May 31—MORGANTOWN — Morgantown City Council will consider purchasing approximately 105 acres in support of the current and future Morgantown Municipal Airport expansion plans.
Council advanced an ordinance as part of Tuesday's committee of the whole session through which the city would pay $1, 572, 450 to James L. Laurita Sr. Family Limited Partnership for the property.
Morgantown Municipal Airport Director Jonathan Vrabel said the current runway extension project requires a small piece of that land, but the seller was interested in an all-or-nothing exchange.
"So we looked at the remainder of their property and what they offered to the city. That entire parcel that they would like us to purchase kind of aligns with future goals of the runway and the airport and extending the runway even further once this extension is complete, " Vrabel said. "We're probably looking at another 10, 15 maybe 20 years down the road, total."
The ordinance lists a total of 85 parcels ranging in size from.11 of an acre to 43.58 acres as part of the transaction.
Vrabel said that while some of those parcels are not in line with the runway, they represent land that could potentially be the location of a new terminal building or provide a more direct connection from I-68 and Sabraton to the airport.
"It creates a lot of opportunities for us as a city and gives us good expansion capabilities, " he said.
Also coming soon to a city council agenda is an ordinance that would amend Article 1718 of city code pertaining to vacant structures.
City Attorney Ryan Simonton explained the amendment would create a two-tier fee schedule whereby a vacant structure that is adequately maintained would be subject to a $100 annual registration fee.
Structures that are not adequately maintained will remain subject to the city's current escalating fee schedule.
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