Morgantown Beautification Commission Minutes

March 15, 2006

Attendees: Bill McDonald, Marchetta Maupin, Marilyn Bowers, Donna Ford-Werntz, Francis McGreevy, Kara Hurts, Don Spencer, Ralph LaRue, Sandy Poulson

Minutes of 2/15/06 meeting were approved.

Special Topics

Membership: The letter to errant members has been mailed. We have received only one response from Carolyn Hampson (her letter circulated for reading). As a result, we have vacancies in Wards 1, 4 and 5. Don Spencer will contact the appropriate councilmen to search out individuals to fill these vacancies.

South University Islands: Kara has reviewed the two submitted proposals. We discussed the pro’s and con’s of creating a hardscape. We discussed the maintenance issues and the costs of materials. We discussed the fact that, typically in West Virginia, the company who is accepted for the design would be the company to win the bid for the actual installation. We will suggest to the company that they make the work as attractive as possible as well as being as economical as possible. The final plan may be used for the other gateways to assure some consistency. The sentiment of the commission is to award the contract to Biafore Landscape Development LLC. Kara will get the signed copy to Linda Bagby and Marchetta will compose a letter to Joseph Hajnas Associates informing them of our decision. We are aware that additional funds will need to be utilized to plant trees on the river side of the road in order to coordinate with the island.

Public Education and Proud of our Town Awards: Sandy and Bowers hope to meet with Chuck Penn over the weekend to get his ideas on the bi-fold pamphlet and to discuss the contacts he has made at the Dominion Post. It was suggested that we also meet with the Dominion Post Editor, Geri Ferrara. In discussing how the pamphlet might be distributed to the public, it was suggested some possible ways might be: neighborhood meetings, through councilmen, filling racks at BOPARC, polling locations, public access TV, the Morgantown website, etc. We will get photos from Marchetta and work on revising the pamphlet before the next commission meeting.

Adopt a Street Project: Marchetta has been working on some of the volunteer groups. Donna is going to contact the remainder via e-mail and inform them of the April Project Pride dates and remind them to clean up their assigned streets. For information: Project Pride is a county-wide cleanup. It is a one-day effort. Dumpsters will be stationed at Marilla Park on April 1. There some groups participating in the river sweep in June. Don mentioned a “cash for trash” program he had been made aware of in some other towns.

Morgantown Tree Board: Report from Don Spencer: The new ordinance is to be called “Community Forestry”. It went before City Council in February. They will look at it the end of this month. It is undecided whether Arbor Day will be in April or in the Fall.

Project Reports: Marchetta reported:

THE NEW TRUCK HAS ARRIVED!! Marchetta loves it!

Her intern has been working on a map that will show all the areas where trees have been planted around Morgantown. There are inserts on the maps that show outlying areas such as the airport, Sabraton, etc. The large original will be kept in her office with smaller copies available for distribution.

Marchetta suggested inviting the new airport director to our next meeting. He is interested in landscaping and working with Marchetta, especially with regard to the approach to the airport from the Mileround. Bill McDonald will make sure he is invited.

The assistant city manager is thinking about streamlining Marchetta’s storage and is looking for locations. Marchetta is trying to get shirts printed for herself and her helpers and seasonal workers. She hopes to get 2 interns for this summer work. She is also planning to put signage on her new truck indicating her connection to the Beautificiation Commission. She is beginning work on the street baskets. She will contact the Master Gardeners for their assistance in planting in May. The water truck is in trouble – it is shared with the public works department so acquisition of a new one should not be difficult.

The streetscape is slated to begin in April or May. A new welcome sign in Sabraton will replace the current one – the work will be done in-house. Once the sign goes in, the Commission can suggest doing some landscaping in that area.

Meeting adjourned at 5:45.

Respectfully submitted,

Sandy Poulson