County and city invited to meeting

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — The impasse between the Martinsburg City Council and the Berkeley County Council regarding the location of a proposed drug treatment facility has drawn the attention of state lawmakers.

State Senators John Unger (D-Berkeley, 16); Craig Blair (R-Berkeley,15); Herb Snyder (D-Jefferson, 16); and Charles Trump (R-Morgan, 15) sent a letter to Martinsburg Mayor George Karos and Berkeley County Council President Doug Copenhaver Thursday offering to facilitate a meeting between the two entities.

Unger, whose district encompasses the city, said he feels it falls on him to assume a leadership role and let the public know a resolution is being sought.

“I think people will say ‘Yes!’” Unger said. “’We want people to be problem solvers, not problem creators.”

The County recently appealed a vote from the city regarding the zoning of a county owned building they’d like to see renovated for use as a drug treatment center.

The building is within the city limits.

Unger said recent legislation being proposed in Charleston regarding this issue is an over reach, adding that it could bring disastrous changes to the relationship between state, county and city governments.

He cited a bill on the agenda in the Senate Committee on Government Organization that would specifically allow the Berkeley County Council to own a rehab facility.

Blair, who chairs that committee, said the bill would not put the county in charge of a rehab center.

“I think that what they’re doing is seeding it,” Blair said. “I don’t think the county’s going to be in that business.”

Unger also mentioned SB 253, which would work to exempt drug treatment and drug recovery facilities from county and municipal ordinances.

Unger says it is a local issue and that is how it must be resolved.

“I’m hoping that the message is loud and clear,” Unger said. ‘Let’s get together, let’s work through this impasse, and let’s get the job done.”

Unger is optimistic that the city and county will respond soon.