BG Reports

In response to residents’ requests that the city give greater protection to parkland, the Bowling Green city council adopted a new park zoning ordinance in a unanimous vote Monday night.

The ordinance will allow that seven city parks will now be zoned as Recreation-Conservation.

Certain structures that are incompatible with parkland use will no longer be allowed to be constructed within the parks under the new Recreation-Conservation zoning classification. The ordinance will create a system of public notification for new structures on park land, allowing for public comment and input on activities in the parks, Recreation and Parks Director Michelle Grigore said.

Additionally, the City of Bowling Green has been given a research grant to install charging stations for electric cars in public parking lots. Three of these charging stations on BGSU’s campus and three in downtown.

Utilities Director Brian O’Connell said that the city does not plan on charging people for using these car charging stations, besides using parking meters that are already in place. He said that the university does plan on charging for the use of the electric car chargers by means of a credit card swipe machine.

Residents can also expect to hear more about the levy under consideration for a new outdoor pool at City Park in future meetings. The levy involves a 20-year tax of .6 mills – which means six cents per $100 – to pay for a new aquatic facility.

“The Board respects that there is never going to be a good time to ask for funding, but closing the pool is not an option,” said Jodi Anderson, the chair of the Parks & Recreation board.

The current pool is nearing the end of its lifespan, and many families like that the pool is located in a safe area of the city and that it provides an outdoor activity for their children during the summer, Anderson said.

Other legislation adopted includes amending the site plan for the Heritage Corner Healthcare Campus on Klotz Road for construction of additional parking before the onset of winter.

An agreement between Brian O’Connell and Darr’s Cleaning, Inc. was passed for the emergency cleaning of the sewer on Dunbridge Road following a resident’s complaint about the smell coming from the sewer.

Other ordinances that will be acted on in future meetings include:

• Amendment and adoption of Section 33.04 of the City of Bowling Green codified ordinances, relative to pay scales to seasonal employees
• Ordinance allowing the municipal administrator to enter into a contract without advertising and bidding with Bender Communications, Inc. for radio communications equipment
• Ordinance authorizing an agreement for the purchase of return activated sludge pump parts for the wastewater treatment plant

Agendas for city council meetings can be found here, as well as minutes and adopted legislation records.

Tags: Bowling Green Ohio, City Council

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 10th, 2011 at 11:46 am and is filed under Fall 2011, Local stories, Student Contributor. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.