By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent Media
Bowling Green is in line for some tough talks – and maybe even some tough love on its housing, its trash collection, its cemetery, its senior center, and the money it takes to deal with all the above issues.
“We’re going to have to have a real conversation,” Council President Mike Aspacher said, referencing the revenue issue. “It’s going to be time to have these tough conversations.”
Those talks will have to include elected officials, city administrators and citizens.
During a three-hour strategic planning meeting Monday evening, city officials began the conversations and plotted possible courses for the city’s future.
Many of the goals remain the same: East Wooster corridor improvements, East Side revitalization, and finding the right use for the West Wooster-Church Street property. But newer topics were also touched upon: Possibility of privatizing trash collection, the decline in housing sale prices, the filling up of cemetery plots, and the touchy subject of just who is responsible for maintaining the Wood County Senior Center.
BG strategic planning meeting held Monday evening.
Following is an overview of some of the strategic planning discussion.
- The city will look at different options for handling trash collection. According to Brian Craft, public works director, Bowling Green is one of few cities in the region to continue providing the service. The city has no fee earmarked for trash collection, but Craft pointed out that the new automated trucks costs $250,000 each. He warned the public may not be fond of the idea. “They like picking up the phone and we respond.”
- The year-end report for real estate sales in the region showed that the average sale price for homes in the Bowling Green zip code area dropped in 2015 by 1 percent to $164,314. “We want the prices to go up,” council member Sandy Rowland said. Most areas of the region posted increases. “I would really like to see housing become our number one priority in BG. We don’t want to see those figures go down again two years in a row.” Rowland also said homes in Bowling Green took 13 percent longer to sell in 2015. She added that only four condominiums –the hottest homes selling in the region – were currently on the market in the city. “We need more housing. We need better housing. We need to work with what we’ve got.”
- Major structural repairs are needed at the Wood County Senior Center, which the city leases to the Wood County Committee on Aging for $1 a year. City officials were not aware of any contract holding the city responsible for repairs, but the city had always just done the work. “It certainly seems like an opportunity for a conversation,” Aspacher said.
- Oak Grove Cemetery is close to being depleted of available plots, with 442 left to sell. “Where do we go from here,” Craft said. The city needs to examine if it wants to build another cemetery site, possibly on property owned at the corner of Green and Poe roads, which will take time to plan, he said.
- The park and recreation department will be looking at possibilities for the aging Veterans Building in City Park. The options are to rehabilitate the building, tear it down and rebuild, or just tear it down, said Kristin Otley, parks and recreation director.
- The city is facing a loss of its cable franchise funding, since the federal government will no longer allow cities to levy taxes on cable companies. That will be a loss of $150,000 a year, according to Brian Bushong, city finance director.
- The city police division is researching body cameras for officers, since they will likely be mandatory soon, Police Chief Tony Hetrick said.
Other topics touched on during the strategic planning session included:
- Possible revisiting of the historic preservation ordinance.
- Concerns about the conditions of streets and sidewalks.
- Efforts to reducing flooding issues in the Fourth Ward.
- Need for playground opportunities for children in the Parkview and Maple Hill manufactured home neighborhoods.
- Displeasure with Internet services in the city.
- Lack of housing for homeless in the community.
- Bowling Green State University’s unwillingness to join in the solar project being worked on with the city and AMP-Ohio.
- Progress on the East Wooster corridor. “It’s like putting together a big puzzle,” Mayor Dick Edwards said.
- Need for the city to find a way to get rid of dilapidated properties.
- Need for the city to update its zoning code and subdivision sections, which were last worked on in 1975.
(Other stories will follow on fire department plans and the latest discussion on the West Wooster-Church Street property.)
