The Bowling Green City Commission on Tuesday approved applying for a grant that would help fund major improvements to RiverWalk and Weldon Peete parks.

The grant application seeks up to $750,000 from the National Park Service and would be used for projects such as a boat ramp near the current pedestrian bridge, fishing platforms, a bike track, rock climbing park, disc golf course, picnic pavilions, restrooms, parking lots, a dog park and greenways linking the two parks on either side of the Barren River.

City Neighborhood and Community Services Director Brent Childers said discussions about the project were spurred years ago by the fact that the area is served by a makeshift boat ramp that isn’t ideal for launching boats used by emergency responders.

“We need to improve that” for safety reasons, he said. The boat ramp project grew into a roughly $3 million parks overhaul that is included in the city’s parks and recreation master plan.

“We really tried to develop a transformative plan for … the whole area,” he said.

Childers said it’s unlikely the city would get the entire $750,000 in the highly competitive grant program.

“We’re competing against bigger cities,” he said.

City Parks and Recreation Director Brent Belcher said the project will likely be done in stages, with a priority being the boat ramp, fishing platforms and fishing habitat improvements. That means “working from the river out,” he said.

Also Tuesday, the commission:

•accepted a $177,474 grant from the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. The funds will be used to construct a quarter-mile new Greenway path behind Moss Middle School on Russellville Road and connect it to an existing Greenway on Creekwood Drive.

•agreed to apply for a grant of $3.31 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation. The funds would be used for fleet improvements to the GO bg transportation system, including replacing five buses.

•accepted a bid of $415,000 from Carter Douglas Co. of Russellville for a new Fairview Cemetery maintenance building.

•approved paying a $50,000 bill from the Kentucky Auditor’s Office for its review last year of the downtown parking garage wrap project, then known as Hitcents Park Plaza. The office of then-Auditor Adam Edelen conducted the review of the troubled project and found it was plagued by lack of oversight, mismanagement and questionable spending by the former developers. The county is also being billed $50,000 for the audit.

•approved an agreement with CSX Transportation to begin the process of closing the rail crossing at Robinson Avenue.

— Follow city government reporter Wes Swietek on Twitter @BGDNgovtbeat or visit bgdailynews.com.