Meeting set on ATV area

Leann Eckroth

Licensing fees and recreational grants may pay for a proposed off-road vehicle play area at the Missouri Valley Fairgrounds.

User groups and the public are invited to attend a 7 p.m. Wednesday meeting at the 4-H Building at the fairgrounds to gauge interest in the proposed project.

Burleigh County Commissioner Brian Bitner is driving the effort as an attempt to prevent further damage to county roads and ditches.

Off-road vehicle operators and snowmobilers have been at odds with landowners who claim their use is tearing up their ditches, mailboxes and roads. Others cite safety issues as operators are said to jump the vehicles over road beds without regard to motor vehicles.

"The problem in the county is that we have this damage already. If we go fixing it, and then it comes back again, we're basically wasting our efforts there," Bitner said.

He hopes the meeting will give a better idea of what people want for the designated play area and if it would be used.

Bitner said size and cost of the project depends on what features riders would be interested in, "what's fun. ... If we could get input from the public on what they would like to see and they would use. I don't want to have something built that wouldn't be used. That's a waste," he said.

Bitner sees a plan where the area would be paid with licensing fees given to the North Dakota Parks and Recreation Department and possibly recreational grants

He also pictures this as an opportunity to tie the play area into safety education.

"There is a need for additional education. Some of (the damage) has to do with the effects of irresponsible operation with the machines," he said.

"If this was part of an educational facility that the Game and Fish was doing, if it had a little funding for that, it may answer a need for education without costing the taxpayers."

He said the proposed North Dakota Game and Fish building could be expanded to an area for education linked with state parks and recreation.

He wants young people using the area to finish certification and education before using the play area.

He expects that the designated off-road site would have time restrictions and other safety guidelines.

"We could have an area for that education and a place ... for recreation that would hopefully take some pressure off the ditches and reduce the damage," Bitner said.

Burleigh County State's Attorney Richard Riha said liability shouldn't be a concern for the county with the project.

"People assume a certain amount of risk when they engage in certain recreational activities and that is recognized by state law," he said.

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Source: http://www.bismarcktribune.com/news/local/article_b4f208c0-e54c-11de-92bc-001cc4c03286.html

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