A packed house indicated Bowling Green City Council might be in for a long meeting Monday night.
But the session was over in less than 40 minutes.
Many in attendance had spoken on the proposed unlawful discrimination ordinances at the July 20 meeting.
Only two people spoke to council on the issue Monday night.
The proposals were tabled until Aug. 17 during the July 6 meeting.
Lisa Lawson-LaPointe, a Bowling Green resident who is development and public relations coordinator for
Toledo Fair Housing Center, said she wanted to set the record straight about fair housing complaints in
Wood and Lucas counties.
"I’ve heard third hand that you have been told these complaints are few and far between. We handle
hundreds of cases in both counties each year," she said. "It does happen here. In the past two
or three years there has been a case in BG in which a fairly large, undisclosed sum was paid."
At the same time, Lawson-LaPointe urged council to "go for it" regarding the unlawful
discrimination proposals being considered.
She said information about the agency can be found on the Internet at www.toledofch.org.
Ben Vollmar, elaborated on his earlier comments to council, saying he had now read the entire proposal
and studied some related issues. A member of the Gay/Straight Alliance at Bowling Green High School,
Vollmar said he remains opposed to the ordinance and said "this has nothing to do with
safety."
Council also:
¥ Watched as Mayor John B. Quinn honored Dr. Lester Barber for 12 years of service and Mark Leck for six
years of service on the city’s planning commission.
¥ Learned from Municipal Administrator John Fawcett that the city has received $81,521 in Community
Development Block Grant funds through a federal stimulus program. The money can be used for housing
rehabilitation, public transit and tree planting.
¥ Fawcett also announced a public hearing Aug. 18 at 1:15 p.m. in Council Chambers on the grant
applications for 2010 funding of the transit program.