by Kate Shunney
The Morgan County Commission approved a plan to seek a grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) to study the feasibility of building a trail from the northern end of Cacapon State Park into Berkeley Springs, possibly connecting to the planned North Berkeley Rail Trail with future reaches to the C&O Canal. A feasibility study would explore options for a regional trail connection between major outdoor recreation attractions in the area.
Commission President Bill Clark asked his colleagues to consider the ARC grant option after the county missed out on another federal transportation grant for the same concept.
Commissioners agreed to ask Region 9 Planning & Development to assist the county in applying for the ARC grant, and they voted to approve an $82,000 local match to pay for a feasibility study in the event that the grant was successful. That money was already in the county’s budget for a match for the federal transportation grant.
“I would encourage us to make the effort to do this,” Clark said.
He said a feasibility study – which would determine if the trails could be linked together over public and private land – is vital because of the area where the trail would go. The northern end of Cacapon State Park is located off Quaint Acres Lane. A connector trail would have to go over Warm Springs Ridge in order to reach Berkeley Springs and a planned North Berkeley Rail Trail.
Housing assistance program
In other business, the Morgan County Commission approved a resolution to participate in the Eastern Panhandle HOME Consortium for Fiscal Year 2026, from July 2025 through June 2026.
Cory Roman, the director of the consortium, told county officials that the City of Martinsburg, which acts as the qualifying agency to receive Housing & Urban Development (HUD) funds, will disburse the annual funding throughout the participating towns and counties. Those funds are primarily used in Morgan County to help first-time homebuyers by supplying up to $14,500 up front for qualifying buyers.
Roman said if the buyer and the home qualifies, the HOME Consortium will provide the down payment assistance. If the buyers agree to stay in the home for at least five years, the no-interest deferred loan is converted into a grant.
In Fiscal Year 2025, Morgan County’s allotment of HOME funding was $163,761.
“It’s a complicated program but we have helped a lot of people get into homes,” said Commissioner Clark. “$15,000 is a lot up front.”
Roman said there is a price cap for homes to qualify for the program. It had been $200,000, but those caps are updated each spring to keep pace with market prices and changes.
He said homes have to pass a HUD inspection to qualify for the downpayment funding, but he said “it’s not a stringent process” that blocks reasonable homes from qualifying.
