After interviewing five qualified candidates for the First Ward council seat on July 20, City Council appointed M. Joe Abu-Ghannam to fill the position. Abu-Ghannam will be sworn at the beginning of the August 10 city council meeting. The vacancy comes after recently elected First Ward City Council Candidate Patrick Hathaway notified the City Clerk on May 12 that he would not be able to fulfill his upcoming term, which began on July 1. The City Charter, Section 2.06(c), requires City Council to appoint a replacement to serve the remainder of his term within 30 days, or a special election will be held. Abu-Ghannam will serve the remainder of the term which expires June 30, 2023.

Council discussed increasing of members on the Runway Extension Development Committee from six to seven people. Currently, there are two representatives from the City of Morgantown, two representatives from the Monongalia Development Authority, and two representatives from West Virginia University. The seventh person on the committee would be a representative from the Monongalia County Commission.

Action Taken: Moved to the August 10, 2021 city council meeting agenda pending research of the formation of the committee and the role of council in altering the membership.