By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
The green space planners want to make something very clear – Wooster Green is not another city park.
The fought-for green space at the corner of West Wooster and South Church streets in Bowling Green is a gathering place. It’s a place for the community come together to celebrate, to mourn, to learn, to appreciate music, to protest a wrong, to rally around a right.
Wooster Green will be a town square, said Nadine Edwards, an honorary co-chair of the site steering committee.
“I think the community needs to embrace the fact that this is not a park,” Edwards said Thursday during a meeting of the Wooster Green Steering Committee. “There are 11 other parks in town.”
Though the former site of the junior high is just a 1.7-acre patch of grass, it is already performing its purpose.
“It’s gathered people there in times of trouble,” Edwards said.
“It’s a gathering place,” echoed Bob Callecod, co-chair of the site’s publicity/marketing committee.
On Thursday, the steering committee met to progress plans for the site that was formally declared as an open public space by City Council on Oct. 3, 2016. The committee looked at some basic design concepts, talked about publicity and discussed fundraising efforts.
The two basic design elements are a pavilion somewhere on the site and an entrance at the corner of West Wooster and South Church streets. The exact designs are still being worked on, but will consider the historic character of the area, and will work to preserve as much green as possible. Plans will be presented for public comment, Mayor Dick Edwards said during the meeting.
“I’m all for having an open process,” Edwards said.
The steering committee is also looking at how to best make the site available for public use.
“We want to get people aware of the potential of the site and how they can use it,” Callecod said.
The mayor suggested that other communities with similar sites be consulted. He mentioned that the greens space in Bowling Green has already been used for several community gatherings.
“In each and every instance, people have respected the property,” Edwards said.
Green space meeting last week
The steering committee also discussed fundraising for the site, with Sharon Hanna taking on the role of chair of the fundraising committee. Donations are already coming in, from individuals, high school graduating classes, and original green space task force members. Edwards said funeral homes have contacted the group because some people have requested that memorial contributions go to the site.
Donations all go through the Downtown BG Foundation, not the city, the mayor stressed.
The original fundraising goal was $250,000 to $300,000, but that may change as plans proceed.
The Wooster Green Steering Committee includes: Dick Edwards as chairman; Dick Newlove and Nadine Edwards as honorary co-chairs; Mike Aspacher as non-voting representative of City Council; Bob Callecod and Ann-Marie Lancaster as co-chairs of the publicity/marketing committee; Jeff Crawford representing the city parks and recreation board; Sharon Hanna as chair of the fundraising committee; Lloyd Triggs and Lori Young as co-chairs of the design committee; Larry Nader and Michael Penrod.
“We’ve got a very dedicated group here,” the mayor said after Thursday’s meeting. “It’s very exciting.”
The next meeting of the steering committee will be April 20, at 4 p.m. The meetings are all open to the public. Information on the green space progress will be posted on the city’s website.
