Bill Herald, City Council Representative for Bowling Green 4th, has proposed building a dog park in Bowling Green. I am shocked. This is the first time I can remember Bill Herald proposing or working to accomplish new initiatives. His pattern is to take other people’s proposals and then see if he can’t have them studied to death.
Three recent issues stand out. One is the matter food trucks. There are some basic questions to be asked in order to estimate the impact of food trucks operating in the city, but the questions and decisions do not take a lot of time. Bill Herald chose to construct a 180-page presentation. Fortunately, the other members of council put the kibosh on the presentation before any more time could be wasted on the matter.
The second recent matter that Bill Herald proposed studying to death is the single-use plastic bag ban. Even after nine months of discussion Bill Herald relentlessly pushed for more study and a general referendum rather than vote one way or the other.
Third, two years ago, Bill Herald called for the city to conduct a flooding study. We still have flooding in the 4th Ward, but no coherent study has emerged and no recommendations for remediation.
Frankly, I think the dog park proposal will also wind up in another of Herald’s endless studies. Bill is even quoted saying he wants to put this matter into study. He is not proposing anything. He uses the “further study” ploy to catch and kill action. It is important that voters in the 4th Ward to recognize this pattern of stopping action on civic development with the “further study” ploy.
As an aside, it is worth commenting on the irony that his opponent for election in the 4th Ward, Jeff Dennis, is a long time dedicated dog walker. While he is out knocking doors, one of his dogs is usually with him and they are both wearing “Elect Jeff Dennis” swag. Dog parks are by no means a cornerstone of Dennis’s election campaign, but the topic has come up. It appears that Bill Herald is following Jeff Dennis and hearing about some of those conversations. Jeff Dennis has lots of great ideas for making Bowling Green an attractive place where young people will want to settle and raise families. Electing Jeff Dennis is a huge step toward rational decision making and timely action.
Eric Jones
Bowling Green
