By LeAnn R. Ralph
MENOMONIE — After a vigorous discussion of a proposed ordinance, no clear consensus has emerged about how best to regulate All Terrain Vehicles and Utility Terrain Vehicles in Dunn County.
The Dunn County Sheriff’s Department would like a uniform ordinance to enforce, whether it is a county-wide ordinance or a uniform ordinance adopted by the townships, said Sergeant Travis Mayer at a meeting held March 3 at the Dunn County Government Center on Highway 12 East in Menomonie.
While most of those attending the meeting were representatives of the townships in Dunn County, some attendees were members of the general public or representatives for the Dunn County ATV/UTV Association.
Many of the townships in Dunn County do have an ordinance regulating ATV/UTVs, and most of those ordinances follow state statutes, so the county can enforce them, Sergeant Mayer said.
The problem is the ordinances vary on the time of operation and the length of time during the year when ATV/UTVs can be operated, he said.
For example, some of the townships allow ATV/UTVs to be operated on all town roads, 24 hours per day, all 12 months of the year, while other townships allow ATV/UTVs to be operated only on certain roads, from dawn to dusk, from April to November.
To be in compliance with the different ordinances, the ATV/UTV operators would have to carry a book of ordinances and a map so they can be sure which township they are in and what rules apply, Sergeant Mayer said.
The ordinances are difficult to enforce “when they’re all over the place,” he said.
The townships can write ordinances that follow the state statutes, the county can enact a county-wide ordinance, or the county could try to write a working agreement that would be applicable to each of the jurisdictions in Dunn County, Sergeant Mayer said.
The state statutes have not kept up with the explosion of ATV/UTV routes in recent years, he noted.
ATV/UTV trails refer to places where they allowed to operate in fields or through the woods while an ATV/UTV route refers to roads or streets where they are allowed to operate.
Some counties in northern Wisconsin are completely open to ATV/UTVs, making ATV/UTV tourism a significant source of income for those counties.
Lawn mowers
Another problem, which is not something the townships will be able to solve right now by ordinance, is the issuing of citations for Operating While Intoxicated, Sergeant Mayer said.
Under existing state statutes, the Dunn County Sheriff’s Department cannot write an OWI for an intoxicated ATV/UTV operator, but deputies can write a citation for an intoxicated person driving a lawn mower, he said.
At the most, deputies can write out a ticket to an impaired ATV/UTV driver, but the ticket does not result in any criminal penalties or points on the operator’s driver’s license, Sergeant Mayer said.
The ticket for impaired driving involving an ATV/UTV is the same kind of ticket for operating a boat or a snowmobile while impaired and only results in a civil penalty, he said.
Someone in the audience pointed out that boats and snowmobiles are not operated on roads.
Recreational vehicles are in a separate category from motor vehicles, Sergeant Mayer said.
One person in the audience asked if there was a way for townships to write an ordinance to include OWIs.
Sergeant Mayer said he has asked that question but has not yet received an answer.
Minnesota has now passed a law that no matter what you are driving — boat, snowmobile, ATV/UTV, motor vehicle — all infractions go on your driving record, he said.
Sergeant Mayer said he was doubtful Wisconsin would be able to pass a similar law because of the strength of the Wisconsin Tavern League.
“They will fight it,” he said.
Sergeant Mayer said he has no problem with people bar hopping using an ATV/UTV as long as they are not driving impaired.
“You can get a designated driver (as easily) for a UTV as for a motor vehicle,” he said.
Speed limit
By state law, the previous speed limit for ATV/UTVs was 35 miles per hour, Sergeant Mayer noted.
But new legislation, Act 183, was recently signed into law by Governor Tony Evers making the speed limit for ATV/UTVs the posted speed limit on the road, he said.
The speed limit on all roads is 55 mph unless otherwise posted, Sergeant Mayer said.
A speed limit of 35 mph for ATV/UTVs is “much safer,” he said.
