance for this property at all. There's not currently anyone living there. Well, not in the smaller unit. And the Planning Commission did recommend that they look into listing it as an ADU. It's a much smaller unit. unit than the main living space. And as I said, during planning commission, this is, this is not a problematic property in our neighborhood currently with rezoning within an R one, a district, you have to consider any future land use that can happen in that zone. So while I'm in favor of increasing density, I am not in favor of increasing density piece by piece by rezoning parcel by parcel. I'm all for changing what's allowed when we do our zoning reform. And it's my understanding that that is being put out to bid for a consultant.

Now soon we are drafting the RFP. We are tentatively targeting the end of the month to release the RFP.

I don't want to see us doing a piece here and a piece there. That was the whole point of coming up with the nonconforming use, but this wouldn't even really apply to that property in my mind.

Any further discussion? So this was unanimous in the plan commission?

It was six to one.

Clerk Wake? Yes.

Joe Buchanan?

Yes.

Jody Hollingshead? Yes. Weezy Michael?

Yes.

Jenny Saline?

Yes.

Deputy Mayor Downs?

Yes.

Brian Butcher?

Yes.

Mayor Trumbull?

Yes. Passes 7-0. Next item, consideration of approval of first reading of an ordinance authorizing institution of eminent domain proceedings is needed for acquisition of property in the Greenmont neighborhood.

Thank you, Mayor. This ordinance would authorize the city manager, if needed, to institute eminent domain proceedings to acquire one remaining parcel of real estate in the area of Lower Greenmont that the city has planned for a new open space as a part of its CDBG program. City Council previously authorized eminent domain proceedings for two other properties that were identified in the CDBG program itself for acquisition. One was voluntarily acquired and the other is proceeding through eminent domain just due to title issues, not due to unwillingness to work with the available owner. The property involved here has been previously under contract for purchase with the Land Reuse Agency. The sale was not able to go through also due to title issues. The landowner remains willing and engaged to work, but the property has also since been passed into an estate due to the death of a former owner. And the timeline under which the city needs to acquire this property so that other aspects of the CDBGA action plan can go forward may be limited. So this ordinance authorizes the acquisition of the property, ideally through continued negotiation and a voluntary closing, but if needed, based on program timelines through eminent domain proceedings that allow the city to acquire public property. If council has any questions, I'd be happy to address those.

Questions for attorney Simonton? Is there a motion?

Move to approve. Second.

Thank you. Further discussion?

Seeing none.

Joe Bouganam?

Yes.

Jody Hollingshead?

Yes.

Lucy Michael? Yes. Jenny Saline? Yes. Deputy Mayor Downs. Yes. Brian Butcher. Yes. Mayor Trumbull.

Yes. House is 7-0. Next item, workshop schedule revision.

Yes, Mayor. Thank you. This item is just an item for update for you all to bring forward items that we discussed last meeting as well. We want to continue to put out our workshop schedule as in advance as possible so that we can continue encourage the most amount of engagement from the members of the community. So what you have before you tonight is an update to the previously proposed workshop schedule that does two things. So on the Tuesday, August 25th meeting, which will actually be your second regular meeting of the month due to travel requirements for the conference, The third portion of it or the follow-up portion related to enhanced connectivity would be from 6.30 to 7 directly in front of your regular meeting. So there's a little change in schedule there. We previously had that to start at 6 o'clock, but we were moving that to 6.30. And then as we look to September 26, 2026, rather than introducing another new topic as we are finalizing the social services coordination as far as the public input session, that would occur at 6 p.m., but as in when we go to the 7 o'clock workshop, we would engage in a prioritization discussion. or exercise on those topics that we've already discussed. So that is the proposed changes before you.

Questions on the proposed changes?

Move to approve.

Thank you.

Second.

Discussion? Clerk Wayne.

Yes. Joe Bugon?

Yes.

Jody Hollingshead?

Yes.

Weezy Michael? Yes. Jenny Saline?

