Councilman Bembas worried about regulating the fun out of the city
By Barb Pert Templeton
While the Algonac city attorney, along with an ordinance review committee, have been considering changes to several city ordinances members of the city council are anxious to look at suggestions for the golf cart ordinance and those that address scooters and mini-bikes.
When City Manager Artie Bryson reminded officials during a July 7 council meeting that the ordinance reviews were ongoing it prompted some questions from Councilwoman Wendy Meldrum.
She stated that she knows Bryson has been meeting with the committee and wondered if they’ve addressed the mini-bike and ATV’s situation in town.
“We do have a lot of them that fly down Washington that I witnessed this weekend and they go in and out of people that are trying to park and they are really reckless,” Meldrum said.
The Algonac City Council meets on the first and third Tuesdays of the month at 6 p.m.
The city manager said it’s a complicated issue.
“I’ve talked to officials in Lansing, at the state level, and they are not going to do anything,” Bryson said. “They are leaving it up to the locals.”
After that Bryson said he started looking into what other municipalities do and for example in Dearborn they are going to require a registration and charge $500 and he doesn’t want to do that.
Meldrum said why doesn’t the city just do golf carts, period and just stop there.
“But the e-bikes are bikes and they are legal,” Bryson said.
“The Detroit Lions are part of the NFC but I don’t want us to be part of the NFC and that’s No Fun City, let’s not regulate the fun out of this city. We have to make sure we don’t go overboard in regulating these things because 99.9% of everybody are doing what they are supposed to.”
Algonac Councilman Michael Bembas
“These little mini-bikes?” Meldrum asked.
“They’re still legal,” Mayor Pro Tem Dawn Davey replied.
Bryson said the city can do things to control them, including the e-bikes. His own personal idea is if they are a certain size the city can put restrictions in that state the parents have to be present
when they are in use especially if the rider is 13-years-old or younger. He said in comparison, those operating golf carts need to have a driver’s license.
“I had mentioned a while ago – because the sheriffs can’t chase them it’s dangerous – so let’s get where the parents have to come in and register those things,” Davey suggested.
She added that her idea was each rider would get a big plaque, similar to those on a motorcross bike with a number on it, that way when someone see’s that rider and see’s that number they can call the sheriff and report it and then the parents can be contacted.
Something needs to be done
Mayor Rocky Gillis said while he agrees there are many different ways to address the issue it’s important to remember that lots of what’s already happening is “against the law already.”
“It’s against the ordinance for anybody under 16 to be driving a golf cart, so the ones out there who are out there speeding around town are already breaking the law,” Gillis said.
“And we have a parental responsibility ordinance in place already,” Councilwoman Cathy Harris added.
“I’ll start videoing these bikes, which are not e-bikes. I sit back and think man I feel like I live in a rural area, not a city. You’ve got these bikes flying right by and nobody stops they just roll through the stop sign and go.”
Councilwoman Wendy Meldrum
Meldrum said the council keeps kicking the topic around and doesn’t seem to know what direction to go in.
“I hate to always be the one throwing the wrench into it but maybe rewrite the ordinance where there’s no recreational vehicles,” she said.
Meldrum feels the subject has become a constant topic and the council doesn’t know what direction to go in.
“We don’t want the officers to chase them, let’s get a permit let’s not get a permit,” Meldrum said. “I’ll start videoing these bikes, which are not e-bikes. I sit back and think man I feel like I live in a rural area, not a city. You’ve got these bikes flying right by and nobody stops they just roll through the stop sign and go.”
Councilman Jake Skarbek said before they ban them maybe they should try a registration tax with maybe a bigger charge for the size of the bikes.
Bryson said the problem lies with the scooters too. Skarbek agreed and said he recently saw a scooter on M-29 flying by at 40 to 45 miles an hour right in with regular cars.
Davey agreed and said parents need to realize that the scooters are not like a bike, they are “a completely different animal.”
The council agreed they need to really look at the topic and make some decisions if not for anything else but the safety of all involved.
Councilman Michael Bembas said the ordinance issue has been with the city attorney for several months now and he’d like Bryson to get a date that the documents will be ready for the council to review.
“The Detroit Lions are part of the NFC but I don’t want us to be part of the NFC and that’s No Fun City, let’s not regulate the fun out of this city,” Bembas said. “We have to make sure we don’t go overboard in regulating these things because 99.9% of everybody are doing what they are supposed to.”
In the meantime, Bembas suggested Bryson contact the sheriff’s department and ask them to make some stops in the community and speak to the kids on the scooters, not ticket them, but speak to them about it.
“I will say for our deputies, when they see these groups they’ll stop and have a little chat with them and they (the kids) know what’s up just by the look on his face,” Davey said.
