Bowling Green Municipal Court Judge Mark Reddin swore in new BG City Council member Jordan Musgrave at Monday’s meeting.
By Peter Kuebeck
Special to the Sentinel-Tribune
A new member joined Bowling Green City Council Monday evening.
Jordan Musgrave was sworn in to represent the city’s First Ward.
“I’m here for them,” Musgrave said following the council meeting, referring to the citizens of Bowling Green. “If anyone needs me I’m easy to contact, easy to get ahold of.”
Musgrave was chosen to serve as Bowling Green’s First Ward council representative during a meeting of the Wood County Democratic Party’s Central Committee on Sept. 17. He replaces Damon Sherry, who resigned the seat on Sept. 6 after taking a position with the Wood County Board of Elections. Sherry was elected as First Ward council member in 2023, and Musgrave will serve out the remainder of Sherry’s term.
“I think that Jordan will be a great addition to city council,” said Zach Schmidt, chair of the Wood County Democratic Party, in a recent interview, noting that Musgrave is the current president of BGO Pride, a local LGBTQ non-profit organization, and also a union member.
Musgrave additionally works as a grocery lead at the Bowling Green Meijer location.
Musgrave was chosen over two other candidates who sought appointment to the seat. Per the Ohio Revised Code, the Wood County Democratic Party had 45 days to find a replacement for Sherry.
“This has been a pretty good experience so far for me,” Musgrave said, noting that the day he was appointed to serve out Sherry’s term was also the last day of chemotherapy for his sister. “Everyone here on council has been extremely helpful.”
Musgrave was sworn in during Monday’s meeting by Bowling Green Municipal Court Judge Mark Reddin.
Council also heard an update on economic development in the city from Economic Development Director Kati Thompson. Among her reports, Thompson noted that the annual business retention visits of local companies are underway, and that the biggest takeaway from those has been that the city’s workforce has stabilized. She also noted that there are 33 industrial projects underway in the city, and that investment and job creation numbers are available for 11 of them. Those 11 projects, she said, represent $180 million in capital investment and 248 new jobs in Bowling Green.
Thompson further provided an update on the forthcoming Abbott Labs facility, noting that Abbott continues to work through their design and engineering process. She said that Abbott is expecting a groundbreaking for the project in the second quarter of 2025. Abbott has also begun hiring for the facility and “we’ve already been able to welcome several members of their management team to our community,” said Thompson.
In other business, council:
• Introduced legislation accepting, from Sutas Pipatjarasgit, a deed for right-of-way purposes along East Wooster Street, and an easement for right-of-way purposes along Mercer Road. According to the legislative package document prepared for council, this is a requirement of the city’s Access Management Policies Guidelines for the proposed development of the Wingstop location at 1502 E. Wooster St. to meet future right-of-way needs.
• Introduced an ordinance repealing Chapter 119 of the city’s codified ordinances, regarding going out of business sales. According to the legislative package document, this section was adopted in 1982 and requires businesses to obtain a license before going out of business. This section requires very detailed information and specific regulations that must be followed during a going out of business sale. There is also a fee for the license and it is challenging to handle with a business already going through the closure, with staff not seeing a productive purpose with this requirement. There have been very few of these licenses issued over the years and it seems to be an archaic practice, which was done in reaction to businesses advertising in a deceptive way.
• Heard from Utilities Director Brian O’Connell that electrical linemen from the city have been dispatched to assist in Florida and North Carolina to assist American Municipal Power member communities who have been hit by Hurricane Helene.
• Voted to excuse the absences of councilmen Jeff Dennie, Joel O’Dorisio, and Greg Robinette.
