By LeAnn R. Ralph
ELK MOUND — The Elk Mound Village Board has approved All Terrain Vehicle/Utility Terrain Vehicle (ATV/UTV) and snowmobile routes in the village.
Four goals were important in determining the ATV/UTV and snowmobile routes, said Elk Mound Police Chief Chad Weinberger at the village board’s October 2 meeting.
The four goals include safety (keeping traffic off the streets and variables such as U.S. Highway 12 and the railroad tracks); minimizing noise; access to trails and minimizing enforcement; and public relations (a sunset clause allowing the routes to be evaluated with the assistance of the community), the police chief said.
Elk Mound held a community meeting about the ATV/UTV and snowmobile routes on September 11, with 21 people in attendance, nine of whom were village residents and 12 of whom were not village residents, he said.
Representatives for the Dunn County ATV/UTV trail first talked to the Elk Mound Village Board about a route in the village last March.
The majority of the people at the meeting were in favor of having ATV/UTV and snowmobile routes in the village, Police Chief Weinberger said.
The Town of Elk Mound also is working on routes in the township, and approval by the town board is dependent on village approval, said a representative of the Dunn County ATV/UTV Association.
The ATV/UTV route would come into the village on the west side on Division Street and allow ATV/UTV operators access to the Pourhouse. The route would continue on Fir Street, cross Highway 12 to Railroad Street, and from Railroad Street operators could access the Junction, Police Chief Weinberger explained, noting there would be one way in and out of Elk Mound on that route.
According to the village ordinance, the ATV/UTV operators would need a valid driver’s license to operate on village roadways, he said.
The ATV/UTV Association would maintain signs indicating the route, Police Chief Weinberger said.
“It’s a great way to start. It’s an opportunity to open up the village,” he said.
Several village board members wondered if village residents with ATVs/UTVs would be allowed to use village streets to reach the route.
The village’s current ordinance only allows ATVs/UTVs on village streets if there is snow removal equipment mounted on the vehicles and if the vehicles have the required amber safety lighting, Police Chief Weinberger said.
The Elk Mound Village Board unanimously approved the ATV/UTV route. The route will be evaluated by December 31, 2020.
Voting in favor were Village President Steven Abraham and Village Trustees Montana Grotthus, Deborah Creaser-Kipp, Terry Stamm and Greg Kipp.
Village Trustees Paula Turner and Rebecca Livingston were absent from the meeting.
Snowmobile route
Snowmobile routes on village streets cause more concern, Police Chief Weinberger said.
Existing snowmobile trails in Elk Mound are on private property, he said.
Some of the trails also are on road right-of-way in the village, noted the representative for the ATV/UTV Association.
The snowmobile route on village streets would use North Holly north of the railroad tracks to reach the Junction, and then Railroad Street to Fir Street to reach the Pourhouse.
The Elk Mound Village Board unanimously approved the snowmobile route. The route will be evaluated by December 31, 2020.
Other business
In other business, the Elk Mound Village Board:
• Approved creating a local government pooled savings account for new election equipment by changing sub-account number nine from “village hall parking” to “new election equipment.” The village’s election equipment will be obsolete by 2021, said Pat Hahn, village clerk-treasurer. For 2020 and 2021, $4,000 would be put into the budget for a total of $8,000 for new election equipment, she said. The village will be working with Dunn County to acquire the new election equipment, Hahn said.
• Approved bartender operator’s licenses for Matthew Marx (Elk Mound Travel Stop); Alejandra Dahlia Hartkopf (Elk Mound Travel Stop); and Tracy J. Clemmens (Elk Mound Travel Stop).
• Approved the ice rink lease agreement with Margaret and Steve Dieter, 307 University. The agreement with the Dieters has been approved every year for the past 20 years, Hahn said.
• Approved an agreement with Dunn County to collect real estate and personal property taxes. The cost is the same as last year at $2.30 per tax parcel for a total of about $820, Hahn said. There were 352 parcels last year. Dunn County prepares the tax bills and mails them out.
• Appointed Matt Flatland as the village’s building inspector. Flatland, who lives in Colfax, is the building inspector for the City of Altoona. Elk Mound’s fees will remain the same, and Flatland will set his own fees for inspections. He will begin working as the village’s building inspector in 2020.