Yes.

Deputy Mayor Downs?

Yes.

Brian Butcher? Yes. Mayor Trumbull?

Yes. Passes 7-0. Next item, consideration of approval of a resolution prohibiting hostile architecture and its public infrastructure.

Yes, thank you, Mayor. In request from the council at the 630 workshop, this item has been added and considers the elimination of new installation of hostile architecture and it encourages additional amenities. Councillor Butcher, I'm not sure if you would like to brief or speak on this one. I know that we're involved in that development.

I mean, the reason for a resolution like this is for our public infrastructure to be more accommodating to everybody. That includes older people and people with disabilities. Often, if we're just talking about the center bars and the benches, often those can be difficult for people with wheelchairs to get into. They need adequate space in order for them to get into. In fact, ADA design standards often discourage center bars inside of benches, especially at the length in which the benches are in. The ADA also in terms of allowing for accessibility for elderly people has specific design standards that we do follow at this time for the most part, but we do have features inside of design that we currently have in this city that are pretty much exclusively meant to deter people from lying down on those benches. And again, it has knock-on effects for people with disabilities, people in wheelchairs. And the nature of the resolution is not something that specifically calls out center bars and benches. If you read the resolution, it specifically calls out things like anti-city spikes. You'll see those oftentimes on concrete surfaces in different places and cities. Those are also very bad for walkers, canes. People who are blind have trouble navigating those. Extra protrusions, rollers, are similar to turn hardware that services intended for human contact. So all of those can be really detrimental to people with low vision and vision problems and people with low mobility problems, not just people who are trying to use our public infrastructure in any manner of other ways. Sometimes the hostile infrastructure will also, and this calls out this as well, they'll be slanted more so that they're more uncomfortable for you to put your back onto. So that would be also called out in this resolution as well. And again, is another impediment often to people with mobility issues, not just people who might want to lay down on the bench. We also call out specifically in the resolution that if there is no, that we should seek alternatives that are less restrictive whenever possible in terms of being a hostile architecture and that we should have some kind of understanding of why that less restrictive option wasn't taken if we are to construct something that would be construed as hostile in some case. I think that covers it for the most part. Most people have questions specifically for me that I probably can't answer.

Any questions for Councilor Butcher or the City Manager?

I have a question. So a bench, not even looking at center armrests, but a bench that has armrests at the end of a bench, where does that stack up in this?

I don't think those are called out specifically on either one. I would say that a lot of ADA compliance discourages actually armrests on both ends of the bench, but this doesn't contemplate that necessarily.

I don't see. I have to agree, especially You know, being over 55, having an elderly parent that used to need assistance getting up, I don't agree with it. I think that we are somewhat excluding seniors. We are excluding possibly people with disabilities that aren't in a wheelchair, that you have other mobility issues. You know, I mean, we're getting, some of us are getting older. We need assistance getting up. And also, I mean, We're going to be able to get a grant now from the AARP? I mean, they provided us with quite a lot of funding.

I don't think the ones with the center arm benches are the ones.

Are you talking you want to do this citywide? I'm confused. Sorry, I'm sorry. Are you wanting to do this citywide? Are you wanting to remove every bench and replace them?

No, that's not what was in the ordinance.

Or it's not in the ordinance, sorry. It's in the resolution.

And it does specifically say... other physical features, deterrent features that function to cause discomfort or restrict use beyond what is reasonably necessary for safety, security, maintenance, or accessibility compliance. So it contemplates accessibility pretty, I think, thoroughly.

I don't see it. I mean, I feel like people need assistance. And I personally like them. I always sit on the edge, especially over at Woodburn. I love sitting there when the sun's coming up or down.

But I just ‑‑ How much of this do we already have?

Part of this resolution is an inventory of that.

