Bowling Green City Council discussed some small roadblocks in regards to complete streets and refuse containers at Monday night’s meeting.
Planning Director Heather Saylor announced that the city did not receive the EPA Smart Growth Technical Assistance Grant. This grant would have helped fund various projects, such as the ongoing complete streets project.
“We’re not going to give up on complete streets. We’re still working very hard. That was really just to supplement our efforts,” Saylor said.
She also said that while the city did not receive the grant, it ranked highly on the list, and the city was encouraged to apply for the grant again in future years.
An additional roadblock came from Municipal Administrator Lori Tretter, explaining that she wanted to discuss one of the major concerns scheduled for the Community Improvement Committee meeting that had been cancelled prior to Monday’s meeting — refuse containers.
At the previous Community Improvement Committee meeting, members discussed wanting to put refuse containers beside or behind houses, instead of in front of homes, to make the community look more attractive.
“As we started to look at ‘OK, how can we, you know, regulate that, monitor it and so forth’ it revealed to us that all of Chapter 94, which deals with refuse and recycling is outdated,” Tretter said.
She said that an internal group will be looking into a complete rewrite for the chapter, considering the council’s input for placement of refuse containers.
Citizens can expect a result by early February, at which point Saylor’s team will return to the Community Improvement Committee to come to a consensus on the possible new regulations.
Other items on Saylor’s agenda included the upcoming Second Annual Interfaith Breakfast on March 18. The breakfast is sponsored by Not In Our Town and various other partners.
“It’s a really, really important event that we’re proud to put on for the community, especially with all the misunderstanding that go on with today’s world, that we think it’s really important to understand each other’s faith, religion and really figure out that we have more in common,” Saylor said.
Mayor Edwards swore in new Deputy Police Chief Justine White, who’s served the city for more than 14 years.
“When I first started here, I was only planning on being here a few years, and I fell in love with the city,” White said. “We’re fortunate in Bowling Green that we have a community that supports our department, and we really do appreciate it,” White said.
Edwards also congratulated the Falcon football team on a successful win against Northern Illinois University last Friday.
“On Friday night it was a great night in Motor City, but unfortunately, once again, we win it all and lose a coach,” Edwards said.
