MORGANTOWN – After a total of 17 years on the Morgantown Utility Board, Barbara Parsons has been replaced.
Morgantown City Council on Tuesday voted to appoint Richard Brooks to the seat.
Parsons, the first woman to serve as chair of the utility’s board of directors, spent 10 years on the body between 2000 and 2010, and returned in January 2019, initially to fill an interim position on the five-member board.
According to MUB Spokesman Chris Dale, Parsons applied to be reappointed. According to information provided to The Dominion Post, she was not interviewed by Morgantown City Council for the position.
The city said it received three applications. Asked if city council conducted three interviews, Communications Director Brad Riffee said the city treats board and commission applicants as personnel matters that are not disclosed outside of the city.
Parsons is the second consecutive MUB chair to be replaced in recent years. In both instances, council’s appointment removed the body’s most experienced member.
In 2022, J.T. Straface was not reappointed after 22 years of membership following a public clash between MUB and the city over proposed changes to Article 169 of city code, which govern the utility board.
While Morgantown City Council never actually cast a vote on the amendments – which would have reserved one seat on MUB for a city council member and given council veto power over MUB’s involvement in large development projects outside city limits, among other things – it already had the authority to appoint the utility’s board of directors.
Council ultimately replaced Straface with former 6th Ward Councilor Dave Harshbarger. Current 6th Ward Councilor Mark Downs now holds that seat.
“We cannot express enough gratitude to Barbara Parsons for her 17 years of service, leadership and dedication to our customers and the communities we serve, and especially for the time she devoted to being the first female Chair of MUB’s Board of Directors,” MUB General Manager Mike McNulty said.
Even so, McNulty said the utility board is looking forward to working with its newest member.
“MUB is excited to welcome Richard Brooks to our team and look forward to adding his experience to help ensure MUB continues to fulfill its mission across Monongalia County while maintaining some of the lowest utility rates in the state.”
With Parsons’ departure, current Vice-Chair Tom Witt becomes the utility board’s longest-serving member, and next up for reappointment. Witt has served on the board since 2017.
MUB members are appointed to five-year terms.
