Scott and Ritter construction crews work on Tuesday, April 29, 2025, to fill a sinkhole that opened up at the Lovers Lane Soccer Complex after excessive rainfall earlier in the month caused historic flooding throughout southcentral Kentucky. GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS

“It’s been the year of the sinkhole.”

This is how Bowling Green City Manager Jeff Meisel described the city’s ongoing battle with sinkholes Tuesday night as commissioners approved a $900,000 change order with Scott & Ritter Inc. for repairs to numerous openings across town that appeared as a result of the April 3-7 flooding event that struck Bowling Green.

“This is the (largest) amount we’ve ever come back for on a change order for sinkholes,” Public Works head Andy Souza told commissioners.

Nine priority sinkholes were listed in a city memo. Nick Lawhon, the city’s geologist, told commissioners that repair work is continuing at three locations. Repairs at a site along Normandy Way currently sit at $102,000.

At the Lovers Lane Soccer Complex, the most recent tally sits at more than $50,000, but city estimates place the expected repair cost at $100,000.

In years past the city has set aside roughly $100,000 for sinkhole repairs. However, the city’s sinkhole woes have grown over the fiscal year. Last fall, a sinkhole opened up on Single Tree Way in the Briarwood area of Bowling Green. The city approved in December the first change order for sinkholes, totaling $55,286.58.

In February, an additional change order of $200,000 was approved for another sinkhole that opened in almost the exact same spot along Single Tree — $100,000 in grant funding was secured for this one.

Lawhon told commissioners Single Tree held up “like a champ” during the recent flooding event.

“From what we’ve seen, (there’s) very little, if any, erosion at those sites,” Lawhon said.

The city approved the third and latest change order 3-0, with Commissioners Melinda Hill and Sue Parrigin absent, raising the total cost of sinkhole repairs to more than $1.2 million.

Commissioners also approved an $850,000 bid from Louisville-based Strand Associates, Inc. to study five possible rehabilitation projects with the city’s stormwater mitigation system.

The five project areas are:

•Chestnut Street from Fifth Avenue to U.S. 31-W Bypass;

•Elm Street at 10th Avenue;

•College Street, Park Row and East Main Avenue at Fountain Square;

•The 2100 block of Creason Street, and;

•Whiskey Run at Clay Street.

Strand’s work will be funded through a grant worth over $3.8 million previously awarded to the city.

Stormwater work session
Continuing the stormwater focus, the city held a third work session concerning the possible implementation of a stormwater utility fee that would help fund needs for infrastructure down the road.

The idea of a separate stormwater utility was floated to city officials in January during the city’s annual strategic planning session, though no action was taken then. In March, commissioners heard a presentation that detailed how funds would be collected and used for stormwater projects.

A Fee In Lieu of Construction, or FILOC, was proposed in March. City Environmental Manager Matt Powell told commissioners then that the FILOC would be a one-time fee applied to projects that take up more than one acre of land and measure at least 10,000 square feet.

Powell said FILOCs will be paid into by developers, generating a “pool” of money. This money would be used by the city to fund an expansion of “water quality protection measures” across town.

Additionally, Powell proposed adding a utility fee to city residents’ water bills that would help supplement the FILOC. The proposed fee would stand at $4 per household. For commercial developments, an “equivalent residential unit” would be used to calculate the fee. A normal ERU measures around 3,100 square feet.

“We know that the way we’ve set this up will generate more than $4 million (per year),” Powell said.

No official action was taken by commissioners on Tuesday, since any implementation of a FILOC or a stormwater utility would require an ordinance to be approved by commissioners.

Some officials in March stated they were open to hearing some alternatives. However, on Tuesday, Bowling Green Mayor Todd Alcott said he has warmed to the idea.

“I wasn’t there immediately, but I’ve come to the conclusion that I would like for our Public Works team to bring this to us,” Alcott said.

Commissioners Dana Beasley-Brown and Carlos Bailey agreed, and Powell told the Daily News an ordinance could come forward as soon as June.

The city also approved in a closed session the termination of Jackson Miller, a probationary police officer with the Bowling Green Police Department. No details were provided, however a city memo states Miller “is no longer a good fit for the city.”

Commissioners will meet again May 20.