City Council - Regular Meeting

All right. Would you please rise and join me in the pledge of allegiance? I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Okay, Jody, could you call the role, please? Dennis Harold here. Holland here. Musgrave here. Odoricio here. Fipps here. Robinette here. Okay. The minutes from our October 6th meeting were distributed for your review. Are there any additions or corrections to those minutes? Hearing none. Do I have a motion to approve? So moved. Second. Properly moved and seconded. All in favor say I. I. Oppos. Same sign. correspondence. Jody, do we have any correspondence this evening?

We do not. Okay. So, that brings us to lobby visitation. Mr. President,

Mr. Robinette, uh just prior to lobby visitation, I'd interject something here. Recently, I' I've received uh some questions about public access to the information and documents that council receives before council meetings. And just as a reminder to everyone who who follows council meetings, the council discussed and responded to this concern in 2023 and since January 2nd of 2024, um the clerk of council has been posting typically the Friday before each council meeting, copies of the agenda, copies of the full text of any resolution or ordinance that will be introduced, and any exhibits and supporting documents that go with those ordinances and resolutions. And this is the same information provided to council members again since January of 2024. Just as a reminder. Thank you.

All right. Thank you, Jody. Sorry. Bob Cranking Camp.

Okay. If you could give your uh name and address for the record, please. My name is Robert or Bob as I prefer crying camp. Uh I live on State Route 199. Uh what else did you want? That's good. Okay. Well, thank you for letting me come and speak tonight. 1,258 days ago, I came before this council. the night when you were working on the ARPA uh funds and if you don't break that down it was three years 5 months and nine days but we don't count that much that night if you remember there were 13 different proposals prepared that night uh some of them were very interesting and very worthwhile and several of them have been funded and u you know the the disc golf was a wonderful project. Um the cocoon funds, the public library funds, the dog walking funds, the parking dog walking park is a wonderful fund. But I'm here tonight to talk to you about the the vote that you made at that night or soon to uh start the pickle ball court fund with $150,000. After that, uh, we went out and raised an additional $150,000 and then we got some more government funds from the state that, uh, Terresa Gavon, uh, was able to help secure. And I don't know exactly what the budget was, but, uh, you know, we had several meetings. the mayor was uh involved with us and uh we thank him for his support

in everything that he's done. We have a wonderful complex out there. I don't know if any of you saw the video that I uh prepared that uh and was sent to each one of you uh through the uh uh tongue and cheek pickle ball video that I made. But those were all those are all people that play out there. And if you drive by there at all, um you see u most of the a lot of the courts are are done or being used uh 18 hours a day. We get out there, God help me, but we get out there at 8:00 in the morning. The the last few mornings there were actually people out there playing when it was 44 or 45 degrees. I was not one of them. Okay, I am smarter than that. Uh but so this all this is accumulating in the fact that this Thursday at 4:00 we are going to have the ribbon cutting. The the park has been in use for about a month or six weeks now. U but they've got the shelter house done. The shelter house that will be used for the soccer fields and for the pickle ball. Uh so that was the last thing. The light the lighting system on this uh project is unbelievable. You can see better playing at night than you can can at night or in the morning. The the lights and I don't know if any of you know this, but when they set up the lights, they use laser beams to hit the center of the court. So all four uh lights were were hitting the exact center of the court and spreading it out. There's not a bad spot on that court. And when we had some rain, there was only one court that had a couple of little puddles in it. They did a

magnificent job. And I don't know who who did it all. Um that wasn't part of my responsibility. It was great just to stand there and uh and go go by every day or two and and take some more videos that I you know is what I sent to you folks. Uh, but it it it will be a great asset to the community of Bowling Green. And I just want to thank you and make sure you're all invited to attend this uh Thursday afternoon at 4:00 uh and see what what you started 1,258 days ago. Okay. Thank you.

Yeah. Thank you. And thank you to everyone in your group. It was a great partnership and uh it shows what we can do if we all pull in the same direction. It does. Thank you very much. Thank you, Mike. Dick Edwards, if you could please state your ameritus and address for the record. Uh Dick Edwards, 205 Willowwood Circle, Bowling Green. You need my phone number, too. Everyone seems to know it. That's fine.

