The ongoing debate over the city of Bowling Green’s contract with an Illinois power facility continued
Monday.
Neocles Leontis, a member of the local group Citizens for a Livable Future, addressed statements offered
by Mayor Dick Edwards and City Council at a meeting earlier this month.
"The statements failed to address the substantive issues raised by citizens," Leontis said.
The issue concerns the city’s contract, entered into in 2007, with the Prairie State Energy Campus in
southwest Illinois though American Municipal Power. The group has taken issue with the more than
40-year-long agreement, which they say could cost power customers $48 to $54 million more over the next
seven years.
At the May 5 council meeting, Edwards said he was "convinced that Bowling Green and its Board of
Public Utilities has and will continue to proceed on a responsible pathway toward even greater degrees
of energy sustainability."
Reading council’s statement at that meeting, Council President Michael Aspacher expressed support for the
city’s energy policy and said council "respectfully" rejected suggestions to investigate
withdrawing from the contract or asking the Ohio Attorney General’s Office to investigate Prairie State.

Articulating six main points, Leontis on Monday countered that Citizens for a Livable Future is not
asking for money to be spent on litigating the matter, only that the Attorney General be asked to
investigate the circumstances of the contract.
"The cost of electricity from Prairie State is almost twice what was promised," he said.
The contract, said Leontis, could then be renegotiated based on the Attorney General’s findings.
Noting that the city’s consultant on the contract was one also used by AMP, bringing up a possible
conflict of interest, Leontis said "when you buy a house, you do not use the same lawyer as the
seller."
He additionally said a backup plan should be created in case Prairie State doesn’t improve its
performance, and contended that Bowling Green ratepayers are paying "far above" market prices.

Even if the facility improves its performance, he said, the cost for energy would still be too high.
Leontis further urged the city to prepare an "integrated resource" energy plan that would take
into account solar, wind, and other renewable sources.
Speaking later in the meeting, Councilman Bruce Jeffers said that there are many people interested in
renewable energy in the city.
"I know our utilities department are interested in such opportunities," he said.
He stated his hopes that such technology improves because currently, "it’s just not an easy thing to
get right into and fix all our problems."
In other business, council:
• Heard from City Planning Director Heather Sayler that 419 surveys and more than 28 pages of comments
have been received following a session on future land use in the city held late last month. She said raw
data from the surveys would be posted online by Friday and a product incorporating the data is expected
by the end of the summer.
According to some of the raw survey data distributed to council, approximately 78 percent of those
surveyed agreed or strongly agreed that the city needs to have new zoning regulations "that are up
to date and capable of addressing today’s contemporary market and development challenges."
Further, at least 70 percent of respondents agreed or strongly agreed with the city’s proposals for
certain areas, including East Wooster Street and the downtown.
• Heard from Edwards that a delegation from the city to visit the city of Kent on May 13 was a success.

"It’s an amazing bit of transformation there," he said of how that city had turned around,
calling the visit "a highly productive day."
Speaking later on the matter, Councilwoman Sandy Rowland said the BG delegation wanted to visit another
college town and see how they dealt with similar issues.
"It was time extremely well spent," she said.
• Learned from Public Works Director Brian Craft that the intersection at Poe and Haskins would likely
open Saturday, but could open as early as Friday. He said that traffic signals in the area would begin
to work as normal soon to re-acclimate drivers.
He also took note of construction work at City Lot M, on Manville Avenue south of Wooster, to expand
spaces there.
• Heard from Utilities Director Brian O’Connell that the distribution system at the city’s wastewater
treatment plant received very positive remarks following a review by the Ohio Environmental Protection
Agency.
He further said that the water tower at Manville Avenue was recently taken offline due to a leak, which
has since been repaired. He said the tower will undergo testing.
O’Connell also said he hopes a streetlight project, involving LED lights on Mercer Road from Wooster to
Poe, would get underway this summer.