Council and city attorney form ATV ordinance

Diane Dryden

SHELL LAKE - The regular meeting of the city council had standing room only Monday evening, July 12, as the question of allowing ATV/UTV vehicles on the streets and alleys of the city was discussed.

Council heard public input from several citizens.

Ken Schultz, who lives on Third Street and has been involved in the town for years, said the same concerns about noise and safety were voiced when the issue of the snowmobiles in town was discussed several years ago and that the city hasn’t had any problems with them.

Hugh Smith wondered where all the ATVs would be going and would they be able to park on the street in the spaces created for cars. He also said there are certain obligations with each sport and language should be added for their compliance.

Mike Tenalthomas from Lake Drive was against having the ATVs on his road due to the pollution, the noise and the safety factor. He then suggested a referendum to see how the community felt.

Dan Hubin was also against having ATVs on the roads due to liability questions. He also said Northwest Regional Planning Commission did a survey

in 2005 and the result was that 42 percent of those surveyed wanted stricter regulations on ATVs. He also supported a referendum.

Don Kramer, Rolph’s Point, said that it was unfair for the 70 percent of property owners who were not full-time residents and could not have a say in the decision.

Pat Pesko wondered about the criteria for safety and what was going to be done with two different laws, the state law that states drivers only have to be 12 years old and the city law that states drivers have to be 16.

Sally Bartz said that a one-year criteria needed to be set due to a safety concern she had for those that use Lake Drive for walking, biking and riding scooters past their house.

Dale Anderson countered, stating Lake Drive is a road, not a pedestrian walkway. He said that ATV owners pay state gas tax and have the right to use the roads. He was in favor of giving it a try.

Mike Bartz commented that they like the quiet of Lake Drive and wondered if the city realized that if they open almost all the city’s streets and alleys, they would have to put up a great deal of additional signs for the ATVs.

Donna Barnes-Haesemeyer said that cars that are driving over 30 mph are not stopped on her road, so how could they be assured that the ATV riders would limit their speed to 10 mph. She also commented that ATVs would disturb the serenity and safety of Lake Drive.

Jerry Greeley’s comment was that Birchwood had an open policy of riding on the streets and alleys in their town seemingly without a problem. He urged the council to give it a chance.

Sue Hansen said she had a neighbor in her 80s and she walked roads like Heisterkamp daily and ATVs would be detrimental to her. She also said that the Shell Lake Police only circle the lake twice on a shift and the public would find it difficult to report an offender with the ID tags too small on the ATVs.

Mary Butler’s road is currently being used as a detour and she couldn’t imagine that kind of traffic every day if the road was opened up to ATVs.

Kyle Schaefer, a business owner on the frontage road, stated that he hadn’t seen any problems so far with the current ATV traffic and he was interested in what the city attorney would be reporting.

Graydon Stone stated that his garage was the only one that opened into the alley behind the hospital, which would be in the restricted area. He wondered how he could get his ATV to an acceptable road without violating the new regulations on which streets and alleys would be closed to ATVs.

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Source: http://www.wcregister.net/clients/wcregister/council-and-city-attorney-form-atv-ordinance-p7428.htm?twindow=Default&smenu=73&mad=No

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