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All made possible by government/tax payer dollars, which account for 23% of the budget per WVHEPC numbers, not 19%.
And I seriously doubt Morgantown will be the largest city in the state. It would have to annex half of Mon Coutny to do that and that will likely never happen. People were making the claim 5 years ago that it would be the biggest city in the state in 10 years and they believed it. Plus, Charleston and Huntington would have to loose another 20,000 people and I don't see that happening either as losses in both seem to have leveled out and have actually been on the upswing the last 2 years. Also of note, Morgantown is just now regaining the population levels it had in the 1970s.
Point being, these things ebb and flow. WVU has experienced a great amount of growth in the last 10 years, adding about 8,000 students + jobs needed to support that growth at WVU and in the community. This has fueled some amazing growth there but it isn't likely to happen again over the next 10 years with talks of capping enrollment at 30,000 as that is about all WVU and the town can handle.
Tim, you've read the wrong report. I don't have time right now, but I''' get you the links. WVU get's 19% of its general fund from state funding. Marshall, on the other hand, receives 25%.
I agree with you that our city limits will never support the largest city in the state (permanent residents). The town is just about out of space, and these days there is great resistence to any town expanding boundaries as you know. It is, however, entirely possible that the Morgantown area might be the largest one day. I love it that my town is growing, and that doesn't look to stop any time soon, but I don't want growth to be too rapid, and I don't want it to result in a town that doesn't have the overall college town feel that we have here. We're not looking to be a little Pittsburgh.
The school has decided to cap enrollment at 30,000, that's true. I think they could handle more with the right infrastructure, but they've decided to shift directions more in the direction of graduate work and research rather than increasing student count. I think that's a good thing, and it is resulting in a different sort of growth here. Research is closing in on the $200 million per year range, and I see researchers moving in here resulting in continued growth although admittedly much of that is taking place just outside of the city limits, as you know. Although overall things are going great for Morgantown, they'd be doing a lot better (and likely would be in other towns in WV too) if it weren't for the country's continuing economic doldrums. They can only blame the past leaders so long before the public will take a look and say... hey, I'm worse off than I was before this group came aboard.
In spite of the wako contingent's resistence, Marcellus development will continue unabated in these parts. The city will (rightly I believe) likely lose its court battle and the drills will be humming once again, this time with some regulations in place at the state level. But, there is way too much money involved for it to be stopped. There are lots of new millionaires in these parts.
I mean that Morgantown is a "city"...I just mean that it's never going to really be a true metropolis-style city in terms of feel and footprint. I can't even see it ever being comparable to a Roanoke, Knoxville, or Asheville style of city. It's a true college town and will always feel that way, which isn't a bad thing. There's plenty of large college towns with populations within the 100k+ range that don't feel like a city, Morgantown is destined to be something along the lines of that. I'm saying that although the population will most likely place it as the most populous city in WV one day, it'll never have the infrastructure/layout/buildings/etc to truly have the feel of a legit city. It's just too cramped and small by design and doesn't have the room to really expand or create a proper city grid. Even if Charleston drops down to 20k in population and Morgantown rises up to 60k, Charleston will still feel like a true "city" due to it's build and atmosphere while Morgantown will feel like a town.
And I can't say enough about the people watching experience in Charleston...some of the sights that you see are priceless . Even with the "hick" vibe, which is very bad overall, it still manages to somehow be charming though; Charleston is it's own place and I don't think anywhere else can truly compare. This I just can't explain...there's just a weird charm to the city of Charleston and even it's weirdest people and sights. It's very "podunk" but in good way.
...also, I don't want to be a jerk..but you always hear about the weight issues with residents of Huntington and the surrounding areas. Charleston has the same issue, you'd have to be blind or in total denial to not notice this. Just walking through the mall or around downtown is enough to prove this fact to be true. I never really believed all of the claims until actually visiting the area...obesity is very much rampant throughout the city, probably has to do with the southern influences related to food and a relaxed social culture..but again, even this is a part of the weird "backwoods" charm that Charleston has.
