In the face of a lawsuit, sustained public protest challenging Blue Water’s proposed 350 RV campsite at Cacapon State Park and a scheduled 4 pm hearing today at the Morgan County Courthouse, the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources has agreed to cancel a planned April 18 public hearing at the Cacapon State Park lodge.
Assistant Attorney General Katie Franklin, representing the Division of Natural Resources, wrote in a court filing that while the state provided lawful notice of the meeting, it does not wish to proceed with the meeting, “if there is an appearance of impropriety, but instead desire to assure the public that it is in full compliance with any and all notice requirements.”
Franklin says the state finds it “fitting to cancel the meeting scheduled for April 18, 2023.”
“Any future public meeting will be noticed in such a way as to alleviate the concerns set forth,” Franklin wrote to the court. (See court order here.)
“We are glad that the State has canceled the public hearing,” said Larry Schultz, the attorney who brought the case on behalf of Morgan County resident Dale Kirchner. “We will always be happy to take the concerns of the Morgan County public to Judge McLaughlin,”
“When the subject is something as consequential to our future as 350 RVs in the quiet beauty of Cacapon State Park, then pressing forward is not only our right, it is our duty,” Schultz said.
Opposition to Blue Water’s 350 RV proposal has been growing.
The Morgan County Commission, the Morgan Messenger and both members of the House of Delegates from the area have come out opposed to the proposal.
More than 120 citizens gathered on April 10 at the upper lake to express their opposition to the proposal — up from about 90 citizens who gathered on April 3 and about 70 at the first meeting on March 27. And more than 1,000 people have signed a petition calling on West Virginia government officials to withdraw the RFP. (savecacapon.org).