MONTGOMERY, W.Va. — Although Montgomery Councilman Fred Lockard made it clear Tuesday’s city hall meeting was not called to discuss what would happen if West Virginia University Institute of Technology were to pull out of the town, the possibility was a concern expressed freely.
Many of the nearly 80 people present expressed the city’s reliance on on the college as well as the need to develop a strong separate identity.
Gail Harlan pointed out that WVU Tech is 120 years old and the organization “Take Back Tech” has been struggling to keep the college in Montgomery for nine years.
“Montgomery is Tech; that is how I feel about it,” she said.
“Don’t let Tech define who were are,” said Paulete Childs. “We are bigger than Tech. We have a bigger heart than Tech.”
Montgomery General Hospital employees pointed out that the state-of-the-art facility is something the town should be proud of, but if WVU Tech pulls out, the hospital could be lost.
Several times steering the conversation from WVU Tech, council members said they called the meeting for ideas to help negate the decline in population and in the coal industry.
Lockard pointed out the town’s population, now estimated at 1,630, declined by 619 between the 2000 and 2010 U.S. Census.
“Those are dollars that are not being spent here. We have to think outside the box..
