Beech Tree News Network

Aubrey West, the now-former chairman of the Morgantown Planning and Zoning Committee, is considering  legal action against the city of Morgantown following Mayor Linda Keown's recent decision to remove him from the paid board.  
West was originally appointed to the city's Planning and Zoning Committee by former Mayor Charles T. Black and became chairperson and was reappointed to the committee during Mayor Eva Hawes' term in office.  During his years of service to the city as a member and later chairperson of the committee, West told Beech Tree News that he had only missed two meetings and worked hard to serve the city well and be fair with everyone.  
For her part, Mayor Keown was highly critical of West's performance on the committee and she provided a litany of reasons for her decision to dismiss him as a member of the committee.    In a December 2 letter, Keown said West's meetings were "unorganized with no agenda" and described them as "long meandering meetings which do not produce results."  The mayor continued:  "The meetings which you chair include long rambling stories which are not relevant to planning and zoning business and which, again, result in inefficiency and preclude and effective action being taken."  Keown's criticism of West took a personal turn as she critiqued his personal leadership skills.  "Additionally, your personal style of leadership is one of intimidation, fear, and bluster, thus further precluding the other members of the committee from any meaningful input and effectively ensuring that very little is accomplished."
Mayor Keown also claims that West has "gone on record" to unnamed city council members with negative comments about the city, indicating that West didn't care what happened to the city and hoped it would just "fall or slide into the river."  
On advice of legal counsel, West declined at this time to comment on the specific allegations made by Keown in her dismissal letter.  However, West did reiterate that he was considering all of his legal options in response to his removal from the committee, as well as in response to other recent allegations made against him by others in the community.  
Stay connected to Beech Tree News for the latest on this developing story.