Yes. So we have ‑‑ My computer pulls it up. I believe that we have 15 to 20 current benches. We've engaged the Mountain Line, Bow Park, as well as the city to do an assessment of how many benches that they currently have with the idea initially the discussion of are we seeking to do an initial replacement or just replace upon replacement. As we age out of the equipment. So the mountain lion indicates they have about 18 to 20. The city has approximately 15. And then Beaupark has three.

But how many have anything that would be considered hostile?

That would be the assessment of how many benches wouldn't be.

You mean that's the number that are hostile?

That have a divider.

Three.

For Beaupark.

15, 15 for the city, 15 for the city. So just for clarification, before we get into a motion, because I feel like we're borderline discussing the ordinance does matter. The resolution, I'm sorry, as presented does not require removal and replacement of current benches, right? That's, but it does say that future things should meet this new standard. That is correct. And we're not talking about arms on the ends of benches. Does this city attorney Simonton in your legal opinion, does this contemplate benches with arms on the ends or simply ones that have the middle divider?

I don't believe it would prohibit benches with arms on the ends. Structurally, what the resolution does is it directs the city to evaluate its own infrastructure and identify anything that would be hostile within the definitions of the resolution. And the specific examples given with respect to benches are structures with slanted or segmented surfaces intended to prevent sitting. So something that is segmented seems likely to be included in that inventory, and something that is not segmented and just has armrests on the end seems that it would not be included. but that is an administrative function for the city and then something to use in future capital planning under the resolution.

Okay. I know Bopark has some benches with armrests on the ends, and there are some places, certainly within the Bopark system, that has no armrests. Also, the amphitheater, for example, the benches down at Hazel Ruby McLean have no armrests whatsoever. So I think it's That seems to be more of a design feature based on location. I'm fine moving forward with this if it doesn't make us replace everything immediately because budgetarily that will be incredibly difficult, especially with entities like the mountain line and things that we don't actually control. And as long as we're still allowing benches with armrests on the ends and that is not prohibited. Are there any other questions?

Does ARP have any design guidance?

We would have to research that.

Okay. Yeah, could you? And also, if somebody's filing a complaint with the Attorney General in the Human Rights, does that make us pause? Or, Ryan, is that?

Counselor, I, I do not have any information ahead of this evening's meeting that a complaint has been filed against the city with the, the State Human Rights Commission or any other agency. I'm certainly happy to investigate that and advise council on any issues with respect to that, but as we sit here tonight, I don't have any knowledge of it. Okay.

If I may, I will say, because we brought up the concept of design, I think that is another thing that was discussed at the prior meeting when this came up, is when we are looking to do any replacement, I think one of the other things that we will encourage us to consider is that placemaking for the right type of bench in the right location, which is something that we should and could be doing all along. But what benches are we able to design them in a way not only that may be accessible, but may provide a cool feature that does some placemaking within our community as well?

I would try to figure out if there's a question or not a question. Do we have an inventory now of the features that might be considered under this with our partners and ourselves? So you're saying with Beaupark we do have an inventory of how many have the centerpiece? Correct.

Yes. So we've done a preliminary inventory. You know, we are focused certainly just on public spaces at this time. We're not looking at any type of private. So, for example, Public Works, you know, we don't have any top of mind where there's city-owned spike surfaces or anything of that nature that we would immediately have. But we do need to do a more comprehensive but our primary assessment of it. has been related to benches.

I guess now we are to a motion and then I have some questions that are more comments than questions.

Move to approve. Second.

Discussion. There we go. I am in favor of ceding. of all types in all spaces because it helps people in the downtown to have somewhere to sit while they're waiting for someone else or if they have trouble getting to the next spot or if they want to eat their lunch my daughter used to work downtown and she would say mom where am I supposed to sit to eat my lunch and then we had the ARP benches added in and then a lot of them got or some of them got removed. I am unequivocally in favor of benches. I wish that it wasn't in the format of hostile architecture that we were talking about benches. I wish we were doing our inventory, having our model benches of what we wanted in the positive versus framing it in this way. I would like to see this wait until we had something in the positive that we could promote as Morgantown wanting to develop ways to get more benches, have people consider donation, have a model versus calling a bench potentially hostile that might be useful to some and not useful to others. So I don't mind if the, I would love it if the designs were usable by as many people as possible, but I would like to see us kind of rather than have something that might look at the armrests on the ends and hassling that out later. I'd like to know what we have and develop something around it that was in favor of benches versus this framing of it as being hostile. That's just one person's opinion.