Thank you very much, Mr. President. Mayor and staff, members of council, I really appreciate the opportunity to come before you tonight. I'm speaking on behalf of the 13 member mayorapp appointed fire EMS committee and I'd like to speak very briefly about the fire EMS levy which you will be decided by the voters of Bowling Green on November 4th. Two members of the committee are with me tonight. my wife Naen and Scott Maine, retired PG firefighter and paramedic, very skilled. And Scott, I appreciate you you're joining with us. And Naen, you're stuck with me. So, first, I can't underscore enough the significance of your unanimous vote in support of the levy back way back on July 21st, 2025. As a committee, we have been meeting since August 18th and have had 10 meetings to date. We have spent considerable time looking at every aspect of the levy and its implications for the future of the city of Bowling Green. We have been particularly concerned about the dramatic increase in demand for emergency services. It is projected that in 2025, the demand for emergency services will surpass 4,000 calls. Now, we look to the voters of the city of Bowling Green in the hope that a yes vote will make a significant difference in the delivery of fire EMS services in the city. It will not only ensure life-saving responses response times, but thanks to council and the administration, an affirmative vote will make possible the construction of two new stations in strategic parts of the city and retention of the westside station without any additional personnel. A yes vote in support of a

0.15% tax on earn come on earn income only will also provide for the replacement of the aging ladder truck and provide for other muchneeded fire emergency equipment to better serve the citizens of Bowling Green. We know all too well that the difference between life and death in a fire EMS emergency is often measured in minutes, sometimes even in seconds. The goal in Bowling Green is always to reach most citizens in four minutes or less. And this levy will help to make that optimal response time possible for nearly 90% of the homes in Bowling Green. And I think you have at your place there a little postcard that really shows the uh coverage uh what this would mean for the coverage of EMS fire services within that four minutes or less uh range. As a personal aside and as a longtime resident of Larch Landing next to the hospital, we are sadly all too familiar with emergency runs in our neighborhood and we are fortunate that the Westside Station is very close by. We know how much proximity and time means and the value of skilled emergency services and equipment. In my eight years as BG mayor, it was a special honor for me to swear in new chiefs, officers, and recruits and to work closely with both the police and fire divisions. For me, the overriding factor was professionalism, the dedication to duty, and the commitment by both divisions. uh to training. We can all take pride in the fact that both divisions are nationally accredited as we all know,

but it bears repeating. Bowling Green is one of the few communities in Ohio that can make that claim and it should be a source of pride for all of our citizens. On behalf of the committee, Scott Maine and I will be happy to answer any questions you might have about the levy and the work of the committee. And if you can persuade Naen to come up and answer any questions, I she's welcome to do so. Thank you very much for your time and I appreciate and thanks for your leadership and making this possible. Thank you very much for uh continuing to serve. Thank you. Thank you. Does anyone have any questions for the mayor of Meritus? Well, or for Scott

or for Naen. Naen's chomping at the bit to get up to the microphone. Okay, I think we're good. We know. You're letting me off easily. We We know all about it. Okay. Well, thank you very much. We appreciate I can't underscore enough your support. It really meant has meant a great deal to all of us. Thank you. Thank you, Scott Maine. I'm just with Scott with Dick to answer any questions that might have come up. I don't have anything more to say. Any questions for Scott? Okay. Sean Brennan.

Good evening. I'm Sean Brennan. I live at 208 Everly Avenue here in Bowling Green. Uh, I'd first like to thank all of you council members and the city staff for all the all the efforts that you put in to make our community great. Um, I'm here tonight on behalf of the BG Porchfest committee uh to announce that our 2026 Porchfest will be the first weekend, the first Saturday after Memorial Day. So that'll be May 30th in the afternoon. Uh, similar time before, similar number of bands before, early afternoon winding up about 7. Uh, and that applications for bands are open now. That goes through Facebook through the BG Porchfest page and closes January 1st at midnight. So, thank you very much for your time and that's what I'm here for tonight. Thanks. All right. Thank you very much.

