Morgantown City Council on Tuesday approved a $321,025 contract with March Westin for construction of a kayak rental facility at the Walnut Street Landing as part of the city’s ongoing riverfront revitalization efforts. City Engineer Damien Davis said the structure will have a total footprint of approximately 450 square-feet comprised of one large open room and a restroom facility accessible from the o u t s i d e. “It will be built into the hillside. We’re not taking up any more of the parking spaces. We’re sitting it back off the existing p a rk i n g , ” Davis said. City Manager Kim Haws explained that $120,000 for the project will come by way of a $120,000 Land Water Conservation Grant, which requires an equal match from the city. That explains the city’s original price estimate of $250,000, which Assistant City Manager Emily Muzzarelli explained was a pre-COVID calculation. “This was our first postCOVID material cost increase project bid that we’ve gotten b a ck , ” she said. The city’s portion of project cost will come out of its capital escrow budget. Davis said that while the shell space will be an easy build, the construction timeline will likely be dictated material availability. The city has not had any formal discussions with potential kayak rental companies about operating out of the new facility, according to Muzzarelli, Staying on the riverfront, council approved additional improvements for the Hazel Ruby McQuain Park Amphitheater in the form of a 16×9 foot digital video screen at a cost of $108,802. Facilities Director Joe Kaehler, with Morgantown’s Arts and Cultural Development Department, said the screen, made up of 30 individual panels, has a 150-foot viewing distance. “A lot of you do remember Movies on the Mon we used to do. The problem was we do family movies, but we couldn’t start until 9:30 because projectors a re n’t bright enough. This will alleviate that problem. We’re hoping to get the 500, 600, 700 people down there that we used to get when we first started Movies on the Mon. People loved it. Families loved it.” C

The screen will be purchased utilizing grant dollars recently provided by the Hazel Ruby McQuain Charitable Trust. Also on Tuesday, council tabled a pair of requests from the Morgantown Utility Board that would have given the utility easements across the Caperton Trail and the Deckers Creek T rail. Members of council objected, among other things, to the request for permanent easements requiring ordinances from council when city administration has the ability to grant temporary ag reements.