Neighbors pleaded with Bowling Green City Council Monday evening to save the green space being auctioned
off by the school district on Friday.
Justin Marx, a resident of South Main Street, presented council with more than 55 signatures on a
petition asking that the park area be purchased and preserved by the city.
“This is a prime asset to our community as a green space,” said Marx, who has a 5-year-old son who uses
the space that has a basketball court, a few swings, batting cage and baseball field.
The open area, which covers about an acre of land, is being auctioned along with South Main Elementary
School on Friday. Marx criticized what he saw as an “unacceptable level of communication” between school
officials and the community.
“We’d like to see this green space considered separate at the auction,” he said.
But according to the legal advertisements, the school and green space are being sold as one entity,
according to Bowling Green City Attorney Michael Marsh.
That decision was made without input from the city, Marsh said after the council meeting.
“They never consulted with us or anyone else I know of,” he said.
Marx noted that the east side of Bowling Green has very little park space for recreation. The South Main
property is used by all ages for impromptu games of ball.
“We have very little on the east side,” Marx said, adding that neighbors don’t want to see more
apartments built on the space. “I think we really need to preserve this for the next generation.”
Some of the petition signers offered to volunteer time and money to fix up the open space.
“We would like to share that burden,” Marx said.
Another resident, Greg Litzenberg, of North Main Street, also defended the open space.
“I think it would be a real shame to see something like that go away,” he said.
Bowling Green Council President John Zanfardino pointed out that the decision to sell the space was
strictly the school district’s, not the city’s.
Marx said he intended to present his plea to the Bowling Green Board of Education at its meeting tonight,
and he encouraged others to contact school board members about the green space.
In other business, council declared an emergency and approved an ordinance authorizing an agreement
between Municipal Energy Services Agency for management and engineering of an underground distribution
feeder and transmission line. The power will allow Vehtek in the Wood Bridge Business Park to expand and
add an estimated 250 jobs.
Also at Monday’s meeting, Mayor John Quinn thanked Galen Ash for his service on the city planning
commission from 1998 to this year.