I agree. It's the framing of this entire process and how this was brought to us. I mean, I actually, I absolutely, actually agree with what you just said. We could have brought this in a different manner that could have benefited, been more beneficial to the community and everybody. But instead, we're, you know, it's now become a little bit controversial, I guess, if you read online. Not that I really want to read online, but I'm just saying, I just, I have to agree with that statement.

I think we all want to see more benches everywhere.

Pardon? Everyone wants to see. We all. I don't want to say everyone. We all want to see more benches throughout the city, certainly.

But the title of this does not look like that. It looks like we're prohibiting those hostile ones.

Yeah, that's exactly right.

Because I don't think we have. I mean, I'm wrong about benches, clearly. I didn't think we had very many benches that were framed that way. I don't remember seeing spikes anywhere. I don't think we're a community that has thrived on being hostile about people sitting.

So wouldn't it be good not to be in the future?

Would it what?

Wouldn't it be good not to be in the future? That's the whole point, right? Is that as we're talking about when we're building benches and we're building other public features, this isn't just benches, I know that's all we've talked about, but when we're talking about all kinds of public features, right? Anywhere that we're putting in any kind of new public spaces is that we want to make sure that we're as welcoming and as accommodating to everybody as possible.

This is not welcoming language. It's hostile language.

Because it says hostile architecture doesn't mean that it's not welcoming. That is how you are welcoming is by making sure that we don't have the opportunity to construct things that disallow people to use our public spaces. That's what it's about.

I don't think we've ever done that. I know. Well, we have.

We just went over an inventory of things that we have done that have created that situation.

I would also include the removal of benches in that.

Yeah, sure.

When have we never been welcoming, Brian?

We just went over an inventory of spaces that are hostile.

But you make it seem like we're not welcoming because we don't have a bench or something. We have a great downtown, great businesses.

I think we can all agree that we don't have enough benches, right?

During public comment, there was a statement that benches were removed recently. When were benches removed most recently? I made a note about that. I can't think of any.

I can't think of any benches.

Might have been some years ago when the AARP benches, some of them were irritating people. We just have had cycles.

I'm familiar where we took a bunch of benches out of downtown.

We were excited about, well, I don't think it was a decade ago. It was before my time. There have been cycles of... So in 20 years there have been cycles of benches coming in and then people getting upset because they were used or they didn't like where they were, whatever, and then they would go away. And then people would say, but we really wanted benches. And then we'd haul out some more benches or apply to the ARP. Too many people are sitting on these benches. Well, kind of. And then those partially got removed and some, I assume, still remain. But it comes in cycles. And I was hoping that we were talking about having a cycle of getting benches. And frankly, I don't care whether they have a thing in the middle or they don't have a thing. If we have an inventory of benches, I would like to see them come out and get used. I just would like to see benches. So it seems like in this kind of framing that we're not, it just doesn't sound encouraging. It sounds like we're, in general, if we were not talking about benches and centerpieces and benches, I have not seen, and maybe I'm wrong, spikes anywhere or anything that meant that people couldn't sit down. Have we had that? So I just don't want.

So we don't want those, right? We don't want spikes in the ground. We don't want rollers. We don't want.

But nobody's doing that. Nobody's doing it.

Would we like them to not in the future? Yes or no?

Could that be part of a greater something that was talking, that had hostile architecture in it as part of framing it.

If you'd like to write an ordinance that is like a prescriptive design document for our cities to use for our benches and public spaces, I'd love to see it. We can go over it, we can kind of talk about it. What this is meant to do is make sure that there are, that those things that you're saying we don't do, that we don't.

