By Tim Douglass

tdouglass@pctribune.com

ATV and golf cart owners can now drive those vehicles on Glenwood city streets once they successfully apply and receive a permit (and sticker) at City Hall.  ATVs and golf carts must display a sticker on the vehicles to be legal on city streets.  

Two new ordinances allowing golf carts and ATVs to be permitted to drive on city streets were approved unanimously at last week’s Glenwood City Commissioners’ meeting. The ordinances were first introduced at an Oct. 26 city meeting and subsequently published before adopted last week with no substantive changes.  

In a separate action, the city set the fees for licensing ATVs and golf carts on city streets with permits offered on an annual basis.  The annual fee for golf carts and Class 1 ATVs to be permitted on city streets was set at $45.  The annual fee for Class 2 ATVS, UTVS (side-by-side vehicles) was set for $65 per year.  The ordinances define the vehicle and the fees are determined on that definition.  ATVs and golf carts are not limited to daytime hours if the vehicles are equipped with front, back and signal lights for operation after sunset.

There was some discussion about the amount the city would charge for ATV/golf cart permits but settled on the $45 and $65 fee.  “If we find it’s too high, we can lower it next year and if it’s too low we can raise it,” Commissioner Todd Gylsen said. 

Those driving ATVs and or golf carts on city streets must realize they cannot drive on state highways, including Minnesota Avenue and Franklin Street in Glenwood.  Vehicles are permitted to “cross” those roads, but cannot travel on them, Gylsen emphasized.  

Commissioner Neil Haynes said he was less concerned with the amount of the fee than he was about public safety.  The permit process, he said, “is a way for us to know what’s out there, improving enforcement.” 

City Administrator Dave Iverson said before the fees were set that he believed the golf cart fee should be lower since most of those won’t be driving during the winter months.  He also said that most of the Class 1 ATVs, (standard four-wheelers) would be used mostly in the winter to get to and from Lake Minnewaska for ice fishing.

Commissioner Mavis Pattee said she wanted the fees high enough to “at least cover the administration costs” of issuing the permits.  Iverson said the city would not be able to recoup the amount of attorney costs in amending and writing the new ordinances.  He estimated the administration costs to be “several hundred dollars” per year, but added, “that’s what we do as a city.”

When asked when the vehicles could seek the permits, Iverson produced the stickers he had already attained and said, “if it is approved tonight (Wednesday) we can issue permits tomorrow.”  

In other business, the commission:

• Approved increasing the annual contribution to the Glenwood Fire Relief fund by $40 increment for the next four years.  The commission will review the contribution after four years.  The request came from the Glenwood Fire Department and although the city has not had to make any unexpected large contributions to the fund in recent years, it is hoped that the increased increments of $40 per year will continue that trend.  The commission heard a detailed report on the fund earnings history and eligible firefighters status for retirement from Clay Nestor, who heads the Glenwood Fire Relief Fund for the department.

• Heard the annual “Pavement Condition Survey,” from Engineer Tim Schoonhoven, of Widseth, describing the condition of fall the city’s streets.  Schoonhoven drives all the city’s streets each year with the city’s public works department and rates the condition of each street.  He recommended that the city continue its plan of saving streets that can be saved at the least cost–those that have deteriorated to needing only an overlay and those needing some patching and an overlay.  They are the least expensive to repair and can be brought up to the top rating for city streets.  By following that plan, as the city has done in the past, the city has increased the number of streets that are rated “number 1” or in the best condition.  Still, there are streets that have deteriorated beyond easy repair, but those take the most money to repair, Schoonhoven said.  He pointed out that the plan isn’t to ignore those streets, but said the city may have to look at bonding to do those repairs because they are too expensive to fit into an annual budgeting cycle.  The goal, he said, is to move more streets into the “best condition” at the least expense.

• Approved a revised joint-powers agreement with the city and West Central SWAT.  The agreement was reviewed by the city’s attorney before it was adopted.  The agreement is for five years, but if there are any changes, it must come before the city and other cities involved in West Central SWAT, it was stated.  Police Chief Dale Danter said the new agreement was before the city because of minor changes and the addition of Big Stone County to the organization.  

• Approved a resolution certifying a number of delinquent water, sewer and refuse utilities fees to be collected through property taxes and set the interest rate at 8 percent.

• Approved an engineering agreement with Widseth to prepare plans for the proposed 2023 street improvement projects, including 14th Ave. NE and the parking lot at the city garage.

• Approved pay requests of $52,332 and $2,754 to Struck & Irwin Paving Inc. for a crack sealing project at the airport.