That's everyone for this evening. Okay, that brings us excuse me to the introduction of new legislation. Mr. President, Mr. Robinette from the finance committee. I have two ordinances. First, an ordinance providing supplemental and/or amending appropriations for the current expenses and other expenditures of the city of Bowling Green, Ohio during the fiscal year beginning January 1st, 2025 and ending December 31st, 2025. And an ordinance authorizing the municipal administrator to sell vehicles no longer needed for municipal purposes. Okay, Mr. President, Mr. Agaricio

from the Community Improvement Committee, we have a resolution authorizing the city of Bowling Green to become a power a clean future Ohio community.

Okay. And then from utilities, I have three ordinances. I have an ordinance authorizing the utilities director to enter into contracts for lime sludge disposal services. I have an ordinance authorizing the utilities director to enter into contracts for annual inventory requirements, underground and overhead lines insurance and sale of scrap materials in 2026. and an ordinance accepting utility easements from the Northwestern Ohio Tractor Pullers Association Incorporated, uh, Bowling Green Board of Education, Lock It Up LLC, and Board of Trustees of Middleton Township. That brings us to our reports for this evening. Mr. Mayor,

thank you, Mr. President. Good evening, council. Before I be before I begin, I would like to extend my appreciation to Mayor Edwards, Naen, and Scott Maine for being here this evening and sharing those words from the election committee. I should also add my appreciation to those others, other members of the community have worked so hard um to help get the word out on this important decision that the community will make on election day. Um, I'm pleased this evening to share um with you and the rest of the community some details about the most recent uh community success. Um, I'm pleased to announce that recently the city of Bowling Green is proud to uh announce that we have received uh the best placemaking award that was presented by Heritage Ohio at their annual awards ceremony on October 15th. This is an award that honors the people, places, and projects that exemplify a commitment to growth through preservation and revitalization. Now, the group most responsible for the success of this project and receiving this award um is our our planning director, Heather Sailor, who's with us tonight, and several members of the historic uh preservation commission. um that whole commission worked real worked very hard as a group and we have several members here this evening representing the commission. With us this evening are Dick Martin, Jan Nap and Jeff House. And I want to thank you all very much for your work on this very important project and invite you all to uh utilize the microphone at the lectern if you care to to provide any additional detail on the award. It's entirely up to I don't want to put you on the spot, but if there's anything you wanted to share, this is a great time to do it.

Thank you for all the support. We, you know, this really is a team effort getting this award and it's special because it's from the whole state of Ohio and we had other um finalists that we were competing with. So um I do appreciate the group that came to Canton, Ohio. the beautiful Cal K Cton Palace Theater is lavish and gorgeous and you're on a big stage and you know all this pomp and circumstance and you don't know who's gonna call your name and um when we heard city of Bowling Green we all were super excited and um again want to thank our partners at the library uh BGSU and the Wood County Museum and um all the folks that have really benefited from reading the signs. I think it was really cool this last weekend um with parents in town from BGSU and I know I get excited when I walk or drive by and see people reading these signs and really sharing the history and Heritage Ohio um had an independent jury that um did look at all the projects. So um they were really excited about about our project and um I want to share that with all of you and if anybody wants to see the award. So thank you to everyone and especially our committee who worked really hard on this and for your support and the mayor's support. Thank you

Heather. Thank you very much. Oh, wait a minute.

I'm Jeff How on the Historic Preservation Commission and I just wanted to emphasize how much Heather Sailor uh was had a hand in this project. Had a hand in. She had all of her hands and feet in the project. um uh she identified the opportunity and um uh wrote most of the grant and it was a a matching grant. So I want to thank the city for for um also providing funding for the program and uh she just guided us along the way, kept us working and uh she really deserves uh half the credit at least. Um uh the committee was um two members of the commission, John Sampin and I, and three, uh community members who are friends of the of the um the historic preservation commission. So, we're really glad to have that community uh cooperation and input, but Dick Martin and Jan Napp are here from from the committee. Thank you.

All right. Thank you very much. [Applause] We're getting we're getting all kinds of good news tonight.

There's a lot of good things happening in Bowling Green and many of them in large part are due to efforts of our citizens that just rolled up their sleeves and are willing to commit their time and effort to getting things done. This is a significant award and it's appropriate um due to the significant amount of work that went into that project. Um, I hear all the time from people visiting Bowling Green how impressed they are by the the the quality of the signs, the level level of detail in the photos. They truly are um really an exceptional addition to our downtown area and other areas in the city where they're where they're installed and I'm really grateful that they're here and grateful for the hard work of the commission. So, thank you all very much. That concludes my report. Uh, subject of any questions that you may have.

