By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
As citizens gawk at the outside of the new Veterans Building in City Park, work on the inside of the structure is also nearly complete.
“I know people are definitely going out to look at it,” Bowling Green Parks and Recreation Director Kristin Otley said Tuesday during a park board meeting.
“They are in full-throttle mode on the inside,” she said of the contractor at the site.
The day before, Otley had given a tour of the inside to Mayor Mike Aspacher, Municipal Administrator Lori Tretter and Assistant Administrator Joe Fawcett. Sometimes it’s handy to have a mayor with a lifetime of experience in the building trades, Otley said.
“It was very comforting to me to hear him say, ‘This is good work,’” Otley said of Aspacher’s assessment of the construction.
At the park board’s direction, the contractor was able to salvage the old wood floors from the southern room of the previous Veterans Building. That wood now covers the walls in the new building’s lobby.
“It turned out really, really well,” she said.
This week, tables and chairs are expected to be delivered to the site.
Otley predicted the interior would be done “in a matter of weeks” – with “substantial completion” by the end of February. That will leave the landscaping and exterior painting to be done when the weather warms up.
“We can use the building without those things done,” she said.
But rental of the facility will likely wait until the end of March, Otley said. She predicted the city will host a function in the building first, just to make sure all the wrinkles are ironed out with the sound system, technology, and use of tables and chairs.
“As soon as we can open that up, we’ll do that,” she said. “It’s coming, it’s coming.”
Aspacher praised the new facility.
“It is really an impressive facility, and I’m eager to see it completed,” the mayor said.
Ground was broken for the new $3.75 million building in May. To make room, the old Veterans Building, the Girl Scout Building, and the Depot in City Park had to be torn down. In addition to the new building, there will be more parking and turn lanes at the park entry to reduce traffic congestion.
In expectation of high demands for the new building, the Bowling Green Parks and Recreation Board voted in August to set the rental rates for the site. The new building in City Park will fill a gap in rental locations in the city, according to Otley. The new banquet room will be able to accommodate 250 people.
The Simpson Garden Building can hold a maximum of 160 people. The BGSU Union and the new exhibition building on the Wood County Fairgrounds are massive. So the new City Park building will meet the in-between needs.
And it’s already in demand, Otley said in the fall, as she asked the board to consider setting rental rates. The rates are comparable with other similar facilities in the area, she said.
“We want to keep it reasonable for people,” Otley said.
The proposed rates for the largest room are:
- $400 for four hours for BG residents.
- $425 for four hours for non-residents.
- $675 for eight hours for city residents.
- $700 for eight hours for non-residents.
- $850 for all day for city residents.
- $875 for all day for non-residents.
There will also be two smaller rooms that can be rented in the new Veterans Building.
On Tuesday evening, the parks and recreation board set a new fee for “support” programs that reserve the large room of the new building. The low rate is for community programs that offer recreational activities to the public.
The board agreed to charge $80, which basically covers the expense of setting up, tearing down and cleaning the room.
“We just want to cover our costs for that,” Otley said.
