Concerned citizens and business owners filled the City Commission Chamber in Bowling Green City Hall Tuesday evening as the Board of Commissioners held its second meeting of the month. 

For 45 minutes, the meeting proceeded as normal, but the tension was growing. The last item on the agenda, a proposed ordinance that would amend towing regulations in Bowling Green, was set to be the controversial item of the night. 

The proposed ordinance changes regulations that govern “Towing or immobilization signage and fee limits in private parking lots,” according to the meeting agenda. 

The ordinance would do away with $25 after-hours fees, which are assessed to towed cars by the company during night hours. After-hours fees differ between companies. It would also reduce the limit on towing charges from $175 to $75 and institute stricter regulations on signage in private tow zones. 

Before opening the floor for comment, Bowling Green Mayor Todd Alcott informed the crowd that each individual who felt compelled to speak would be given a five-minute limit. 

City Attorney Hillary Hightower also informed the public that the commissioners could not answer questions from the public because the city had been served a lawsuit by Slim Nash, owner of Fountain Square Towing. 

The lawsuit claims that regulating towing businesses at all is unconstitutional, and if successful, would repeal an ordinance originally passed in 2014. 

For nearly 50 minutes, 13 people approached the podium to speak. 

The public voiced a variety of concerns for and against the regulation of towing companies in Bowling Green. 

The first member of the public to speak during the public comment session was Alan Simpson, the attorney hired by Nash to sue the City of Bowling Green and stop the ordinance from going into effect. 

Simpson accused the board of attempting to adopt socialist policies, saying that the proposed ordinance was a way to put the free market “under siege.” 

“This is a socialist idea,” Simpson said. “This is Cuban, I have some knowledge of that.” 

Multiple Bowling Green residents spoke about the Cookout parking lot on Nashville Road. 

After his son’s car was booted at Cookout, Bowling Green resident Gary Schallert received a call in the early morning of Jan. 1.

“(My son) called me frightened, upset and alone in a dark parking lot in the middle of the night,” Schallert said.

Schallert went on to describe a frightening encounter he had with the individuals who had booted his son’s car.

 “A taser was drawn and pointed at my chest,” Schallert said. 

Schallert has a heart condition, and being tased could result in “a grave consequence.” 

Schallert believes the root of his issue was poor signage. 

“From where my son had parked, and from my spot next to him, I did not initially see visible signage,” Schallert said.

In the proposed ordinance, a clause is included that would require all signage in tow and boot zones to be illuminated at night. 

Heather Kessler owns 4 Yoda Studio in downtown Bowling Green. Her business is directly adjacent to a lot patrolled by Fountain Square towing. 

Kessler said the swiftness with which cars are towed, even while their owners are nearby, seems “unfriendly.” 

WKU student Holland Craft spoke on behalf of multiple friends who have had problems with Fountain Square Towing. Craft is a resident of the Midtown apartment complex, which has a lot patrolled by Fountain Square Towing. 

“I have been to Fountain Square Towing three times, all three times I was there for someone who had a parking pass,” Craft said. 

Craft described a specific incident where a parking pass was clearly displayed in her friend’s vehicle, but the vehicle was towed anyway. Craft had a photo of the parking pass displayed clearly in the windshield, which she showed to the board.

“You’re hired to tow people who don’t have parking passes,” Craft said. “If you can see the pass, it would make sense for them not to tow it.”  

The owner of Two Brothers Towing, Shannon Doyle, spoke to the Board of Commissioners about his concerns over lowering the maximum tow fee. 

“I can’t send a $75,000 truck out, and pay a man a wage worth making, and pay for fuel, if the maximum I can charge is $75,” Doyle said.

After comments ended, the board took a closed session, resumed, and proposed an amendment to the ordinance, which was accepted. Some of the changes included a higher towing fee under certain circumstances and requiring added verbiage on signs in tow zones. 

“The board wanted to listen to all complaints, including those of the companies, and to take into account that it is private property,” Hightower said in an interview after the meeting adjourned. “I feel that they came to a reasonable resolution that balances all of those interests.” 

Now amended, the board will vote on the ordinance in its next meeting on March 3. 

The meeting also covered:

• Multiple grants were accepted to fund sidewalks in busy areas of Bowling Green. 
• The lease of four new police motorcycles from Motor Sports of Bowling Green.
• The purchase of two buses, funded by a grant from the Kentucky Public Transit Association.
• Solar lighting for Lovers Lane and Reservoir Hill Parks. 

The full agenda for this meeting can be found here.