I agree with your assessment of Morgantown. I also like how an unbiased posters also knows that Morgantown is going to become the largest metro area in WV. It will take at least 20 years, but at the most 50 years. Charleston will continue to shrink and crumble.
The problem with Morgantown is it will never feel like a big city. Blame it on lack of zoning. Morgantown has zero zoning and anyone can build anything anywhere. You have apartment complexes and strip malls popping up along crowded roads making the traffic worse.
Morgantown itself is getting more dense, and building up, but as a whole the growth in the metro area is sprawl. It will continue to grow out and not up. Cheat Lake is rapidly growing and I imagine the growth of Morgantown will expand into PA and into Preston county.
So yes it will be city, but it will never feel like one because of the nature of the growth. I dont feel that is a bad thing. I like the small town atmosphere of Morgantown, despite the fact that it is a growing and thriving city. I dont want a big city there. Ill move to an actual big city if I wanted that.
Charleston is screwed. The residents are mostly old people and when they die there is going to be no one to replace them. I would say over half of Charleston is 50+ and in 20-40 years, as Morgantown adds 10,000-30,000 more people, Charleston will lose 13,000-34000 people.
Tim, you've read the wrong report. I don't have time right now, but I''' get you the links. WVU get's 19% of its general fund from state funding. Marshall, on the other hand, receives 25%.
You must be referring to the same report where WVU as an operation makes money (i.e. the erroneous one). The Higher Education Policy Commission report for 2010 however pretty clearly states that WVU gets 23% of its funding from state appropriations. They even made a nice pie chart with pretty colors that clearly points this out.
You must be referring to the same report where WVU as an operation makes money (i.e. the erroneous one). The Higher Education Policy Commission report for 2010 however pretty clearly states that WVU gets 23% of its funding from state appropriations. They even made a nice pie chart with pretty colors that clearly points this out.
WVU receives a pittance from Charleston and in return Charleston receives a very high ROI. For every dollar invested in Morgantown Charleston sees atleast 5. Face it Charleston gets 20x more in funds it deserves and only gives back a fraction to the Northern part of the state.
WVU receives a pittance from Charleston and in return Charleston receives a very high ROI. For every dollar invested in Morgantown Charleston sees atleast 5. Face it Charleston gets 20x more in funds it deserves and only gives back a fraction to the Northern part of the state.
if you could prove that, it sure would be something
Well I can this is another thread I'll have to start ignoring
I'm sorry that this has gotten out of hand, but a few individuals (including myself) are only trying to stand up for what they believe is right! I wish some people weren't so narrow minded, like most people in Mtown.
I'm sorry that this has gotten out of hand, but a few individuals (including myself) are only trying to stand up for what they believe is right! I wish some people weren't so narrow minded, like most people in Mtown.
Actually we are very open minded, you are just too narrow minded to notice that. If you wanted to stand up for what is right you would support Morgantown getting its fair share from the state.
Actually we are very open minded, you are just too narrow minded to notice that. If you wanted to stand up for what is right you would support Morgantown getting its fair share from the state.
Do I think Morgantown needs new roads, yes I've said it a million times! But do I think that the state is holding out on them! No!
I do support Morgantown getting money, but only its fair share that it currently gets!
I'm not narrow minded! I love how you use my posts against me!
Actually we are very open minded, you are just too narrow minded to notice that. If you wanted to stand up for what is right you would support Morgantown getting its fair share from the state.
lol ok kid... listen up
1, just from reading your posts on here and other threads... THEY are not open minded in the least.
2 You lack any sort of tact and for some reason have confused factual information with ones' own perceived opinion.
3 Why don't you try to show others a little respect, it will get you further in life.
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I try, but it's just so hard to ignore some the claims that are made.
. Even with the "hick" vibe, which is very bad overall, it still manages to somehow be charming though; Charleston is it's own place and I don't think anywhere else can truly compare. This I just can't explain...there's just a weird charm to the city of Charleston and even it's weirdest people and sights. It's very "podunk" but in good way. 
