Morgantown City Council discussed preparations for the upcoming football season with local law enforcement, including how to deal with large tailgates at its Tuesday meeting.
Morgantown Police Chief Phil Scott and West Virginia University Police Chief Bob Roberts gave a presentation outlining current policies governing alcohol consumption and large private tailgates during WVU football games.
They recommended the Council consider an ordinance requiring private tailgate parties to apply for permits so law enforcement could take a more proactive approach in dealing with these events.
"This is something that goes on year after year after year, but tonight we wanted to highlight some of the preparations for this particular season," said Morgantown City Manager Dan Boroff.
Community members have complained to both police departments about their neighborhoods being overrun with cars and large parties on private lots.
Roberts said while the problems in Morgantown are not as bad as in similar college locations, there are still issues to address.
"A lot of these tailgates are on private property which restricts our authority," Roberts said. "If enforcement is increased, then it will need to be applied evenly."
He said staffing is a major issue in terms of enforcement. The number of officers assigned to game duty from the WVU, Morgantown and state police combined is usually 90 to 120 individuals, but most personnel are concentrated on the fans within the stadium, not tailgates.
Roberts and Scott agreed an increase in staff and overtime expenditure would be necessary to deal with large unruly tailgates.
Deputy Mayor Don Spencer said he would like to see all tailgating moved back on to campus locations and out of the surrounding neighborhoods.
"With 60,000 people coming to town to celebrate a great event we don’t have an effective way of managing it," said Mayor Bill Byrne. "What we do is respond to complaints as opposed to having a front end sort of thing."
Other topics discussed at the meeting include:
- Interviews for an open position on the Planning Commission representing the Third Ward.
- A resolution promoting the construction of neighborhood grocery stores. The goal is to promote a more pedestrian friendly community by providing grocery store locations residents do not need to drive to.
- The council discussed an ordinance addressing minimum area requirements for building occupancy.
The ordinance would mirror federal regulations and is expected to encourage high-density housing development near the WVU campus. The ordinance would establish a minimum of 70 square feet per individual and would be a companion to a previous ordinance limiting rental occupancy by changing the definition of a family in the city code.
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I find it funny how the University sells parking spaces at the hospital which are reserved for patients and visitors and then complains.
As far as private tailgates go, the students, and alumni, will be on the cops, like flies on trash. No one in their right mind is going to apply for a permit, let alone give a damb if one is needed. I can't wait to see how much alumni donations go down. What new traditions will start and will people stop going to the games