And I agree. But I don't think that's the main event. I think the main event is encouraging there to be street furniture and architecture, not hostile in nature, but that type of thing. I'd like to see some games. I'd like to see some two chairs and a board that could accommodate checkers or chess. I'd like to see some other thing built into the ground that you could then use for some type of game, and I don't care exactly which game or which location but I would like to as policy makers encourage the use of these things versus just the little part about not making spikes because I just don't think we're inclined to make spikes we never have and I doubt we ever will and it's fine to do that but it should be in my mind it should be part of instead of something that comes in and goes out, it should have an actual inventory and have some structure to it that encourages the thing that we want.

So first of all, I don't find these things to be mutually exclusive. They're not. I think that this resolution can move forward and we can look at more seating. I also want to shout out the second to last whereas clause in addition to making existing and future public infrastructure more accessible city council believes that providing additional public spaces for resting sitting using public infrastructure by seeking to increase the number of publicly available benches We spoke about that last meeting. We included it in the resolution. I feel like these go hand in hand. I also agree, I wanted to mention what city manager spoke about, the placemaking and consideration of the types of seating, the types of furniture, the types of infrastructure that go where. I would love to see us be more thoughtful about that. I think this is a jumping off point for that and makes it so that as we're having the conversations about placemaking, furniture, what types of infrastructure makes sense at which parks on which streets, when we put new things in, it won't exclude anyone.

I don't think it was a secret that I didn't think this was an emergency type thing that an agenda needed to be amended, but I think we're proving everyone's point that this is becoming like a whole bigger thing than it needs to be. I think it could have easily hit, hit an agenda and move forward. And I was happy with your amendment that, um, city attorney Simonton sent out right after our meeting last week that, um, included the language that Jody was just referring to. I think we're beating a dead horse here.

I mean, I agree. I just think this was rushed without, you know, it was put on the agenda like it was an emergency. And to be honest with you, I think there's so much more people, you know, what the public would like to see us do. Transportation, fix our roads, things like that.

I agree, and we have a huge economic development issue on our agenda later this evening, so I would prefer if we called the question on this one and moved.

Well, you have called the question.

Okay.

I think we need to look at this where it says...

The question's been called.

The question's been called. It's not supposed to be... When a question is called, it's not supposed to be meant to limit or prohibit discussion, although it's used that way. This says we're feasible, the city will identify opportunities for removal, modification or replacement, pictures that do not meet the standard, the section six exemption standard where immediate removal would cause safety hazards. There's definitely some talk about removal. I'm concerned.

So, cloud of question. Quick wait.

Yes. Joe Bugannam. Yes. Jody Hollingshead.

Yes.

Weezy Michael.

No.

Jenny Saleen. No. Deputy Mayor Downs.

Yes.

Brian Butcher.

Yes.

Mayor Trumbull.

Yes. Passes. Five to two.

Hold on, I'm gonna get back to the beginning of that.

Oh, report from city clerk.

15, report from city clerk. They are out of order. I don't know how we did that. Sorry.

City manager.

That's okay.

Okay. Congratulations, Mayor and Deputy Mayor. I wanted to share that tomorrow the Police Civil Service Commission will be presenting some anniversary milestone letters to our police officers, one for 15 years and one for 10 years. So congratulations to those two police officers. Also, tomorrow we will be performing the oath of office for two new police officers, Alvarez, Arnett, and Klink. So congratulations to those three new police officers. Our next entry-level police officer exam will be July 25. That's a Saturday at 9 AM. So folks who might be interested in taking that exam, please check out our website at the Morgantown Police Department section or reach out to the city clerk and we will take care of getting their information to them. As of right now, we have about 20 applicants. Monday, July 13th, the Fire and Civil Service Commission will be meeting to set dates for promotional exams for the rank of Lieutenant. Lastly, I've been talking a little bit about the municipal government week that's going to be happening in October. So we've already been doing some work on planning that. And we have reached out to our last elementary school in the city limits to have a touch of truck. So we're just waiting on a response. But I'm definitely interested in any of the ideas that you may have for municipal government week. engage our community and celebrate city government. And that concludes my report.

