Council Dives into Several Items of New Business at Monday Night's Meeting
By Julie Perine on February 24, 2026
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Bridgeport City Council had several items of new business to discuss at Monday evening’s regular meeting held at Bridgeport Municipal Building.
Council discussed a City Charter Review Committee, an item of business suggested by Councilman Chris Kinney.
“I think we need to initiate a committee to scrub the charter. It’s 30 years old. There’s a lot of things that can be looked at, including qualifications for City Manager considering the turnover we’ve had,” Kinney said. “…And if nothing changes, that’s not necessarily a bad thing.”
The committee would consist of some Council members and others involved in the community. The committee would go through the charter and make recommendations, and those recommendations would go back to the city’s governing body.
Mayor Robert Matheny said the first step would be to structure the process before /Council%202026/2-23-26%20council%202.jpg)
deciding who would serve on the committee. He thanked the city’s legal team and City Clerk Lauren Rogers for their preliminary work on the project. After discussion, it was decided by Council to wait until budget meetings are completed, then schedule a special meeting to focus on the charter review.
deciding who would serve on the committee. He thanked the city’s legal team and City Clerk Lauren Rogers for their preliminary work on the project. After discussion, it was decided by Council to wait until budget meetings are completed, then schedule a special meeting to focus on the charter review.
In other business, Council voted to transfer a decommissioned 2016 Ford Interceptor (Explorer), previously used by Bridgeport Police Department, to the Harrison County Sheriff’s Office for use by its Deputy Reserve Unit.
Police Chief Mark Rogers said the decommissioned vehicle has body damage and that the Tech Center had been contacted to do repairs. He said the Sheriff’s Department is a mutual aid partner and regularly assists the police department in transporting prisoners to jail, allowing city police officers to stay in city limits and perform their main function.
Council voted unanimously to transfer the vehicle which will be used by the Deputy Sheriff Reserve Unit for outreach work./Council%202026/2-23-26%20council%20mark%20rogers%202%20crop.jpg)
Another item of new business addressed by Council was to act on a Resolution authorizing the city to enter into an Intergovernmental Agreement with the West Virginia Department of Highways authorizing the city to perform snow and ice removal and pothole patching on certain WVDOH roads located within the city.
Interim City Manager Joe Shuttleworth said it is a win-win situation.
“People always mention that our city streets always look so nice after snow removal but then ask why Johnson Avenue or Route 131 by The Bridge (Sports Complex) have trouble spots, but those are state roads,” he said. “The state road guys do a lot of good work around the state and their priorities, like ours, are to clear the highest traffic areas first so they start by taking care of the interstates.”
The WVDOH welcomes the help and agrees to provide all materials.
“They will give us 100 tons of salt for the winter and if it is exceptionally bad, they can authorize more salt,” Shuttleworth said. “The other side of that is routine maintenance, patching potholes and they will supply tack and fill, deliver it and bring flaggers. Then we’ll use our crews and equipment to do the repairs. We have crews trained that will do a good job.”
Council voted unanimously to enter into the agreement.
The governing body also voted to reappoint Ron Eagle to the Bridgeport Development Authority for a three-year term to expire Jan. 31, 2029.
In other matters, Council voted in favor of a resolution authorizing the submission of a FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Application for a Stormwater Master Plan. Look for more about that matter and others/Council%202026/2-23-26%20council%20mayor.jpg)
coming up on Connect-Bridgeport.
coming up on Connect-Bridgeport. 
