As the city’s administrative calendar draws to a close for the year, City Manager Jeff Meisel said he is proud of the city’s accomplishments in 2024 and is looking forward to a productive year in 2025.

Speaking to the Daily News from his office in City Hall, Meisel said he considers Bowling Green’s recognition by the Kentucky League of Cities as City Government of the Year is an achievement above all.

“The employees did it, really, it’s a team win,” Meisel said. “(We’re) very proud of that.”

Along with this award, Meisel is looking back with pride on several city projects. One is the extension project being completed on Bluegrass Farms Boulevard, which once completed will see the road lengthened from its current dead-end near Camping World to connect with Plano Road.

Meisel said this project is expected to wrap up in the spring.

Another is the ongoing restoration of the historic Southern Queen hotel, located in the Shake Rag area of Bowling Green. The Bowling Green City Commission approved the sale of the property to local developer Desmond Bell last year.

“We knew it was in really bad shape to start with, but he’s going to make it a masterpiece,” Meisel said.

The project hit a snag in November when the discovery of extensive fire, termite and water damage necessitated the removal of the building’s roof and top floor. Meisel said even though little of the original structure remains, the city “totally” trusts Bell.

“I know people were really upset about some of the tear down, but you can’t build back on damaged and rotten wood and meet code and have a solid structure where people can stay overnight in it,” Meisel said. “It had to be done that way, and Desmond is saving as much as he can of it.”

In June, Goodwill Industries of Kentucky and the city entered into an agreement that saw Goodwill introduce its Another Way program in Bowling Green, a service that seeks to provide individuals with job skills training and “work-based learning opportunities” as an alternative to panhandling.

The program enlists individuals to work for around four hours at different job sites. Those who complete their shifts are given a $50 stipend.

“Goodwill is taking them in, showing them how they can help them and get them what they need,” he said. “Several have gotten full-time jobs  … .”

In the next year, Meisel is looking forward to progress on Riverfront Park, a large redevelopment of land adjacent to Barren River that is slated to become a multi-use recreational center for Bowling Green.

“Hopefully we’ll get some drawings in here soon,” he said. “We’ll definitely break some ground next year, in the new year, but design work is going well.”

Meisel is hopeful that everything will come together in time for the city to go to bid in the spring. Included with the park project is the addition of a whitewater park along the river, which will run from near the Bowling Green Municipal Utilities water treatment facility to the College Street Pedestrian Bridge.

This project is being funded through a $3.6 million grant from the National Parks Service. The park has a total cost estimate of $7.28 million, meaning the city will cover the other half.

“I’ve been told the White Water Project will kind of happen in sync with the first phase of the park, hopefully, so that’ll be fun to watch as well,” he said.

The joint police and fire training center is another focus. He said if all goes to plan the facility will open in the first few months of the year, and said it will help to free up space at both the Bowling Green Fire and Police departments.

The training center has been in the works for some time.

Meisel said currently, BGPD has to make use of whatever spaces are available at its headquarters on Kentucky Street. At times, the department has utilized space inside SKyPAC for training purposes.

“They’ll have a really good space to train people in, and it’ll free up some space at (BG)PD down on Kentucky Street,” he said.

There are some challenges on the horizon. Meisel said these chiefly involve keeping communication effective between management and the city’s over 500 employees and making sure residents of Bowling Green are “getting what they need.”

Continued investment in the community is one focus of Meisel’s.

“Not all the revenues need to go to paying salaries – they have to go out back to the community,” he said. “We’ve got to keep investing in economic development, we’ve got to keep building roads to mitigate traffic … we’ve got to keep investing in our parks and improving them.

“You’re either growing or you’re dying,” he said. “We sure don’t want to back up and start dying off, like some cities. You have got to compete and to compete, you got to invest.”