Thank you. Pardon, do we have two, two in the city limits?

We have North. We have She means the last one that we Oh, the last one. This is our fourth time.

We have four. Thank you. I did that mental I was like, oh, the last one to host the touch of truck.

I now understand.

Thank you. City Manager's report. Yes, thank you, Mayor. Just two brief items really echoing some things that have already been said tonight. First is congratulations, Mayor, Deputy Mayor. I look forward to the next year. And the other item that I wanted to echo that Senator Olveria had mentioned is recognition for the great community events that took place this last weekend. I think that it's a great celebration. I certainly want to thank staff that put a lot of effort into it as well as community partners and elected officials that really made that happen. the reason i think it's important to call out because i think those are the ways that we build that community pride and that engagement and people coming together so always great to be able to be a part of that i think that concludes my report report from the city attorney

Thank you, Mayor. The Municipal League Annual Meeting is coming up in August in Charleston. I know you all know that the City Council meetings have been moved to accommodate it. We'll also have our regular Municipal Attorneys Association meeting in conjunction with that conference. I'll be participating on a panel with city attorneys from Charleston, Huntington, and Wheeling, along with a staff member from each municipality. Our city clerk will participate in that panel as well. Looking forward to the opportunity to do some FAQ with attendees. Our association, Municipal Attorneys Association Conference is also shortened so that some of our membership can attend more of the general sessions. I think that will be hopefully good for both organizations. Also, the Municipal League General Council circulated to some of our group proposed rulemaking that recently came out from the state. I can circulate that to members of council for any items of interest involved. And that is all I have to report.

Thank you. A report from council members. Councillor Lugano.

Sorry. I don't really have much to report. I hope everybody had a great Fourth of July. I spent mine not feeling the best, so I hope you all enjoyed it. The fireworks, though, were wonderful that I could see from Jack Roberts Park. So well done to everybody involved, and I will end my report there.

I... First, I want to say thank you to Annie Cronin York. I've really enjoyed her reports that she's been giving us over the past couple years of the LGBTQ and the reports. And I think she was very dedicated. And I just want to thank her for her service to the Human Rights Commission. It's a hard job to gather all this data and do what she did. So I'm grateful. Thank you, Annie. You're not here. But thank you. Also, the 4th of July was great. Congratulations, Danielle and Mark and the organizers of the parade. It was great. I went to the Eastern Roller Mill. Uh, Vincent, congratulations to Vincent. Uh, he did a wonderful job and it's so nice to see history brought back. Uh, that was, I believe originally 1870, it was built. So to see something so awesome and old and historical brought back to life is great. Um, so Vincent, congratulations. Great job. Um, and. Uh, the other thing, uh, Don Knotts Boulevard, uh, thank you, uh, uh, Mark and Jenny's husband, Ricky for assisting me. Um, it's really important, uh, that we do these. I know that it doesn't seem like it's making a difference and it may not be, but it's the little things. And we, we did Don Knotts Boulevard and, um, It didn't take us a lot of time. And this is what I keep trying to hammer to people. It doesn't take a lot of time to volunteer. You can make a huge difference in one hour, in one or two hours, and get quite a bit accomplished. So I think that pretty much wraps it up. I didn't get to see the fireworks. I fell asleep. Anyway, that's all we have.

Well, they were great. My girls very much enjoyed them. I don't have much to report. I just want to comment and sort of bring together noticing the cleanup efforts and the Fourth of July festivities and just noticing and calling out the ways in which the community, our staff. and our elected officials do come together to create community, to create a place that is warm and welcoming. Morgantown does a pretty good job of that and I feel lucky to live here and to have served on city council for a year now. I just wanted to highlight, there's a lot of negativity sometimes and I just wanted to highlight the community building that I do see happening in different places but that also sort of converge together at times. That's all.

