Commission reviews Morgantown Utility Board letter seeking payment tied to Westridge/Chaplain Hill; county to defer to bankruptcy counsel
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Summary
The commission reviewed a letter from the Morgantown Utility Board demanding immediate payment tied to the Chaplain Hill projects and the Westridge developer. Commissioners said the matter is currently in bankruptcy and that the county will address it through counsel rather than making immediate payment.
County leaders reviewed a letter from the Morgantown Utility Board (MUB) asking the Monongalia County Commission to pay $1,000,003.74 related to the Chaplain Hill projects, a claim MUB linked to the Westridge development.
The letter, authored by Barbara Parsons of the Morgantown Utility Board, stated the utility board’s view that, because construction contracts were signed in reliance on a county commitment, the county should make payment while bankruptcy proceedings continue. The letter reads in part: “we write to formally request the county commission immediately make payment to the Morgantown Utility Board in amount of $1,000,003.74 … with respect to the Chaplain Hill projects.”
Commissioners said the claim is part of ongoing bankruptcy proceedings and that the county will not make an immediate payment outside the bankruptcy process. County staff said the county had previously told MUB counsel the matter is in bankruptcy, and that counsel will handle next steps. One commissioner said it would be premature to accede to an immediate demand and emphasized allowing the bankruptcy process to proceed.