Does anyone have any questions for the mayor this evening? Thank you. Thank you, municipal administrator, Miss Treader. Good evening, council. In keeping the good news going, I have invited Brad Hullman, our city engineer, to give a report on some of the progress we are making on infrastructure improvements here city of Bing Green. Brad,

thank you, Lori. Um, well, I was going to update on the pickle ball courts, but I think Bob already did that. Um, but yeah, the pickle ball courts are complete. Uh, the eight courts are put in with shelter house, uh, lights, uh, the whole thing. And, um, I've really been impressed with the amount of usage towards those. That's been great to see those get used. And, uh, the ribbon cutting, like Bob said, is, uh, Thursday at 4:00. Um, the, uh, South Main pavement, uh, rehabilitation project, uh, the concrete base repairs have been completed on the outside lanes. Um there's been new curb installed from Napoleon down to Gypsy Lane. Uh the curb has been widened at Napoleon to make room for a northbound and southbound uh dedicated left turn lanes. So that is done. Uh the driveway approaches are all done um as well. Um the foundations have been installed for the new traffic signal poles at Napoleon and South Maine. Uh so those are ready for when the poles arrive. um which we are thinking will probably be in December. Um those are a long lead item and uh that's just no nothing we can do about that. Um they're also ready for the new uh pedestrian hybrid beacons. Uh we'll have two crossings, one by Aldi and the other one by Circle K. So those are ready for when for when those come in. Um so we'll have two safe crossings for people on South Main. Um, so that's kind of what's been what's what's already happened. Now, we're going to move to the inside lanes, which is what uh just took place last week. Uh, they've milled off the inside lanes. Now, we marked out some base repairs we wanted done on the inside lanes. They're going to fix that. And, uh, this should not take nearly as long as the first part that we've been going through now. They wanted to get everything done on the outside first before moving to the

center. So, uh, this should be pretty quick now from here on out. Um, but once they get done with the concrete base repairs on the inside lanes, they'll put down a intermediate layer of asphalt. Um, that'll match what's on the outside with with the intermediate. They'll move to the outside lanes, put on the surface course, and then move back to the inside to put on the surface course, stripe it, and we'll be done. It sounds like a lot, but hopefully we'll be done here in the next month or so. Um, next project uh is the Brim Road shared use path. Uh, we've kind of been talking about this one for a few years now. Um, but this one will be under construction next year. Uh, we've just completed all the rightaway acquisition for the project and we are submitting our final set of drawings to ODOT for review. Um, they'll give us the authorization to advertise which will be uh it'll go out for bid sometime after the first part of the year and we'll be under construction next spring summer. Uh the Crim to Mercer shared use path is another path project we have um part of the safe routes to schools money. Um this will go from Crim Elementary School kind of cross country over towards uh Mercer Road and um we just started getting right away for that. The rightway just kind of kicked off for that. And this is a 2027 construction project. Uh, another pedestrian hybrid beacon will be installed at Gypsy Lane and Slippery Elm Trail. Um, this will provide a safe crossing for users of the Slippery Elm Trail. Um, crossing Gypsy uh, West Gypsy Lane. Uh, so we're going to start the drawings on that here this winter and hopefully get that under out for bid and under construction uh, next year. Uh, the village pump station project. Uh that's a sanitary sewer pump station for uh the village subdivision just west of the the high school. Um we've been uh working on drawings for that and those will go out for bid here this winter for

uh construction next year as well. Uh the Brim and Bishop roundabout is another roundabout we've been talking about for years and we got the funding for it and we just started design on that. We selected a consultant. So that just started with design and that is a 2028 construction year project. And then finally we uh just received funding for another roundabout at Worster and Dunbridge. This is by uh Meyer and where the new Quick Trip is currently being built. Um so this is the Worster Dunbridge intersection and this will be a 2029 construction year project. So we will probably be starting design late next year for that. That's all I have if unless you have any questions for me.

