An ordinance that was created to regulate the use of off-road vehicles in county-owned forests was not adopted by Marshall County Commissioners when they met last Monday.
County Attorney Jim Clevenger was asked to create an ordinance that would help address citizen complaints about excess noise and damage to the trails caused by these types of vehicles. He presented it to commissioners at last week’s meeting.
Clevenger explained that the ordinance would establish a fine of $100 for any individual who operated an off-road vehicle in the Marshall County Forest and Mill Pond Forest without receiving permission from officials first.
Commissioner Mike Delp noted that ever since they started talking about the matter publically, he’s received reports from residents who say the issues seem like they have been occurring less frequently.
Delp explained, “I went down with the group of volunteers to level out the ruts that where there and while they were doing that I went around to about a half a dozen residents and handed out my card and told them what we were proposing to do.” He continued, “It seems like the activity has cut down tremendously.”
One of the worries about passing an ordinance that prohibits all off-road vehicles is that individuals who utilize them responsibly would no longer be able to use them in the forests. Since there was an apparent difference, Delp suggested not going forward with the ordinance but instead, continuing to monitor the activity to see how things progress.
Commissioner Kurt Garner asked the attorney about the possibility of installing some signs that would indicate that riders are liable for themselves and any damage they may cause with their vehicles.
Commissioner Delp added that he thought it could be helpful to have signs that simply prohibit racing since that is what was resulting in the trail damage and excess noise.
Clevenger replied that though the signs would not be enforceable by law without an ordinance, they could act as a point of information.
Delp asked the other commissioners if it would be okay for him to assess the number of signs needed and have them made in order to help discourage the types of activities that are causing damage to the trails and creating a noisy environment.
The other commissioners said that seemed like a fine idea and told him to proceed. No official actions were taken on the ordinance and Clevenger indicated that he would hold onto it for now.
