By JAN McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Climbing to the top of Bowling Green’s goals for 2025 are efforts to make the city’s safety buildings more safe. To do that, the city will need to make major renovations to the downtown police station, and replace the Court Street fire station with one or two new stations.
It’s a lofty goal that will take several years and an unknown sum of money to achieve.
So when City Council members met earlier this month to set goals for next year, they decided to divide the task into bite size pieces. The first piece will be to complete a plan to update the city’s safety facilities in 2025.
Mayor Mike Aspacher asked for council’s help in determining a path forward for the fire and police structures.
“These are really pressing needs that we can’t afford to put off,” Aspacher said. “Public safety is the most basic responsibility to our citizens.”
The East Side fire station has been found to no longer be a safe place for fire and EMS crews, and studies of other locations have shown that response times could be cut if the station is moved or if two stations are built.
The police station building is a maze of inefficient spaces built 130 years ago. City and police officials agree that the station should remain downtown – but it must be made more user friendly to the public and police.
The ultimate goal for both stations is to provide adequate facilities for the city’s first responders and minimize the time it takes to respond to emergencies.
Building a new fire station could also help the city accomplish another goal of bringing economic development to the area of East Wooster Street near Thurstin and Manville avenues. The area was dubbed the city’s Gateway District in 2020, but no substantive changes have occurred there yet.
“The truth is we can’t do squat until we move the fire station,” council member Greg Robinette said. “All that needs to be front and center.”
Robinette suggested council start by completing a plan to move the fire station, renovate the police station, and address the deficiencies at both sites.
“My intent is that by the end of the year (2025) we know where we’re going,” he said.
After much discussion, council members narrowed down their goals for 2025, prioritizing the following work:
Complete a plan to update the city’s safety facilities/services.
Continue to focus on neighborhood revitalization efforts.
- Evaluate the city’s rental registration and inspection program.
- Increased emphasis on streets, sidewalks, and drainage. Improve sidewalk quality throughout the city.
Update city’s subdivision regulations.
Increase emphasis on safer pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure.
- Adopt a complete streets ordinance.
- Complete a design study/traffic analysis for downtown as called for in the Future Land Use Plan.
Emphasize City Council’s commitment to the city’s sustainability values.
- Prioritize projects within the Climate Action and Resiliency Improvement Plan.
- Create a downtown pilot recycling/composting program.
- Increase energy efficiency and renewable energy generation.
During the strategic planning meeting for City Council, the mayor listed some of the city’s accomplishments in 2024. Some of the goals had been worked on for multiple years and were completed this year:
- Creation of exterior housing maintenance code.
- Implementation of the city’s updated zoning code.
- New housing starts including a subdivision at Brim and Newton roads, and a new apartment complex on South Main Street.
- Completed West Wooster Street project.
- Completed the third year of the residential street paving program.
- Constructed roundabout at Campbell Hill Road and East Wooster Street.
- Progressed on the water project in the Village subdivision.
- Designed pickleball courts outside the community center.
- Made progress on downtown alleyway improvements.
- Creation of a Climate Action Plan.
- Complete Street designs, including pedestrian crossings at South Maple Street at West Wooster Street and at Sand Ridge Road, plus planning for multi-use paths.
Aspacher also listed some of his goals for 2025, including:
- More work on the South Main Street project, which includes waterline replacement, roadway and curb work, and installation of two pedestrian crossings and a multi-use path.
- Continue to work on retention and attraction of economic development, with a focus on workforce development.
- Filling up storefronts in the downtown.
- Continue focusing on community partnerships between the city and Bowling Green City Schools and Bowling Green State University.
