WESTOVER — The city’s police annex is approaching completion and is to be “right at budget” with what work is left — the total budget being $100,000 — according to Mayor Dave Johnson.
The outside brick front is still under construction as well as siding and interior work.
Johnson told Westover Council he hopes the work is completed by the first of April.
In addition to the police annex, there are updates being made on Westover Park to increase activity. Last year, the tennis court was resurfaced and divided in half, according to Johnson. On one side, there is a space for pickleball.
Pickleball is a sport with a combination of tennis, table tennis and badminton. Johnson said that there was not much activity on the tennis courts but a growing interest in the sport of pickleball, so they made the decision to transform part of the tennis courts to give people in the area an outdoor space for the sport.
Director of Public Works Jason Stinespring said there are leagues in the Morgantown area that do not have outdoor courts to practice on, and Westover will be able to offer that.
Additionally, Johnson said they have expanded the parking lot and have plans to put in a bathroom. Johnson said everything will be in working order in two to three weeks.
“We’re looking forward to seeing what’s going to happen with pickleball … it’s going to be interesting,” Johnson said.
Westover will look to acquire an estimate of over 200 homes, according to Johnson, by annexing the Solomon Road area, off Chaplin Road and next to Triple S Harley-Davidson and Hobby Lobby.
The annexation will increase the population of Westover, which is currently just “shy” of 4,000, according to Johnson.
“It’s all been about retail business. We haven’t annexed any areas that elevates our population any. That’s one of the things that we’ve been looking forward to,” Johnson said. “It’s going to work out pretty well for all of us.”
Municipalities wanting to annex land must go before county commission for approval.
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