Houlton soundly rejects latest ATV proposal

HOULTON – One town councilor called it “crap,” an ATV fan called it “garbage,” and the council chairman called it a “horrible piece of legislation.”

Such comments did not bode well for a proposed ATV ordinance that came before councilors on Monday evening, and the group subsequently rejected the measure after more than an hour of discussion.

Most councilors said that they voted against the measure because it did not mirror what they intended to do when they first began looking at the ATV issue in the spring.

In May, ATV enthusiasts requested that officials open up more access routes in town so riders could navigate lawfully around more municipal streets.

There are scores of ATV trails on the outskirts of town, and sometimes operators must ride a short distance on public roads to reach a trail. Under state law, a registered ATV driver may not exceed a distance of 300 yards traveling on a public way.

This means riders sometimes cannot get from their homes to nearby trails legally, nor can they always legally reach local restaurants and gas stations by ATV. Riders have stressed that the town would benefit economically if riders had access to restaurants and stores using their machines.

An ATV committee was organized to examine both sides of the issue. Town officials eventually met with members of the Aroostook Riders ATV Club and mapped out proposed access routes. Some of the paths would have enabled operators to access a handful of local streets to reach existing trails.

The proposal that came before panelists on Monday evening, however, no longer designated access streets. Instead, it involved imposing a 10 mph speed limit, with no riding allowed between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. To reduce noise pollution, ATVs needed to have factory-authorized mufflers. Operators would have been prohibited from riding in town from Dec. 1 to May 14.

Town attorney Dan Nelson said at the meeting that the proposal did not open one additional inch of town ways to ATV traffic.

The ordinance merely adds an extra set of restrictions within the town, he added.

Marilyn Roper, who attended the meeting with her husband, Harrison, spoke out against the proposal. Both expressed concern that the ordinance did not pinpoint exactly where ATVs would be permitted, and Marilyn Roper questioned whether residents would see ATVs in such places as Market Square and on Maple Street.

Enthusiast Richard Stairs said that he was in favor of more ATV access, but he decried the proposal that he saw on Monday evening.

“I was going to get up here and I was supposed to say something good, but I don’t see anything good coming out of this,” he said of the ordinance. “This is garbage. We need to scrap it and start over.”

Councilor Carl Lord agreed that the town should start over and garner insight from both residents and the ATV club to come up with a better solution.

Councilor Phil Bernaiche concurred, and added that the town needed to “wake up and not act like a town that is lost.”

“I don’t believe that the ATVs are so bad that we can’t tolerate them,” he said. “We’re going to have to allow them [riders] to go from their homes to the trails by the shortest means possible.”

While other councilors said that they felt that implementing the ordinance would be a good first step, the idea was quickly quashed.

“I think this is crap,” Councilor Paul Cleary said before the decision not to adopt the ordinance. “We need to go back to the drawing board.”