WESTOVER, W.Va. — The State Supreme Court’s decision to uphold a prior order allowing Westover to annex the Morgantown Mall didn’t come as a surprise to the town’s mayor, but it was a relief.
“It’s something that we expected,” Dave Johnson said on WAJR’s Morgantown AM. “We were very confident in the way it was going to come down, but of course there was always that little twinge of uncertainty that you had to deal with. But it looks like that may be over now.”
Clearly in good spirits, Johnson said bringing closure to this issue offered a chance for much more stability in Westover.
“Better services, more police officers, better pay for our employees, better place to live, better place to put your businesses in and operate in,” he said. “It’s all coming together.”
The vote was decided 4-1 at the state level, with Justice Robin Davis the lone dissenting voice on the legal battle over the 2-1 2013 vote by the Monongalia County Commission allowing Westover the 102-acre minor boundary adjustment.
“We had a lot of businesses coming in,” Johnson said. “We’re not hard on our businesses. We welcome them. We want people to want to be in Westover. The housing will obviously follow. Everything is looking good. We’re in good shape on this side of the river.”
Additional appeal would need to go before the United States Supreme Court.