Bowling Green Council on Monday heard an update on the city’s American Rescue Plan Act funding process.
Council President Mark Hollenbaugh said they are planning to sort through the proposals received.
The city was allocated $7.3 million from ARPA; the funds must be committed by the end of 2024 and spent by the end of 2026.
To date, city council has approved ARPA investments including residential paving ($3 million); MARCS communication radios to improve public safety communications ($350,000); a City Park paving project which will include road widening, a walking path, and security improvements such as cameras and lighting ($250,000); inclusive playground support for the Wood County Plays project at Carter Park ($100,000); housing grants ($300,000 over three years); and lost revenue replacement for the city’s pool and waterpark complex ($20,000).
The public has had multiple opportunities to make their voices heard on the subject. The first was via an online questionnaire earlier this year; a release from the city stated that more than 950 questionnaires were submitted. Written ideas for proposals could also be sent to the city through the end of May. Further, last month council held a special committee-of-the-whole meeting to hear more formal presentations from the public about how to use ARPA funds; some 13 proposals were made during that meeting.
During Monday’s meeting, Hollenbaugh said that he and newly-appointed clerk of council Jody Sickler would be working to put together a list of the ARPA requests that the city has received.
After a comprehensive list is compiled, he said, it would be circulated to council to determine if anything had been inadvertently missed. Next steps would be determined from there, said Hollenbaugh.
Council also heard from resident Dallas Black, who said he is a local teacher who was terminated from his position in July.
In an email sent to the Sentinel-Tribune, Police Chief Tony Hetrick and members of council, Black said he was attending Monday’s meeting “to formally seek redress regarding Tony Hetrick’s defamatory statements that arguably contributed to my loss of salary over the last year. A public apology would be a good start. Setting the record straight would be a good second good faith step.”
The email referenced a 2020 media report, provided by Black, in which Hetrick addressed concerns Black had reportedly made about a 2018 ALICE safety training provided by the BGPD. Black additionally termed Hetrick’s comments in that report “misrepresentations.”
At Monday’s meeting, among other assertions, Black said Hetrick’s statements in the article misrepresented the facts about the ALICE trainer’s certification. Hetrick was not at Monday’s meeting.
Speaking after Black, Mayor Mike Aspacher responded to his comments, saying he rejected his questioning “of the credibility of Chief Hetrick and other members of our police division” and the training credentials of the officers. He said that the BGPD is nationally accredited, and goes through an extensive process to achieve that accreditation.
Aspacher further said he wanted to assure residents that BGPD officers “are trained rigorously to address situations that occur in schools, violent situations,” and the BGPD’s policy is if there is a report of an active shooter anywhere in the city, the first officer on-site will confront that active shooter.
Also at the meeting, council:
• Saw Aspacher read a proclamation, proclaiming June as LGBTQI+ Pride Month in the city. Speaking later in the meeting, Rudolph resident Miranda Douglas, speaking about Pride Month, said “I just want to say LGBTQ people are just people. Like you, we have differences like everyone else, and we have families, we do fun things, we work. We enjoy Bowling Green, and we have feelings and we go through a lot. For Bowling Green to recognize us the way that they have is so very important to us all.”
• Saw Aspacher read a second proclamation, proclaiming June 19 as the Juneteenth holiday in the city. It was noted that a Juneteenth event will be held June 18 at Wooster Green.
• Heard from Bowling Green Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Mary Hinkelman that the city’s Independence Day Celebration will be held July 3, with fireworks shot off from the National Tractor Pullers Association property near the fairgrounds. She said this year’s event is being expanded to include a festival, and that further details are forthcoming.
• Heard from city officials about the city’s Memorial Day observance. City Attorney Mike Marsh said that Oak Grove Cemetery looked “outstanding. They do a pretty terrific job. It’s an important place and a lot of times we don’t think about it.” Councilman Greg Robinette also noted the flags put up in the cemetery by volunteers. Public Services Director Joe Fawcett further pointed out that the American Legion put in the flags that could be seen along Main and Court streets that day.
• Heard from Councilman Jeff Dennis, who congratulated the organizers of Porchfest on what he said appeared to be a successful event over the weekend.
