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Development momentum in Mon County is impossible to ignore for anybody in this area, and although it seems to many local residents that our state government intentionally tries to sabotage it, there is so much momentum in place that it overcomes the setbacks imposed from that quarter. The hope is, in time, shifting demographics will result in getting everyone on board to help our area be "all that it can be", so to speak.
Current projections and ongoing development shows great promise for development on the West side of I-79, and some are projecting significant housing development in the area south of Westover toward Fairmont. This development will have a great impact on nearby counties as well. As many as 10,000 new jobs will accompany the $900 million in development taking place between I-79 and Mylan Park.
Development momentum in Mon County is impossible to ignore for anybody in this area, and although it seems to many local residents that our state government intentionally tries to sabotage it, there is so much momentum in place that it overcomes the setbacks imposed from that quarter. The hope is, in time, shifting demographics will result in getting everyone on board to help our area be "all that it can be", so to speak.
Current projections and ongoing development shows great promise for development on the West side of I-79, and some are projecting significant housing development in the area south of Westover toward Fairmont. This development will have a great impact on nearby counties as well. As many as 10,000 new jobs will accompany the $900 million in development taking place between I-79 and Mylan Park.
Well, read the article and was not surprised it was not sourced to back up the ludicrous claims and the author would appear to have done zero relevant research on the matter of which she wrote. The 2010 US Census stated that Monongahela County had 96,189 residents and by July 2015 it had risen to 104,236. That is an 8.36% increase and a gross of 8,047 new residents. Yet, if this author is to be believed the next 5 years - remember we already have one full year under our belt of those 5 is going to see the percentage increase by 500% to 40% or roughly 40,000 new residents!
I don't buy it. The county can only absorb so many new people in a given span because of existing infrastructure and absorbing 8,000 for any county in the state except Kanawha which an infrastructure surplus is a tall order. I would estimate that without an infrastructure growth this state has never seen to rival what took place in Putnam in the 80s and 90s and in Jefferson and Berkley in the 2000s is impossible.
Monongahela might add another 8,000 and I would find that shocking but it is not going to add 40,000 new residents.
You need to change the title of this thread. The article states 40,000 new residents by 2040........Not 2020.
You're right ... it is 2040 and not 2020 but it is too late for me to change the title. Still, the rapid growth in that area is impressive. Sorry for the confusion.
Grace, ...I meant to type 2040 in the headline. There are no ways to document projections. I have seen similar projections before though estimated by experts. With a current population of approximately 106,000 for Mon County, and with 13 years in the time frame in question, 40,000 would be optimistic but you're assuming a static environment. There is obviously significant growth taking place in the business sector on the West side of I-79. There is also significant growth projected for the Airport area. 1 1/2% to 2% per year growth during that period is not at all out of the question.
I don't understand why you would be shocked since they added more than 8,000 during a 5 year period? A conservative estimate would suggest they would add at least 20,000 in 13 years with the current growth curve, and with the new businesses coming in play greater growth can be expected. You don't live here, so you don't see what is happening. I wouldn't be seeing it either if I lived 150 or more miles away.
That said, WVU researchers say the Mon County growth projection would result in a growth of around 30,000 during that time period, so if they are right the number mentioned in the article would be over estimated.
You're right ... it is 2040 and not 2020 but it is too late for me to change the title. Still, the rapid growth in that area is impressive. Sorry for the confusion.
Grace, ...I meant to type 2040 in the headline. There are no ways to document projections. I have seen similar projections before though estimated by experts. With a current population of approximately 106,000 for Mon County, and with 13 years in the time frame in question, 40,000 would be optimistic but you're assuming a static environment. There is obviously significant growth taking place in the business sector on the West side of I-79. There is also significant growth projected for the Airport area. 1 1/2% to 2% per year growth during that period is not at all out of the question.
I don't understand why you would be shocked since they added more than 8,000 during a 5 year period? A conservative estimate would suggest they would add at least 20,000 in 13 years with the current growth curve, and with the new businesses coming in play greater growth can be expected. You don't live here, so you don't see what is happening. I wouldn't be seeing it either if I lived 150 or more miles away.
That said, WVU researchers say the Mon County growth projection would result in a growth of around 30,000 during that time period, so if they are right the number mentioned in the article would be over estimated.
Hey, I missed that difference in the date too and I read the article a few times so I guess we can both be forgiven.
On the other hand, growth projections are usually done by people that do not see the whole picture in my experience. All of the people in the world can want to move there but they have to roads to drive on, houses to live in and other infrastructure to make daily use of and most of that emplacement of infrastructure is undertaken by the state and not the city or even the county. State departments move sluggishly slow in this regard only adding to existing need LONG after it has been obvious it has been needed. That is what is going to hold back this area from development.
The state is filled with people that do not like any one county getting all of the few tax dollars spent on it and they demand it be spread around even if the effectiveness of those dollars is wasted in backwater areas around the state. POLITICS! ugh. This is why I-64 went into Beckley instead of following the proposed line north of US Route 60 and on into Charleston. This is why the interstate snakes through Charleston instead of following a practical route, South Charleston realized it would die if the highway did not go through it.
If a lot of infrastructure is to be developed you can be certain that it will be as much in the neighboring counties as it would be in Monongahela even if those counties don't need it. That is what will hold down population growth.
