Bowling Green Council on Monday received an update on a proposed shared use path that would connect Crim Elementary School with Carter Park.

The project could cost as much as $2 million, but grant funding could offset a large amount of that price tag.

The feasibility study for the path was funded through American Rescue Plan Act monies which council approved last year.

According to a memo from Patrick Etchie of Mannick & Smith Group, the 10-foot path will provide safe travel for bicyclists and pedestrians from the neighborhoods south of East Wooster Street and east of Manville Avenue to travel to Carter Park. The path will also provide a safe route for school students to walk and ride bikes to Crim Elementary.

The path would begin in the northern part of the Crim Elementary parking lot at Crim Road and go to Mercer Road. It would go south along Mercer Road’s west side and continue to the Scott Hamilton Avenue intersection.

It would continue east along the north side of Scott Hamilton to the Campbell Hill Road intersection and south along the west side of Campbell Hill. About 180 feet south of Scott Hamilton, there will be a crosswalk crossing Campbell Hill to the northern driveway of Carter Park. It eventually ends at the southern driveway of the park.

Etchie’s memo lists a planning-level cost estimate of just over $1.6 million, and notes a series of potential funding sources for the project.

Public Safety Director Joe Fawcett suggested that council, in the current economic environment, use $2 million as the planning estimate, but said that one such grant could pay for 90% of the project.

In other business, Finance Director Dana Pinkert delivered the first quarterly finance update of 2023 to council’s finance committee on Monday.

“From a budget perspective, there are no red flags or concerns at the end of the first quarter,” Pinkert said.

Pinkert noted that the city is exceeding its estimated income tax revenues for 2023. Through March, actual collections topped $5.94 million, ahead of the projected $5.76 million by about $182,000 or 5%.

“Year to date, we’ve exceeded both what we think the estimate should be at this point, and the 2022 actual. March is coming in a little lower than the estimate but still, overall we’re above,” Pinkert said.

Looking ahead, Pinkert did note that this year economic activity is expected to stagnate, and interest rates are projected to remain high.

“We did provide for those of what they’re projecting now in the budget, we built in some inflationary things,” Pinkert said.

Also at the meeting, council:

• Introduced an ordinance authorizing Fawcett to enter into contracts for consulting services to draft a Safe Routes to School travel plan and study. The city plans to contract for consulting services to assist in the drafting of a Safe Routes to School travel plan. The consultant will gather input from public and private schools, evaluate needs for improving safety, and draft school travel plans. Once the plan is complete, the schools and city may apply for SRTS programming grants and the city will be eligible to apply for SRTS infrastructure grants. The infrastructure grants may fund projects including connecting missing sections of sidewalk, bicycle treatments and pedestrian crossing improvements. Infrastructure grants fund 100% of eligible projects, up to $500,000 each year.

• Heard from Council President Mark Hollenbaugh, who said that Mayor Mike Aspacher “is recovering at home from a medical procedure and will be out of the office for an unspecified period of time,” during which Hollenbaugh will serve as acting mayor, as per the city charter. He said he spoke with Aspacher recently and that he is looking forward to returning to work. Rachel Phipps served as council president on Monday.

• Heard from Municipal Administrator Lori Tretter, who noted that the city has been out making business retention and expansion visits. She said these visits have been going very well, and they are hearing a lot of positive reports from area manufacturers. Tretter noted that, as compared to 2022, when they heard a lot about difficulty hiring and keeping employees, while this remains a concern, it is significantly less pronounced this year.

• Heard from resident David Pfleger, who thanked the city for actions taken to mitigate problem properties he had discussed during council’s April 3 meeting. He called for the city to develop a “one-stop shop” for residents to make complaints about properties, and to ensure that the city communicates back to the person making the report.

• Heard from resident Tim Snyder, who reported that he’d heard that the city’s Arboretum site, bordered by Pearl Street, West Wooster Street and Wintergarden Road, was a possible site for a proposed dog park. He expressed concerns about the placement of the facility there. However, members of council said they hadn’t heard anything about putting the dog park there.

“There is no intention to put a dog park at the Arboretum that I’m aware of,” said Councilman Jeff Dennis. “We are years away from doing anything at that location.”

• Heard that the dates of council’s June meetings have been changed. Council will meet on June 12 and June 29.