Thank you. Congratulations to the mayor and the deputy mayor. Here I am right between you. Perfect. I appreciate all the work that you personally put into the parade and that all of the other people who helped and attended and our public safety officers and people who really stepped up to make it work. It's quite a trick to pull it out again. Hard to start something that hasn't been going on for a while. Appreciate all the work that went into the Citizens Academy and the articulate people who were speaking for their groups. It was really something. The thought that they put into their comments was very nice. I think I went to the roller mill three times last week. So I went on Thursday when staff went, I went on Saturday as part of the fourth, and then my family drove by on Sunday and we took a tour with the young man who had done lots of the research for the posters that had been put up. And I just, if you haven't been to the roller mill, totally, worth going find out a time that it's open which I don't know the hours offhand but we just stopped by so that they could see the exterior of it and it happened to be open on a Sunday and and we went in and had a tour of all three floors and there are implements that have been brought in from the museum but many many of the implements that are there and I'll tell you which are which are items that were actually in the roller mill and functional for the roller mill. And some, I think at least one was something historic. There's like a clock face from the front of the county building that's there that was part of what came with the roller mill. But it is wonderful to honor a history to see. And on Saturday, I happened by right when they had they can turn it on for short periods of time so it's neat to have something that actually functions and there are some mechanical wizards that know how to make it work and uh... it just is really a great asset for the community and very alive and interesting. And the group I went in with was myself, Grandma, my husband, my son, and my grandson. So it was three generations all asking questions and curious. So that's a really neat something that we have done and we should be very proud of. So shout out to Vincent Kitch and his staff. for like so many things, fireworks, concerts, the roller mill that had a lot going on last week. And then I just wanted to think about how we can rededicate ourselves in appreciation of our policy making role to improve the lives of those who live and work here as well as being supportive of our employees and their role as day-to-day public facing valuable assets in our community. And just think about all we can do moving forward that kind of gives meaning and improvement to our community and particularly being supportive of our employees. So anyway, I think. We already do much of that, but I think it's good to just keep all that in mind. Thank you.

All the time. Thanks. So Brian, appreciate your leadership as deputy mayor during the last year. You served the community very well and set a high standard for the position that I hope to uphold and build upon. So thank you. Congratulations and thank you to all of the participants of the Citizens Academy. I also want to recognize the parade and the celebration that happened at Hazel Ruby McQueen Park. It was the city felt alive on Saturday and that's always, always great when, you know, it's not just one thing. It's, you know, stacked upon, things stacked upon each other. So it's great to see that. And it doesn't come without a lot of hard work from a lot of people. And Danielle, thank you for your leadership. on the parade specifically. Several actions tonight are reflective of the same kind of idea, clear and reasonable accommodation procedures. Continued work in Greenmont to create better public spaces and public infrastructure that welcomes everyone rather than excludes. And cities, I think cities are designed around accommodating human beings and should be accommodating to everyone. So that's the kind of practical, lasting work that I hope we continue in the coming year. Certainly appreciate I do think that there's more work to do in that area, certainly, and to that end, I've got just a heads up, I think that we've got some amendments I've been working with with Ryan and Jamie and staff on amendments to Article 1705 for building permits and that I think we're gonna, we meet again with staff this week and I hope we're gonna be coming very soon. Appreciate the partnership with Development Services and Fire Department specifically, Fire Marshal Captain Quinn to really work very hard to improve our systems there. And finally, I appreciate tonight having more engagement with MCDA. Look forward to engaging more in the Richwood project and Hope that through partnership and transparency, we can get this project back on track. But time is working against us. Thank you.

Thanks, Mark. I want to thank council and the city for giving me time to be in leadership in the city. And I know Danielle, you and Mark will work great together. Good luck.

Not sure which one of us needs it more.

