City council seeks input on ATV/UTV ordinance

Golf carts also part of discussion

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A new ATV/UTV ordinance adopted by Muscatine County may stir interest in adapting an ordinance in West Liberty for All-Terrain Vehicles, Off-Road Utility Vehicles and even golf carts, the West Liberty City Council learned Tuesday evening, Dec. 15, at their final December meeting.

Although there hasn’t been a lot of interest shown in establishing such an ordinance in the city, community leaders are seeking input from West Liberty area residents to adapt to the county’s new ordinance that was established only for ATV and UTV owners and drivers.

“To me, this is a solution looking for a problem,” said councilman Jose Zacarias, noting he thinks it’s more important the city looks into more laws for bicycle riders.

Zacharias and fellow councilman Robby Rock are both members of the Public Safety and Policies Committee, Rock noting there hasn’t been a lot of communication with members of the community having a desire to create such an ordinance, pointing out he thinks a community survey may expose the attitude of residents after it was proposed by city interim manager Elizabeth Hansen. He said the survey should not only be available through social media, but through the local newspaper as well.

Rock said the city “is probably going to have to deal with this sooner or later,” since the county passed such an ordinance after there was a public outcry that led to a packed house at a Nov. 30 Board of Supervisor’s meeting.

That’s what county supervisor Santos Saucedo told the council, the county doing their homework in researching ordinances of other counties and communities in the state before finalizing their version that included making sure the disclosed modes of transportation had proper lights, safety features, insurance and licenses. He said the county plan did not include golf cart use, noting there was “no desire” to add those vehicles to the agenda.

Saucedo said he came to terms with the ordinance when a person asked him how a bicyclist can have more rights on the roadways than an ATV or UTV. He said the ordinance does not approve use on major county or state highways and will be reexamined by the county board six months and a year down the road to make sure it’s working. “The city of Muscatine was not a big fan of it,” he added.

Council member Cara McFerren said golf carts are used on the Muscatine County Fairgrounds to a high degree and feels that should be part of the discussion, wishing to include those vehicles in the ordinance, but others said golf carts don’t have the safety features or speed of transportation compared to ATV’s and UTV’s. It was also pointed out that the West Liberty School District uses golf carts for services on the athletic fields and the city park’s department also has an ATV used in maintenance while the West Liberty Fire Department is also looking into an ATV rescue unit.

Hansen said the city staff received written requests to consider allowing the operation of such vehicles in the city limits and brought the first discussion of creating an ordinance to the Oct. 22 Public Safety and Policy committee meeting, making a consensus at that meeting to table the issue until “when and if there becomes more of a need.”

Then, on Oct. 22, at a WeLead board meeting, Saucedo informed the city about the issue awakening at the Board of Supervisor’s meeting and a strong desire by residents – especially from Fruitland and Wilton – to pass the ordinance, noting he got more than 100 e-mails from county residents about the issue.

Saucedo encouraged the city to seek public input and form a committee to look into the issue more, noting the general public has a desire to see it created.

Mayor Robert Hartman said he knows of golf cart owners in the community that would love to be able to drive their vehicles to the West Liberty Golf & Country Club, but some council members scoffed at the idea, noting safety issues on county blacktops.

The mayor, who recognized that the issue “keeps coming up,” asked the police to discuss the matter as well, noting he wanted their input on the issue.

All in all, public input was welcomed from all board members and city hall administration, noting there may be a possibility of setting up a public hearing on the issue in January following the drafting of the ordinance. The final reading of the ordinance would take place at a February council meeting.

A draft of off-road vehicle ordinances was provided for the council as well as similar ordinances, including some featuring golf carts, obtained from Knoxville, Spencer, Vinton, Wilton and Muscatine County. State laws on golf cart transportation were also revealed.

The city revealed that three residents, all requesting the use of golf carts in the city, inquired about establishing an ordinance since July including Holly Gingerich, Leo Kirkpatrick and Doug Phillips.

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