By JAN McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
The public got a peak Tuesday evening at the new fire station planned at Carter Park.
Since the new station will sit in a public park, the city was required to hold a public hearing to show local residents, softball players, disc golf enthusiasts, and anyone else interested in the preliminary plans.
Carter Park, located on the east side of Bowling Green, between Campbell Hill Road and Interstate 75, was created in the early 1970s on acreage donated by the Everett E. Carter family. The deed stipulated that the land be used for park purposes.
In 1976, the city purchased an additional 46 acres adjacent to the park, explained Municipal Administrator Lori Tretter. And in 1984, the city water tower was constructed in the southwest corner of the acreage.
Mayor Mike Aspacher stressed that while construction may cause some complications, once completed, the new fire station will not preclude any of the current activities at the park. The ballfields and parking lots will remain the same. The disc golf course will require two holes to be modified. And the inclusive playground will remain as is, as well as the shelter houses.
The new fire station will sit northeast of the water tower, and will be constructed with materials similar to those used on the exterior of the new city administration building, according to Justin Fogle, of The Collaborative.
The 10,000-square-foot structure will have three equipment bays facing west, and residential quarters for up to 10 firefighters.
Fogle described how the current entrance to Carter Park sits to the north of the water tower, and one of the exits circles around to the south edge of the property. The new layout will have entering and exiting traffic using a widened roadway along the southern edge of the park. The existing drive for park users will continue along the ballfields to the playground on the north part of the park. That roadway will remain the same, exiting at the north end of the park onto Campbell Hill Road.
Fire equipment and personnel will use the same main public entrance at the south edge of the park, that then veers off toward the new station, then heads west for its own exit onto Campbell Hill Road.
Mary-Margaret Boda, the senior project manager for the construction, said construction is expected to begin in the middle of July, and potentially be completed in August of 2027.
Boda cautioned the summer construction may make it messy for park patrons. “There will be heavy traffic,” she said.
But the park will always be open during park hours, Tretter said. The construction site will be fenced in. The drive on the south side of the water tower will be improved first. And the existing parking lot to the west of the water tower will be used for construction vehicles.
The only temporary cancellation will likely be use of the park for cross country meets during the season this fall.
Tretter noted that a year-round public restroom may be connected to the fire station – if it fits into the budget.
Myles Graber, a member of the GAS Disc Golf Association, said after the meeting that he was glad to see the city working with the sports group to find solutions. “I appreciate seeing all this work going into this,” Graber said.
During the public input part of the meeting, City Council member Kathleen Dennis suggested that bioretention areas be considered for the station. She offered to send examples to the team planning the station.
Council member Bill Herald asked if there is room for expansion in the future if that is needed. Fire Chief Bill Moorman said the plans are for “building a fire station not just for today.” He said the new station should meet the city’s needs for 30 or more years, with room for more equipment, and room for 10 beds though the original staffing will be four or five firefighters on each shift.
The new station is part of an overall plan to improve fire and EMS responses in the city. Bowling Green currently has two stations – one on East Court Street and one on Pearl Street. A levy passed by voters last fall supported the building of two new fire stations – the main station and headquarters will be at a new site on Newton Road by the community center, and the satellite station at Carter Park. The Pearl Street station will remain, but the East Court Street station will be demolished.
The combined costs of the two new stations will be approximately $25.2 million. Both have similar timelines for completion by the fall of 2027.
Moorman predicted the new east side fire station will be one of the busiest, since there are several nursing home facilities in that area of the city. When asked by a citizen, Moorman estimated the east side station will respond to an average of 4.2 EMS runs a day.
