News : Supervisors seek study before considering approval of ATV ordinance

The discussion over a proposed ordinance that would allow ATV owners to drive on gravel roads in Benton County continued on Tuesday, with no changes expected in the county rules in the near future.

Louie Guynn of rural Mount Auburn spoke to the supervisors during their regular weekly meeting, asking for an update on the ordinance, telling them that some ATV owners had thought the ordinance had already passed. Several drivers, he said have been stopped by law enforcement officers. Guynn presented the supervisors a petition with 63 signatures from county residents asking them to approve an ordinance similar to one recently passed in Buchanan County.

Current county law only allows farmers to use ATVs to travel from field to field on gravel roads.

The supervisors and County Attorney Dave Thompson have discussed this issue for several months. Thompson told the supervisors that Iowa law requires the county to do a study of the roads on which ATVs might travel.

That kind of survey, said Thompson, does not have to be difficult, but has to be done.

Thompson said following the state law regarding this safety study would be a big factor in avoiding liability if someone sues the county after an ATV accident.

Supervisor Todd Wiley said he, too, had concerns about liability. He said that a study of gravel roads would also give the county engineer (who was not present at Tuesday's meeting) a chance to see how well the Secondary Roads Department drivers are maintaining the gravel road surfaces.

After discussing the issue for about an hour, the supervisors agreed to contact the county engineer to ask about such a study. They also plan to meet with a DNR representative and possibly to participate in a discussion on ATV ordinances at a meeting of the Iowa State Association of Counties in early 2016. ISAC is considerng debating the topic with the goal of creating a model ordinance that would allow counties to pass guidelines that are consistent from county to county.

Guynn told the supervisors that some drivers – including a man who was plowing his mother's driveway and a woman taking lunch to her husband as he drove his combine during harvest season – have been stopped and cited while driving ATVs.

"I am sorry we are not moving faster," said Supervisors Terry Hertle. "But we've got to have our t's crossed and our i's dotted."

Guynn and the others are asking for an ordinance similar to one approved late in 2014 by the Buchanan County Supervisors. See tha ordinance HERE.