(Spirit Lake)– All terrain vehicles may soon join cars, pickups and other vehicles on the streets in Spirit Lake.
The city council Tuesday approved the first reading of an ordinance that would allow ATV’s to be operated on city streets between December 1st and March 31st of each year.
But limiting the operation to that time of year isn’t sitting well with ATV enthusiasts. Tony Peterson of Cycle Country in Milford, a manufacturer of ATV accessories, told the council many people want to use ATV’s as a primary mode of transportation to and from work to save on gas. He says limiting the operations to a certain time of year defeats that.
Councilman Jerry Harbst then made a motion to allow ATV’s to be operated year-round and to waive the second and third readings and to immediately adopt the ordinance. The motion failed to get the majority vote needed in order to waive the first two readings. The vote was three-to-one, with councilman Steve Balm casting the no vote. Balm said he wanted this ordinance, like others the council recently adopted, to go through the full hearing process. Council member Sara Frerichs was absent.
Another motion was then made to hold the first reading of the ordinance and to restore the December 1st through March 31st operating dates, with the second reading to come before the council at its next regular meeting December 11th. That motion passed unanimously.
Council members say based on the input they receive, they could decide at that time whether to revise the proposed ordinance to permit operations year-round.
In other business, the council heard reports from representatives of Discovery House and the Dickinson County Trails; and they approved a severance package for what City Administrator Mark Stevens said was the “mutually agreed upon termination of the Public Works Director”. The vote was three-to-one, with councilman Jerry Harbst casting the no vote.