Does anyone have any questions? All right. Thank you very much. Thank you. Anyone have any questions for Miss Treader? Okay. You were finished, right? I was. Okay. Brings us to city attorney Mr. Brown.

Good evening. No report. Does anyone have any questions for Mr. Brown this evening? Okay. Public Infrastructure Director Mr. Okonnell. Uh good evening. Uh like Brad, I have a couple of project updates for you. Um so out at the water treatment plant, uh we've been renovating the low service pump station that was originally built uh with the plant back in the 1940s. Uh the contractor uh pretty much has that building um gutted, all the equipment and pumps, um motors removed. Um, we're putting a new expansion, a small expansion onto the south side of that building, uh, for an electrical room. And then, uh, they'll be putting back in, uh, new, um, new screens, new pumps. Um, that work will be ongoing into 2026. Um, and hopefully wrap up before the end of 2026. Uh, also with the water plant, we are in the about 60 60% done with the design of the membrane expansion project. This this was to add uh 3 million gallons a day of treatment of reverse osmosis treatment at the plant. Um so that's getting close to getting um submitted to the EPA for permit um approval. Um at the wastewater plant, the final clarifier project uh that was out for bid and we've signed contracts for that. Um the contractor won't begin work on that until February of 26. That project will go through uh June of 27 uh for completion. So that's the current schedule. And then lastly, at the um PO Mer pump station, um the odor control project that has been awarded and under contract, the uh the contractor is waiting the equipment to be uh delivered to to the to the site. Um don't have an exact schedule for you at this time, but would expect the work would be uh completed in 2026. Um if you've driven by there recently due to the low uh low flows or lack of rain in the area um there is a little bit of odor issue at the plant at at that pump station that at the intersection of poem and Mercer.

Um it has been worse um in past years. It's not terrible at this point in time but this this is uh what that project is intended to to correct. So um that's what I have for you tonight unless you have questions. Are there any questions for Mr. Okonnell? I do have one question. Um, we had the candidates forum last Sunday afternoon and there were a number of questions um related to our water source and the drought. Um, have we noticed any difficulty with low river levels at uh maintaining our usual usage of water?

No. No. We we've had um we've had water available at the at the plant. Um really had no no quantity uh issues. Um the river does have a little bit lower water quality issues when it we get to the dry conditions um just because the sediment and and the things tend to build up in in the river um don't get flushed down as easily as they would during normal times. Um but no, there's been no issues with with availability of water keeping the reservoir full at this time. Um the plan is at a I would say it's is it's at a unique location in the river and that even though you may see other parts of the river say near near Grand Rapids Bridge or where you can cross across the river you may see a lot of rock and um exposed um you know riverbed um areas. Um but the plant um is in a bit of a a I've called it a dip or a a low spot in the river where water tends to pool and so we've never really experienced um water shortages there. Uh I will say water consumption is up uh lar likely due to uh the lack of rain we've had recently. So people tend tend to use more water. Um but even with the uh um relatively small increased demand that we've seen this past summer from past summers um there's been no issues with water uh quantity um in the mom that we can use to treat uh for drinking water purposes. Okay.

Thank you. Sure. Thank you.

Anything else? Okay, that brings us to council committee reports. Uh yes, Mr. President, Mr. Robinette, uh the finance committee met prior to this meeting and received third quarter 2025 budget update um of concern uh was the uh 2025 income tax collection as they're lagging. Additionally, dates for the 2026 budget process were announced. Uh the finance director announced her intent to distribute the draft 2026 budget to members on November 14th. The finance committee will meet on Wednesday, November 19th to conduct the 2026 budget hearing. And then council will have first, second, and third readings um on December 1st, December 15th, and at a special meeting on December 29th. Um, additionally, excuse me, I'd also like to let the sustainability committee know that next week I will be attending the 25th annual Great Lakes Water Conference entitled Water Security in the Great Lakes region sponsored by the University of Toledo College of Law and the Legal Institute of the Great Lakes. And um, uh, I'll share any information relevant to Bowling Green with the committee and the administration if if there is any. So, that's all I have.

