Rainelle Town Council members are considering an ordinance change that would allow four-wheelers to be operated on town streets.
According to Councilmember Danny Milam, who spoke at the Feb. 8 council meeting, the new ordinance would allow street-legal all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) to be driven on paved highways and side streets. The ordinance would be written to follow West Virginia Senate Bill 690 that was passed during the 2020 regular legislative session. The bill went into effect last June.
According to the Senate bill, owners of ATVs, and other street-legal special purpose vehicles, must get their vehicle licensed and comply with all division of motor vehicles’ fee requirements. Each vehicle must have appropriate equipment for use on roads, be insured and have a valid registration card.
The ultimate goal for Rainelle officials is to create an off-road trail system that would bring tourism to the town. Allowing ATVs to travel through town on motor vehicle roadways would give residents more access to the trails and give riders an opportunity to visit local businesses.
Council discussed how popular these trail systems have been in other communities, but there was some concern expressed about the effect on the town of Rainelle.
“I hope people respect other people’s properties,” said Councilmember Martha Livesay regarding the possible change to the ordinance.
She continued to say that she has watched children ride ATVs in alleyways and those vehicles have caused much damage.
“The town owns those and they have been torn all to pieces because of these things,” Livesay continued.
“Somebody is going to get hurt seriously,” Livesay added.
She said she has watched children as young as 5 years old riding on an ATV with an 8-year-old driver.
“That is the reason we need to go ahead and adopt the same laws as the state,” Milam responded. “That will take care of a lot of those problems.”
Milam explained that the state law requires drivers to wear helmets and it set legal age limits for ATV operators. Those requirements should help town officials draft an ordinance that will work best for Rainelle.
He added that the town has several representatives who will help create a plan for the off-road trail and that property owners would need to start being notified if the proposed trail would affect them.
“I think we are off to a pretty good start, but we need more people to help us,” Milam said.
The ordinance change will be discussed at the next town council meeting.
In other business, the council decided to move forward with the county-wide initiative to have Mobile Data Terminals (MDTs) installed in police cars.
Acting Mayor Bill Bell said that even though the town does not currently have a police department, they plan to have one in the future and that these terminals will be beneficial to future officers.
Greenbrier County 911 Director Mike Honaker explained at the last Rainelle Town Council meeting that the initial cost for the town to receive software and services for MDT installation in police cars would be $7,000. This does not include the cost for the actual MDTs, typically laptops, which would need to be purchased by the town.
The Rainelle Town Council meets on the second and fourth Monday of each month at the town hall. Anyone who wishes to speak at the meetings is welcome to attend.
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