One person in the audience said an ATV/UTV will not be able to make a sharp corner at 55 mph and that it would be dangerous to try it.
Another person in the audience pointed out that sharp corners often have speed limits posted.
Sergeant Mayer pointed out that the signs on corners with speed limits are yellow signs, which means that it is a recommended speed and not a speed limit.
A county-wide ordinance or township ordinances could have more restrictive speed limits than the state’s posted speed limit or 55 mph if the road is not posted, Sergeant Mayer said.
Farmers
Several people in the audience pointed out that they have farmers in their townships who use an ATV/UTV to travel to fields, to tend center pivot irrigation systems, for example, or to check on crops or livestock.
The ATV/UTV is exempt with a farm sticker, Sergeant Mayer said.
There are three kinds of stickers: private agriculture, which means you can operate the ATV/UTV on your own property; a regular agriculture sticker, which means you can operate the ATV/UTV on the road; and a recreational sticker, which means you can operate on the trails, he explained.
An ATV/UTV must be registered, even if you only operate it on your own private property, Sergeant Mayer said.
Hours
Sergeant Mayer asked the representatives for the townships what each town would prefer for hours of operation and the duration of operation during the year.
The Towns of Tiffany and Lucas would prefer dawn to dusk or an hour before sunrise and an hour after sunset.
The Towns of Sherman, Sand Creek, Red Cedar and Stanton preferred to give ATV/UTVs the ability to operate 24 hours per day, seven days per week, for 12 months out of the year.
The Town of Hay River would close all roads to ATV/UTV traffic.
Sergeant Mayer said he had heard of townships that set certain roads as ATV/UTV routes for people who do not live in the township but opened all the roads to township residents.
Two sets of rules for town residents and people who live outside of the township is a bad idea, he said.
“Once you open your town roads, they are open to everyone,” Sergeant Mayer said.
If the townships want their various hours of operation enforced, then signs must be posted on all roads coming into the township, he said.
If the county and the townships cannot come to an agreement, then all of the towns must post signs, Sergeant Mayer said.
Several people noted the ATV/UTV clubs will install the signs for the townships.
Sergeant Mayer recommended that the townships not rely on clubs to install signs but should, instead, install the signs themselves.
“The townships are ultimately on the hook,” Sergeant Mayer said.
If there is an accident and it could be attributed to a problem with a sign, the township has the liability, he said.
Enforcement
The biggest reason everyone attended the ATV/UTV meeting is because of enforcement of the ordinances, said Dave Bartlett, chair of the Dunn County Board and chair of the Town of Sheridan.
If there is no consensus among the townships, then it is hard for the sheriff’s department to enforce the ordinances, he said.
Paul Heifner, a member of the Sherman Town Board, asked why the state does not issue license plates for ATV/UTVs.
Heifner said the registration money could come back to the municipalities for road maintenance.
While many people in the room agreed that they would be happy to have the registration money come back to their municipality, they thought it was highly unlikely the state Legislature would send the money back.
The state Legislature would have to “be on board,” Sergeant Mayer said.
The sheriff’s department wants to be able to easily come in and do enforcement, he said.
No consensus
Sergeant Mayer said he had hoped a compromise would have surfaced that elected officials could take back to their townships.
Everybody might have to give a little to get enforcement, Bartlett pointed out.
While most of the town representatives in the room said they had received few or no complaints about ATV/UTVs, Sergeant Mayer noted that the sheriff’s department has received clusters of complaints about certain areas.
In one instance, juveniles were tearing up town roads, and in another instance, residents complained about intoxicated drivers operating ATV/UTVs, he said.
With a county ordinance, the townships would have 100 percent control of which roads are open and which are closed, Sergeant Mayer said.
Jon Sworski, Dunn County Director of Public Works, also attended the meeting.
At one point, someone from audience asked Sworski for his opinion about the operation of ATV/UTVs in Dunn County.
“My personal opinion is — they do not belong on the road,” Sworski said.
