MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — After 17 years of leadership, Bill Austin has stepped away as the executive director of the Morgantown Monongalia Metropolitan Planning Organization.
Austin came to Morgantown from the Miami area, where he was working as a planner with an agency managing the area’s toll roads. When the financial crisis hit the nation, the needs of the toll road system changed, and Austin found his way back to a metropolitan planning organization.
“I’ve always been a strong supporter of Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs); this is the third MPO I’ve run,” Austin said. “So, it was a perfect fit as far as that goes—close to our families and the type of work I like to do.”
The concept of metropolitan planning became very important during development of the interstate highway system. The concept became an office after state and federal planners barreled through small communities with very little input from the residents.
The MPOs of today develop long-term transportation plans with input from the community that the MPO carries out. The MPO has authority to change directives from the state ID if they are not consistent with the published and agreed-upon transportation plan.
“They became formalized when they realized there was no local input into those decisions,” Austin said. “There were state and federal planners making the decisions without working with the local communities.”
The collaborative work with WVU and others on the traffic reconfiguration of Beechurst Avenue, widening on Van Voorhis Road, and the work in the pipeline for West Run Road and the intersection of Collins Ferry and University Avenue are examples of how an MPO works effectively with the community, according to Austin.
“The Mileground and all the improvement along the Mileground and the way all that is working,” Austin said. “I think it’s working pretty well, but I still think it would work better with a roundabout at Airport Boulevard, but that’s life.”
In the immediate future Austin wants to establish a new post-work routine and become an unpredictable day tripper.
“To not be tied down to the office and the calendar, or whatever,” Austin said. “If I want to go to Pittsburgh and go shopping with my wife, I can do that spur of the moment; in fact, we’ll be doing some travel later this year.”
Austin said his plans include staying in the city of Morgantown and continuing to be active in the community. As a fan of the game chess, he said he would like to explore the possibility of reviving the Morgantown Chess Club.
“In the long term I believe I’ll settle into a routine,” Austin said. “I like to play golf, so maybe find a golf league or a scrambles league but stay active in the community.”
The Morgantown Monongalia Metropolitan Planning Organization (MMMPO) Advisory Board has named a former veteran with more than three decades of planning experience as the next executive director.
Mark Debald served for 26 years with the Dutchess County, New York MPO, 16 years as the executive director. Debald also served as a transportation officer in the U.S. Army before beginning his work as a planner.
“I want to thank the advisory board for entrusting me with this leadership role. The Morgantown region stands on its own: it has a strong sense of place and civic engagement. And although I may be new to the area, I’m not new to metropolitan planning. I’ll be singularly focused on using my
experience and knowledge to continue the great work done by Bill and his team and to make the planning process work for the Morgantown region and its communities. I look forward to progressing some great projects and adding to the energy already on the ground,” said Debald.
Debald begins work in Morgantown this fall.