Okay. Any other council uh committee reports this evening? Okay. Hearing none, that brings us to the reading of legislation. Jody,

legislation for first reading. Resolution 3895 for first reading. Resolution authorizing the city of Bowling Green to become a power a clean future Ohio community. Ordinance 9319 for first reading. Ordinance providing supplemental and/or amending appropriations for the current expenses and other expenditures of the city of Bowling Green, Ohio during the fiscal year beginning January 1, 2025 and ending December 31, 2025. Mr. President. Mr. Robinette. I move to suspend the rules and give ordinance 9319 its second and third readings.

Second. Properly moved and seconded. Jodie. Herald. Yes. Holland. Yes. Musgrave. Yes. Odicio. Yes. Fipps. Yes. Robinette. Yes. Dennis. Yes. Okay. The rules are suspended for ordinance 9319. Ordinance 9319 for second and third readings. Ordinance author ordinance providing supplemental and/or amending appropriations for the current expenses and other expenditures of the city of Bowling Green, Ohio during the fiscal year beginning January 1, 2025 and ending December 31, 2025. Mr. President, Mr. Robinette, I move to adopt ordinance 9319.

Second. Properly moved and seconded. Is there any discussion? Jody Halmba. Yes. Musgrave. Yes. Odicio. Yes. Fipps. Yes. Robinette, yes. Dennis, yes. Harold, yes. Okay. Ordinance 9319 is adopted.

Ordinance 9320 for first reading. Ordinance authorizing the municipal vehicles no longer needed for municipal purposes. Ordinance 9312 for first reading. Ordinance authorizing the utilities director to enter into contracts for lime sludge disposal services. Ordinance 9322 for first reading. Ordinance authorizing the utilities director to enter into contracts for annual inventory requirements, underground and overhead lines insurance and sale of scrap materials in 2026. Ordinance 9323 for first reading. Ordinance accepting utility easements from Northwestern Ohio Tractor Pullers Association Incorporated, Bowling Green Board of Education, Lock It Up LLC, and Board of Trustees of Middleton Township. Legislation for second reading. Resolution 3894 for second reading. Resolution authorizing the municipal administrator to sell surplus city-owned property by way of internet auction. Ordinance 9316 for second reading. Ordinance amending and adopting ch adopting changes to section 70.35 of the codified ordinances of the city of Bowling Green, Ohio regarding eligibility for police tow list and establishment tow charge rates. Ordinance 9317 for second reading. Ordinance amending and adopting chapter 123 regarding low-speed micromobility device shared rental program operators of the codified ordinances of the city of Bowlinger, Ohio. Ordinance 9318

for second reading. Ordinance amending and adopting section 72.39 regarding low-speed micromobility devices of the codified ordinances of the city of Bowling Green, Ohio. Legislation for third reading. Resolution 3891 for third reading. Resolution accepting the amounts and rates as determined by the budget commission and authorizing the necessary tax levies and certifying them to the county auditor. Mr. President, Mr. Robinette, I move to adopt resolution 3891. Second. Properly moved and seconded. Is there any discussion? Jody, Musgrave, yes. Odicio,

yes. Fipps, yes. Robinette, yes. Dennis, yes. Harold, yes. Holland, yes. Resolution in 3891 is adopted. Resolution 3892 for third reading. Resolution adopting a cyber security program that safeguards the city's data, information technology, and information technology resources to ensure availability, confidentiality, and integrity. Mr. President, Miss Fipps, uh, I move to adopt resolution 3892. Second. Properly moved and seconded. Is there any discussion? Jody, Odicio, yes. Fipps, yes. Ravenet,

yes. Dennis, yes. Harold, yes. Holland, yes. Musgrave, yes. All right. Resolution 3892 is adopted. Resolution 3893 for third reading. resolution authorizing the filing of applications with the Ohio Department of Transportation for federal and state grants and executing a contract with the Ohio Department of Transportation upon project approval. Mr. President, Mr. Herald, I move that we adopt resolution 3893. Second. Properly moved and seconded. Is there any discussion? Jody Fipps, yes. Ravenet, yes. Dennis, yes.

Harold, yes. Hollen, yes. Musgrave, yes. Odicio, yes. Okay. Resolution 3893 is adopted. Is there any other business to come before councel this evening? Hearing none. Do I have a motion to adjurnn? Move. Second. Properly moved and seconded. All in favor say I. I. I. those same sign we are journ. Thank you very much for coming this evening, staff.