4th of July was fun. We went to the farmers market 4th of July and to the Eastern Roller Mill. I saw Weez and Jenny there. It was cool to see it turned on. I agree. And yeah, a lot of those historic artifacts are very interesting in there. A thing that strikes me every time I see especially buildings that old is like I don't understand how humans thought to do things like this. Especially when you see that thing turned on with 200 gears going. I just don't get it. So real kind of testaments to ingenuity. So, neat to see. Crazy that it still works in any way. I was kind of afraid all of it would spin apart and we might have to be on the front page of the news. It was fine. But yeah, great job by city staff to have that organized. I thought it was really cool that we had some local kind of makers with different vendor spaces out front, gave them an opportunity to do that there. There was somebody playing hammerdoll somewhere there as well. And then we were just giving out free popcorn and cotton candy for the kids, which was cool. So, yeah, it was neat to see that in a functioning state, and I appreciated seeing that. That will conclude my report today.

Well, I don't know about you, but I had some popcorn and cotton candy myself, not just for the kids.

Quinn only had it.

I couldn't convince my kid to go. He had to spend a lot of time outside at the parade later, so he did not wish to do that. He said that he was going to have enough people as it was.

It was also a little hot.

Vincent said the cotton candy is turning into rock candy. Probably made that joke to many of us. Yes, I enjoyed going to the roller mill. I also attended the staff preview on whatever that was, Wednesday, Thursday, and went again on Saturday for the grand reopening when they turned it on. There's a lot of levers and twists and turns. I don't know how anyone knew was going to learn how to do that. And lubrication. There's so much lubrication.

All those little oil things on them? Yeah.

I don't know how anyone knew was going to learn how to do that, but I trust that Vincent and Jason or their staff are up to it. I also attended the Citizens Academy last week with Councillor Downs and Councillor Hauling, sorry, Deputy Mayor Downs, Councillor at the time, and Councillor Hauling's head. We helped, we presented on the role of council within city government and then participated in the mock city council meeting. I always say every time this comes up, Citizens Academy is, I think, my favorite thing that the city does. I love seeing those people move through, and then we start getting the applications for boards and commissions and create a lot of engagement that way. I think it's great that staff invests time into making that happen. So... A couple of upcoming things. Woodburn meets on Wednesday, July 15th at 7 p.m. I believe we are meeting in the pavilion at Woodburn Park behind Woodburn Community Complex this time. Weather permitting, if you don't see us, we'll be inside. There's also a Woodburn Adopt-A-Street cleanup scheduled for July 18th at 10 a.m. We meet at the top of Whitmore Park in Woodburn. This Saturday, Gutenhow is hosting a second Saturday art market. I believe this week, this month, she is focusing on printmaking. She'll have several vendors there for that. Morgantown forward. We'll be working this Saturday and Sunday, um, prepping the mural wall by Stanley spot dog park, prepping for that mural to begin in August. I believe we will also be working on July, Saturday, July 18th. All of those are at 10 AM Stanley spot. I won't be at that one. I will be out of town. Speaking of me being out of town, I am going to go home very soon and go to bed because I am going to Louisville tomorrow. Sorry, Louisville got a mumble more when you say it, city manager who came to us from Kentucky is going to help me study up before I get there tomorrow. Um, I will be attending the NLC summer board conference in Louisville this week. Um, look forward to representing Morgantown and the state at that event. Um, be back and back to normal next week though. Um, that's fine. Is there anyone willing to move us into executive session?

I have a pursuant to West Virginia state code section nine dash nine. 6-9A-4B-2A, to discuss personnel matters and considering appointments for boards and commissions and discussion of matters related to development of property and or investment of public funds in the area of Spruce Street, Willie Street, and Richwood Avenue. It is anticipated that this item will be discussed in executive session pursuant to West Virginia Code 6-9A-4B-9. So we're moving to go into executive session.

Second.

Thank you.

All in favor? Yes. All right. We will take a brief recess and move into executive session.