Sommer Woodward
Chouteau trustees discussed allowing golf carts and all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) on city streets in another city council meeting Monday.
Attorney Ben Sherrer drew up Ordinance 2008-11 and asked the board take the ordinance home and go over it, bringing back any changes if necessary.
The ordinance only addresses golf carts and ATVs, including gators and mules. The ordinance would require the driver have a valid license to operate the vehicle and only be allowed to make a perpendicular crossing of state highways.
The ordinance allows the town to issue permits to operate the vehicles. This would allow someone with the town to inspect the vehicle to make sure it’s safe for the roads.
Trustee Brenda Cunningham said she likes the idea of permitting the vehicles so owners can be given rules and regulations to follow.
Sherrer said one thing the board should consider is Highway 69. He said the highway has a lot of traffic and isn’t safe for these types of vehicles.
Mayor Jerry Floyd said kids in the Chouteau Hills area are launching ATVs across streets in utility easements. “They’re gonna get somebody killed,” he said.
Floyd said he agrees with the operator having a valid driver’s license, but “it will be awfully hard to police that.”
Bucky Franklin spoke to the board about a previous ordinance which doesn’t allow 4-wheelers in Chouteau Hills. He said the kids operating the 4-wheelers near his house have nearly run him off the road.
“Someone’s gonna get hurt,” he said.
He said if the town is going to allow these vehicles on city streets, the vehicles ought to be street legal.
The board tabled taking any action on the ordinance until next month.
In other business:
• The board approved allowing Fire Chief Ted Key and Firefighter Keith Brandon to give CPR and First Aid classes to all board members, town and PWA employees. Floyd said he thinks every person working for the town should be qualified in CPR and First Aid. Several classes will be planned to give employees options to better fit their schedules. The classes will take approximately three hours.
• The board hired Kirk Kvittum and Eric Reed as volunteer firefighters and approved sending four firefighters to OSU for a two-day course. The town will reimburse the firefighters for meals and hotel room.
• The board approved surplusing squad one, a 1969 Kaiser jeep. “The poor old thing is flat wore out,” said Floyd. If a local fire department wants the jeep, Chouteau will give it to them. Key said he’d like to give some of the smaller departments that option before taking the jeep to auction.
• The board approved returning tanker three to the Forestry Department. Key said the Forestry Department said the truck wasn’t safe enough to put on the road, so they’ll take it to crush for scrap metal.
• The board approved paying T & W Tires $859.12 for four new tires for fire engine two. The amount will be taken out of the special fire fund.
• Purchasing a dart rifle for animal control from Pnewdart, Inc., for $699 was approved. The board approved purchasing darts for the gun, bringing the total cost to $793.87.
• The board approved hiring Chad Blackwell and Billy Nichols as reserve officers.
• Edwin Hershberger and Wayne Deramus were approved to fill in for Officer Mike Reese on weekends while he’s on medical leave. Their rate of pay will be $10 per hour, not to exceed 16 hours per week.
• The police department issued 268 citations, wrote 49 warnings and gave 69 verbal warnings in August. Total contacts in August were 416. The department took 185 police calls, made four drug arrests and jailed 30 people. Reserve officers worked 54.5 hours.
The department responded to 14 animal calls, picking up six and adopting three.
Seven vehicle crashes were worked with one injury. Cases worked were one for domestic assault, one child in need of supervision, one vandalism, one dog bite, one juvenile runaway, one domestic assault and battery, one sexual assault, one distribution of controlled dangerous substance by a minor, one breaking and entering and rape complaint, one unauthorized use of motor vehicle and one assault and battery with a deadly weapon.
