Abbotsford council looks for new dog park

Council also OKs ATV, UTV use on all city streets

The Abbotsford City Council heard citizens’ comments about two potential ordinance changes the council had been considering prior to its June 15 meeting.

Dog park

The first topic of discussion was the implementation of a dog park at the open area that previously served as the old elementary school playground on North First Ave. and West Butternut St.

The council made a motion at its April 19 meeting to approve a dog park at the park across from the public safety building which would require them to enclose the area with a chain link fence, and plant grass in the baseball infield.

The idea behind putting the park at that location stemmed from the fact that there was already existing fencing there for the baseball field and so it would be cost-effective to place a park in that area.

Abbotsford resident and neighbor to the proposed park Alice Schoelzel said the park is creating a nuisance for her and her family.

“I’m against the dog park,” Schoelzel said. “I’m an animal lover, but I am against the dog park. I don’t know why we have a dog park when we can’t maintain the playground that’s there right now.”

Schoelzel said she has put in hours and hours of work into the playground to keep it nice and safe for children to play on, despite the fact that it is a city-owned entity.

“There are too many irresponsible owners that now bring their dogs and abuse and disrespect what we have for our children,” Schoelzel said.

She also raised questions about the condition of the grass and how that might suffer if dogs were in the park for an extended period of time.

“Our neighborhood does not need to have the smell blowing into our homes. We are in a residential area. The children that live in that area play softball and kickball almost every other night,” Schoelzel said.

Aldermen Dale Rachu and Jeremiah Zieset said that the city should have asked residents around the park about the proposition and they failed to do that. Rachu said he didn’t see a need for a dog park anywhere because Abbotsford traffic isn’t that bad.

City Administrator Josh Soyk said that people have small backyards so there isn’t a place for some people’s dogs to play and run.

The council ultimately recognized Schoelzel’s concern and discussed where else a dog park could go.

Alderwoman Kayla Nixdorf said right now, there is nowhere for Abbotsford residents to go with their dogs if they want to take them to an open area. The council suggested Soyk look into how much room is available at Shortner Park North to determine if a park would be better suited at that location.

The council ultimately voted 7-1 that the dog park creation at the old elementary school playground be re- scinded and to explore other options for a park. Nixdorf was the only alderperson to vote against the proposition.

ATV/UTV legislation change

A host of area residents and ATV users came to voice their support for the legalization of ATVs and UTVs on all Abbotsford roads (except HWY 13 as it is a state highway).

In attendance were: Galen Kulas, John Austin, Jason Treankler and Tammy Seefeld. Colby/Abbotsford Police Chief Jason Bauer was also in attendance to give some insight on what the approval of the ordinance might mean for his department.

Currently, ATV and UTV riders are restricted to only riding on Hiline Ave. and Business 29. Those in attendance were for opening up all roads to ATV and UTVs so they could enjoy things like going to get groceries, heading to a restaurant or any number of other things that riders might have to deviate from the two currently legalized roads to do.

Kulas said that although UTVs could probably go and do things like that without an issue, it’d be nice to open up the roadways formally.

“What happens if I ride into town to go to a friend’s house or store or something, and a car would hit me and it’s completely their fault,” Kulas said. “I’m not supposed to be there so it’s on me.”

Austin said there are currently people that don’t follow the law and aren’t li- censed. He said that changing this ordinance would not create more of a problem because people are already breaking the law if they want to do that.

“I don’t know why you’d want to punish the people that are abiding by the law in favor of a certain few people,” Austin said.

In Wisconsin, residents can begin riding ATV or UTVs as early as age 12 with parental permission. Bauer assured the council that most parents wouldn’t be letting their 12-year-old children out on the streets with an ATV.

Bauer said his ire towards the potential ordinance is due to the fact that they can’t fully police the ordinance the city has in place right now.

“I don’t support Colby’s [ordinance] and I won’t support Abbotsford’s [ordinance],” Bauer said. “They’re right. Ninety percent of them are good but we have probably 20-30 knuckleheads that race around on four-wheelers or motorcycles. We can’t keep up anyway on some of the stuff we have to do.”

Bauer followed up by saying he understands why people want this ordinance passed and he understands that the council has a duty to listen to and accommodate the people of Abbotsford.

“With that high-speed chase we had a couple of months ago, whether you pass this or not, I don’t think that is going to change anything,” Bauer said. “I don’t think you’ll add to the problem. I’m just not going to support it.”

After kicking the tires on a probationary period, the council decided to unanimously approve a motion to allow ATVs and UTVs on all streets. They agreed that they would bring it up at a future meeting if problems arose.

Other business

_ The council approved a number of operator’s licenses, a class “B” license for First City Days and a street use permit for First City Days.

Zieset said he wished the city didn’t have to have alcohol involved in events like First City Days. He cited drunk driving and minors being introduced to alcohol as the reasons for voting against any sort of operator’s licenses associated with First City Days.

_ The city discussed what they would do with the future of Raze orders for the city. Currently, Bob Christensen does the inspections for the city but he told Soyk that those inspections are not in his job description.

Soyk said, “I think we need to look at having an inspector specifically for this.”

The council agreed to have Christensen give them a quote on how much it costs to do the inspections so they know what it might cost the city to have an employee dedicated to the cause.

_ The concession stand at Red Arrow Park was approved to go out for bids. The motion doesn’t ensure that the concession stand will be built as the council can still vote to deny all bids on the project.