By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
After decades of dreaming, Bowling Green officials are moving ahead with plans for a new $11 million city administration building on the site of the current senior center.
The new building would include a much larger City Council chamber, with an occupancy of 120, so citizens won’t have to listen from the hallway if more than 66 attend.
After years of delays, several pieces of the plan are falling into place – including the senior center moving out of its North Main Street building, the drop in interest rates, and the end to other debt owed by the city.
On Tuesday evening, a feasibility study for the new building was presented to City Council and the Board of Public Utilities.
“The conclusions of this study reinforce a long held belief of mine – that our current city building has reached the end of its useful life and also that our community deserves a city building that we can be proud of,” Mayor Mike Aspacher said.
“A new city building has been a goal of city leaders for many years and it is most certainly a goal of mine. It is my opinion that the time to act is now,” Aspacher said.
The city contracted with Poggemeyer Design Group and the Collaborative to study the current city building at 304 N. Church St. and the current senior center building which the city owns at 305 N. Main St., then come up with a plan for a new city administration building.
The result was a plan for a new building using the front facade of the senior center. The rest of the current senior center and the city building would be demolished, as well as the house just to the north of the city building on North Church Street.
The study found deficiencies with both the current city building and senior center – which were both built for other purposes.
The city administration building began its life more than a century ago as a school. It then was turned into a library, and in 1975 became the city administration building. The city building’s age, size and configuration often result in an overflowing council chambers, it is barely ADA accessible, and has inadequate security. The result is a 17,000-square-foot building with cramped offices, maze-like spaces and cobbled together technology.
Both buildings have outdated mechanical, electric and plumbing systems, ADA challenges, layout impediments, aging infrastructure and mounting deferred maintenance. And the senior center, which was built in 1914 as a post office, has had flooding issues in the basement.
“It makes more sense to demolish this rather than renovate it,” Jason Collert of Poggemeyer Design Group, said of the city building.
The senior center building, on the other hand, has a front facade that is worth saving, he said. The city’s Historic Preservation Commission has identified the building as a community asset.
Plans call for the city to continue using its existing building on North Grove until the new building on North Main is complete. The entire project is estimated to take two years.
The estimated costs for the project are:
• Demolition $426,250
• Site $877,300
• Building $7,389,837
• Soft Costs (like furniture, permits, surveys) $1,154,339
• Contingency $1,043,207
• Total Estimated Project Cost $10,890,933
The new city building would retain the ornate front of the current senior center. The rest of the building would be demolished, and the basement would be filled in. The main entrance for the public would be on the west side of the building.
The first floor of the building would have the larger council chambers, plus the offices most often used by the public – tax department, planning and grants, utilities and public works. The second floor would house the mayor’s office, law, finance and IT departments. The second story would be open to the council chambers below.
Outside the new building, the plan calls for more green space and more parking with a better traffic flow. The parking will be in a lot off North Church Street, where the current city building and neighboring house now sit.
The plan also calls for a portion of Oak Street to be vacated. The western half of the street would be maintained for access from the parking lot. But the portion off of Main Street might be closed to allow for more public green space between the new city building and the library.
Municipal Administrator Lori Tretter said the city will talk with library officials about the book drop off box in that portion of Oak Street.
The mayor acknowledged that the timing for a new building might be questioned by some.
“While we must be attentive to the important current issues and the unprecedented challenges which we now face, we must not allow the pandemic to paralyze us and we must continue to look forward and position the city to take full advantage of opportunities that present themselves,” Aspacher said.
And now is the “right fit at the right time,” he said.
“Now having worked in this building daily for almost a year, the urgency to act is even more evident to me,” Aspacher said.
Over the years, as the condition of the city building worsened and the structure could not keep up with current needs, city officials have considered numerous existing facilities, sites and concepts to remedy the situation.
But it was agreed that any future city building must be in Downtown Bowling Green.
“We believe that we are an economic boost to our downtown community—we have over 50 employees and generate a lot of activity,” Tretter said.
Council member Bill Herald was pleased that the new building will be downtown.
“Remaining in the downtown is very, very important,” he said.
In preparation for a new building, the city began to manage long-term debt to leave space for borrowing for the new facility.
Meanwhile, the Wood County Committee on Aging is planning to vacate the old senior center building when its new facility is open in spring of 2021.
The mayor pointed out that the building deficiencies will only keep growing, and the market conditions for borrowing are hard to pass up on.
“The city has been positioning itself for borrowing for a city building renovation or building for many years. That means that the project will not involve new taxes or increases in utility rates, and it will not impact city finances for operations and services.”
“It is my opinion that Bowling Green citizens deserve a city building where they can access services in a modern, comfortable, efficient facility in their historic downtown,” Aspacher said. “They deserve to be able to attend a public meeting in a room of sufficient size that does not create the need to overflow into a hallway or to stand outside. City employees deserve to work in a healthy environment. We have studied, we have considered, we have planned, and it is time to move forward.”
“Our current city building has reached the end of its life,” Aspacher said.
The new building would be constructed to be energy efficient. Plans call for water and electric efficiency, consideration of using geo-thermal energy, and use of recycled building materials.
The plans for the proposed building are available on the city’s website, and models will be displayed in locations throughout the city, Aspacher said.
Council member Sandy Rowland agreed that now is the time.
“I think this is a golden opportunity,” she said. The city is about to retire debt on other projects, which will free up funding. And the current low interest rate means the project would be almost interest free.
“That is an opportunity we should not pass up,” Rowland said. “We are investing in Bowling Green. Investing in ourselves.”
Megan Newlove, president of the board of public utilities, agreed.
“We’re finally at the point where the time is right,” she said.
Council member Greg Robinette said the new city building would bring opportunities. “This is a strong selling point” for the city, he said.
Herald echoed those feelings.
“We have a chance to do this right, and we’re headed on the right path,” he said.
