By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Bowling Green city officials long ago bought into the idea of collaboration with area emergency services. At times, that has involved shared equipment, such as the recent $500,000 MARCS radio tower erected in the city that is benefiting several local fire and police departments.
But building a new joint emergency services facility with BGSU is not on the city’s radar.
The city has no plans to move the police station from the downtown area, Bowling Green Mayor Mike Aspacher said Sunday. And while city officials are looking for a new site for the east side fire station, there are no plans for a joint emergency services building with BGSU Police Department.
On Friday, State Rep. Haraz Ghanbari, R-Perrysburg, organized a meeting that included Bowling Green city, police and fire leadership, along with BGSU police – to discuss the recently opened University of Toledo Police and Ohio State Patrol joint facility in Toledo.
Bowling Green city officials attended to learn more about regional collaborative efforts, Aspacher said.
“We value local partnerships,” the mayor said. “It’s been our priority to maintain existing partnerships and build new partnerships.”
In Bowling Green, that teamwork has led to conversations with BGSU officials about finding a location for a new east side fire station near the college campus.
But reports that the city and campus are currently considering a joint emergency services facility are reportedly erroneous.
There are no plans to move from the newer west side fire station on Pearl Street, or to move out of the downtown police station at the corner of West Wooster Street and South Church Street.
“It is my intent to keep the police division in the downtown area,” Aspacher said Sunday.
The only new emergency services facility in the foreseeable future is a move of the east side fire station, currently at the corner of Thurstin Avenue and East Court Street, to an as yet unknown location. The fire station was built in 1984.
In the spring of 2020, the city brought in experts to help find a new home for its oldest fire station.
To make sure an appropriate spot is found for the fire station, the Ohio Fire Chiefs Association was asked to study the building, the fire and EMS runs, the staffing, and the city as a whole.
BGSU President Rodney Rogers has commented on the value of having the east side fire station so close to the campus, the mayor said. So BGSU officials will be involved in the discussions.
The aging station no longer meets the current needs of the fire division, including the sleeping provisions being located directly above the equipment bays.
“That building does have physical challenges,” Aspacher said. “I think we need to have a broad community conversation about that.”
In addition to being outdated, the current east side station location is being eyed by city leaders as a possible place to jumpstart development in the city’s new Gateway District, which includes the property along East Wooster Street from Thurstin and Manville to Enterprise Street.
Moving the fire station elsewhere on the east side would open up the prime spot at East Court and Thurstin for development.
The police station, which occupies the former municipal administration building, was last renovated in the early 1980s. The building is being looked at by the city historic preservation commission as a structure worth saving in the community.
