By JAN McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Bowling Green City Council learned of volunteer efforts to “rock the block” in older neighborhoods, heard from citizens wanting to plug into more solar energy, and reflected on the loss of a shining star in the community.
City Council President Mark Hollenbaugh began Monday’s meeting with a tribute to former council member Sandy Rowland, who passed away last month.
“Our community lost a very bright light,” Hollenbaugh said.
Citizen Lindsay Jo Durham also rose to talk about Rowland’s sincere care for others, and her ability to inspire community members to be involved.
“She brought out the best of Bowling Green,” Durham said.
The success of the “Rock the Block” project by community and campus volunteers was reported by Rose Drain, president of the BG Save Our Neighborhoods Group. The project gathered volunteers to perform minor house repairs and major yardwork for homeowners unable to do the work themselves.
The project took place on two Saturdays, one in April and one in May. A total of 16 households in older neighborhoods benefited from 550 hours of volunteer labor, Drain reported.
“It was just a wonderful experience,” she said. “It was really touching. We feel very blessed.”
While one professional carpenter volunteered to make home repairs, the rest of the city residents and BGSU students provided labor and enthusiasm, Drain said.
“We did a lot of dirty work,” she said.
The “Rock the Block” project received $3,750 from the Bowling Green Community Foundation, other funding from individuals and groups, plus the loan of tools.
“It’s a shining example of community,” Drain said. “To build connections one neighborhood at a time.”
When Drain finished speaking, city officials and citizens in the audience gave her a round of applause – not a common occurrence at council meetings.
Vassiliki Leontis, a member of BG SONG, spoke next, thanking the organization for filling important needs in the community. Leontis said “Rock the Block” volunteers performed yardwork at her home that she was unable to do herself. A crew of seven people spent four hours at her home.
“It’s a very good thing for an organization like this to exist,” she said, noting the intense planning of the grassroots effort.
Also at the meeting, City Council heard from residents voicing support for community solar projects.
Joe DeMare asked the city to invest in a community solar field, from which city residents can buy a share of the power generated. Plans to remove the obsolete wind turbines at the Wood County Landfill could be the perfect opportunity to turn that site into solar, he said.
“Make it a community solar project,” DeMare urged.
Ruth Walker, a new resident of Bowling Green, said she lives in an apartment but would prefer to pay for solar power. She voiced skepticism about power from petroleum. “Even though they pretend it’s clean, it’s not,” she said.
And Helen Dukes asked City Council to eliminate dependence on oil and look for other ways to provide power to Bowling Green.
“I have always appreciated that Bowling Green was one of the earliest to set up windmills,” she said, urging the city to continue to seek out green energy options.
In other business Monday evening, City Council approved an ordinance establishing interim commercial zoning for approximately three acres at the southwest corner of Bishop Road and Ohio 25, which was recently annexed to the city.
Council also voted to amend its Clean Air Act ordinance to include language clarifying recreational marijuana laws. City Attorney Hunter Brown recommended the changes to clarify laws regarding uses of marijuana in the following instances:
- Smoking in public.
- Use indoors in a commercial setting.
- Use by minors under 21.
- Use by passengers in a motor vehicle.
There are already laws in place prohibiting use of alcohol or drugs while driving, Brown said.
The changes also include the addition of definitions for the terms adult consumer, adult use cannabis and public places, language modifications to provide consistency for citations, removal of sections that prohibited possession to align with that which is allowed by the state, and amending the city’s Clean Air Act to prohibit smoking of marijuana in the same circumstances where tobacco is prohibited.