But let us assume that growth is coming and on the order of what has taken place so far. Prior to 2010, growth was ok but nothing to write home about. Looking back in the population datasets, the county has a span of 10-20 years of growth followed by a similar time span of tread water. This makes sense as the influx of new people stress the existing infrastructure and only so many can be absorbed. Then in the next time span, roads and houses and schools and water treatment is built up setting the stage for the next growth spurt.
If the trends have any validity then Monongalia County has already absorbed about half of what it is going to expand into and by 2010 might reach something around 110,000 before setting static for the next 10 years from 2020 to 2030. It will then see another climb to perhaps ~120,000 by 2040. That would be FAR short of the projected 140,000.
The geography does not work in the favor of quick growth and the state is not fleet footed in developing new infrastructure. I think a best case scenario is 120,000 by 2040. That would still double the population in our lifetimes since I assume that like me you are approaching retirement and were around in 1950 or there about.
You're right ... it is 2040 and not 2020 but it is too late for me to change the title. Still, the rapid growth in that area is impressive. Sorry for the confusion.
Grace, ...I meant to type 2040 in the headline. There are no ways to document projections. I have seen similar projections before though estimated by experts. With a current population of approximately 106,000 for Mon County, and with 13 years in the time frame in question, 40,000 would be optimistic but you're assuming a static environment. There is obviously significant growth taking place in the business sector on the West side of I-79. There is also significant growth projected for the Airport area. 1 1/2% to 2% per year growth during that period is not at all out of the question.
I don't understand why you would be shocked since they added more than 8,000 during a 5 year period? A conservative estimate would suggest they would add at least 20,000 in 13 years with the current growth curve, and with the new businesses coming in play greater growth can be expected. You don't live here, so you don't see what is happening. I wouldn't be seeing it either if I lived 150 or more miles away.
That said, WVU researchers say the Mon County growth projection would result in a growth of around 30,000 during that time period, so if they are right the number mentioned in the article would be over estimated.
Until the Morgantown Utility Board stops charging $6,000 for a sewer hookup, you will see growth stifled. When developers have to pay nearly a million dollars to run pipe to property not currently serviced by MUB for a new development, that drives the cost of housing through the roof.
People wonder why there isn't any affordable housing, its because the infrastructure isn't in place and the only ones willing to put it in place are the developers, who obviously have to pass it along to the residents to make the project feasible from a financial standpoint.
Plus, and this may change under Trump, but the EPA, DEP and even MUB are getting extremely strict on private septic and affluent discharge.
Until the Morgantown Utility Board stops charging $6,000 for a sewer hookup, you will see growth stifled. When developers have to pay nearly a million dollars to run pipe to property not currently serviced by MUB for a new development, that drives the cost of housing through the roof.
People wonder why there isn't any affordable housing, its because the infrastructure isn't in place and the only ones willing to put it in place are the developers, who obviously have to pass it along to the residents to make the project feasible from a financial standpoint.
Plus, and this may change under Trump, but the EPA, DEP and even MUB are getting extremely strict on private septic and affluent discharge.
So, to be clear, you're okay with people discharging their excretive waste out into the open, including into waterways that could impact more than the property of the individual who wants their feces out amongst the world? Hm. I like regulations that prevent people from adding their poop to places where it can spread to others' property. Call me crazy, I suppose...
So, to be clear, you're okay with people discharging their excretive waste out into the open, including into waterways that could impact more than the property of the individual who wants their feces out amongst the world? Hm. I like regulations that prevent people from adding their poop to places where it can spread to others' property. Call me crazy, I suppose...
I thought it was pretty obvious that he was not making the claim to which you attribute to him, rather he was criticizing the high cost of a needed hookup. It would seem to be his assessment that the MUD gouges its new customers.
The problem as I see it in Morgantown specifically and Monongalia County in general is a complete lack of a centralized, engaged authority. There are too many little kingdoms built up there for real progress to take root. My family considered moving to Morgantown in the last three years and we have spent a lot of time picking apart the pros and cons. For what it is worth, we did the same with Charleston, Huntington, Parkersburg, Martinsburg and Clarksburg. We struck both Beckley and Wheeling off of our lists on day one.
the problems that we came up with Morgantown was the lack of control in the county. Slum Lords fester and everyone in government points to others and say, "It's there fault!" No one wants to take the bull by the horns and clean out the trash up there and there is probably more of that sort of trash in Morgantown than in all of the rest of the state combined. You guys up there have a serious problem but do not see it for the severity it is. This is like getting used to a closed up house that stinks of animal droppings, mold and trash once you are in there long enough, but let someone try to come in from outside and they think their face has melted off.
Zoning, if it exist is beyond my comprehension. Morgantown seems to be experiencing rampant and uncontrolled growth and that always leads to urban decay. A city has to be made up of elements the are interdependent and osmotic in their benefits to neighboring sectors. Morgantown has none of that and people who have lived in more centralized controlled cities will take one look at the "hillbilly add-on" method of expansion up there and make other choices.
Haha, hate to be the knit-picker but it's almost 23 years until 2040, not 13. Lol
Right. ... As I said, I meant to type 2020. That is 13 years.
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