By JULIE CARLE
BG Independent News
A roundabout to improve the intersection of East Wooster Street and Dunbridge Road may become a reality if outside funding is received, and the roundabout at Brim and Bishop Roads is a step closer to construction.
Both proposed roundabouts were on Bowling Green City Council’s agenda Monday night.
First, council authorized Municipal Administrator Lori Tretter to apply for funds and if approved, contract with the Ohio Department of Transportation for Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Funds (CMAQ) for the East Wooster and Dunbridge Road roundabout.
The funds, administered by the Toledo Metropolitan Area Council of Governments, will cover approximately 70% of the estimated $1.976 million cost to complete the roundabout. The city’s share will be approximately $1.02 million—$732,000 for the project and an additional estimated $284,000 for project preparation.
It will be the city’s fourth roundabout on East Wooster Street. Currently, there are two at the East Wooster Street interchanges at Interstate 75, and one at the intersection of East Wooster and Campbell Hill Road.
The CMAQ program funds projects that reduce congestion and improve air quality. The East Wooster and Dunbridge Road roundabout would be an environmental improvement since moving traffic has fewer emissions compared to stopped traffic.
If the funding application is approved, Tretter is authorized to contract with ODOT to complete the project.
Ordinances were also introduced, but not yet adopted, for moving ahead with the proposed roundabout at Brim and Bishop roads and a pedestrian hybrid beacon on West Gypsy Lane Road and the Slippery Elm Trail.
Once approved, the legislation for the roundabout at Brim and Bishop roads will authorize Tretter and Utilities Director Brian O’Connel to sign an agreement with the Ohio Department of Transportation to proceed with the installation. As part of the project Brim Road from Poe Road to the city corporation limit north of Bishop Road will be milled and paved.
The ordinance for the hybrid beacon project, which received a first reading, will authorize Tretter and O’Connell to sign an agreement with ODOT and to request qualifications to enter into bids and contracts for design engineering, right of way acquisition, construction and other services for the project installation.
Council member William Herald said, “There will be a significant investment” for the roundabouts and the hybrid beacon. He praised the administration for their efforts at identifying funds to assist the city.
Herald said the projects are very forward-thinking and will help the city. The outside money that is being sought “will amplify the money that we put in. And we end up with a better product than if we’d paid for it ourselves,” he acknowledged.
While the city is getting a lot for its share of the project costs, and will be better off because of the two roundabouts and hybrid beacon, Herald reminded everyone “that every dollar we spend out of the street repair fund for these worthy projects is not a dollar that we are spending on our regular street maintenance” and there are streets and sidewalks that need work.
“The cost is that we don’t have a comfortable amount of money in our street repair fund to be able to handle these special projects and also stay ahead of our street repair,” he said.
Fire Division sees increase in call volumes
The Bowling Green Fire Division had 2,267 emergency calls in the first seven months of the year, an increase of 245 more calls than during the same period in 2024, Fire Chief Bill Moorman told council.
“This is a big one for us. It affects us every moment of every day,” he said. “We fully expect that run volume to be easily over 4,000 this year,” compared to 3,758 in 2024.
Approximately 75% of the emergency runs are from medical-related calls that “keeps us on our toes,” he said. The division continues to look to implement innovative ways to deal with the increasing call volume.
Three full-time advanced life support ambulances are in place, equipped to handle medical emergencies. The fire engines now have the equipment that allows personnel to handle medical emergencies, so when all of the ambulances are busy, an engine can respond to a medical emergency from one of the stations or break away from an emergency scene to stabilize patients until an ambulance can be dispatched to the location to assist or to transport the patient to Wood County Hospital, Moorman explained.
He is also concerned with call overlap or when multiple emergencies occur at the same time. “Currently, the average overlap is 71%, but with BGSU students back that will jump to about 78% with additional spikes to the mid-80% on weekends.
To handle the significant call overlap, Moorman said they bring in additional off-duty personnel. With the addition of Vicky Beilfuss, who recently graduated from the Ohio Fire Academy, the department is at full strength.
For the fourth consecutive year, the BG fire division has earned the American Heart Association’s Million Lifeline Gold Standard Award. This is the highest-level award possible, and it recognizes pre-hospital agencies nationwide for excellence in heart attack and stroke care.
The division also maintained its ISO Class II rating, as one of only 118 fire departments in Ohio to achieve that level. The classification equates to less expensive residential and commercial insurance premiums for all residences and businesses in Bowling Green, Moorman said.
The ISO rating also includes the city’s water distribution system, BG Utilities Director McConnell said. The information is gathered from the water plant into the city, and includes how the system operates and functions.
“We work closely with Bill and the fire department on testing the hydrants to get the data and information about the flows at hydrants” that contribute to the Class II grading,” McConnell said.
“The water department always brings in the highest scores of the three sections” that are part of the evaluation, Moorman said, thanking O’Connell for their efforts.
O’Connell also reported the department is working on the electric cost of service study to help determine electric rates for the next couple of years.
“The last rate increase we had was July 2021, so we’re going on four years without any electric rate increases,” he said. “
There have been large increases in price costs from the capacity markets and for First Energy transmission costs. “These increases are going to play into our rates and rate structures as we move forward,” he added.
BG Song update
Rose Drain updated council on Bowling Green Save Our Neighborhoods Group plans for this weekend’s BGSU’s Move-In. On Thursday from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Trinity United Methodist Church, 200 N. Summit St., volunteers are invited to help assemble the materials that will be handed out to nearly 2,500 rental homes over the weekend.
She also reported plans are progressing for the Rock Our Vets initiative in partnership with the Wood County Veterans Services Office, BGSU’s Nontraditional and Military Student Services and the C. Raymond Marvin Center for Leadership and Civic Engagement. The groups will collaborate this fall for a community cleanup and repair project dedicated to local military veterans.
Council also:
• Accepted the annexation of nearly 68 acres of land located along the 14000 block of Bishop Road. Robert W. Maurer was the agent for petitioners Dougnflow LLC, Robert W. Maurer and Maurer Family Farms. A public hearing is planned Tuesday, Sept. 2 regarding a request to establish interim zoning of R-2 medium density residential for the annexed property.
• Suspended second and third readings for an ordinance to provide supplemental or amending appropriations for the current expenses and other expenditures of the city through the end of the year.
• Agreed to proceed with the Plan of Services of the expanded Bowling Green Central Business Special Improve District inc. and to provide for the levy of assessments.
•Went into executive session to discuss real estate acquisition but took no action.
