City of Loyal to revisit horse manure issue

The Loyal City Council plans to take another look at what can be done to reduce the amount of horse manure on city streets, after receiving a complaint at its last meeting.

At the Sept. 19 meeting, local business owner Robbie Scheuerman expressed concern about horse manure being left on the street outside his business, saying he had received a lot of complaints from customers.

“It makes the town look bad. I have people out of town, different states coming, saying, ‘Why can’t they clean this up?’” he said.

Scheuerman, who owns the Rumors on Main bar and restaurant, felt that horse and buggy drivers should be required to put diapers on their horses.

“I don’t believe it’s feasible for the city to have to hire somebody to run that street sweeper all the time. I know how expensive it is to operate that type of equipment… I’m thinking that these horses should have some diapers on them,” said Scheuerman.

Police Chief Matt Kubista said it’s not the first time the city has dealt with this issue.

“So, it was 15 or 18 years ago, I don’t remember when. I went out and talked to the bishops. At that point in time, we passed the horse manure-catching device on the back of it. And then what happened was, we had people come back and complain because the Amish all sent the letters saying, ‘Thank you for how kind you were to us, but your city doesn’t want us anymore,’ so why did you pass this ordinance? And that was other businesses that did that, too. The feed mills, the hardware store. So they undid that.”

Kubista said the city cannot prohibit horse and buggy users from using Main Street, because it’s a state highway as well. However, the city did have a designated horse and buggy route at one time that followed the side streets.

“But then we had residents along the route, they got mad and said, ‘Well, now it’s in front of my driveway,’” said Kubista. “So we couldn’t please anybody when it came to this. Everybody was upset one way or another. Whether it was their street or the devices and the businesses, so that’s why it’s always been a standstill.”

Scheuerman said that Amish people would still go to local businesses even if required to put a manure-catching device on their horses, because they had nowhere else to go for those services.

“I think it was the businesses that came in the last time — Northside, Vita Plus, the hardware store, Benz Sawmill, the banks, the library,” said Mayor Carmen Englebretson.

“Ask them, where are they going to go?” said Scheuerman.

“Whether they go or not, we had more people against the diapers than we did for the diapers,” Englebretson said.

“I agree with him (Scheuerman). I don’t like it. But gall-dang it, the last time we did this, remember the battle we had? It got ugly. I don’t know what the answer is,” said council member Tim Froeba.

The council decided to refer the issue to the police committee to be discussed in more detail. As of Sept. 22, no committee meeting date had been set.

Other business The council also approved Ordinance 8-1-19(c), prohibiting the use of unauthorized motorized vehicles on municipal walking trails. It will apply to the section of trail that was just established this summer, connecting Draper and Main streets.

The ordinance prohibits any motorized vehicle, including snowmobiles, minibikes, golf carts, go-carts, ATVs, UTVs, motorcycles, trucks and automobiles, from going on walking trails. The only exception is a vehicle responding to an emergency.

Council member Dave Geier asked about putting small posts at the start of the trail to prevent motorized vehicles from driving on it. However, the council didn’t feel that was necessary, as there hadn’t been a problem with it yet.

The council also passed an amendment to Ordinance 8-3-13 outlining license requirements for ATV and UTV use.

“No person who is not lawfully licensed or is under a current driver’s license suspension, revocation or cancellation for any reason or who possesses only an instructional, probationary or restricted driver’s license or permit may operate an all-terrain vehicle or utility terrain vehicle on a public street, alley, or public way in the City of Loyal,” the amendment states.

According to state law, a person must be at least 16 years old and have an ATV safety certificate – if born on or after Jan. 1, 1988 — to operate an ATV on any road route. They are not required to have a driver’s license.

By requiring a valid driver’s license without restrictions in order to operate an ATV, the intent of the Loyal ordinance is to make sure ATV and UTV operators have the knowledge and experience to operate their vehicles safely within the city.

“A lot of people don’t get a driver’s license or haven’t had one, or they get drunk driving — now they want to use their ATV,” said Kubista.

“You also have children who are just turning 16 and they’re operating ATVs on our city streets, and they have to be able to abide by signs. They’re getting out there with bulk trucks, with semis and they’re going down our streets. And we’re taking them right at 16 and just letting them run around. And that’s the thing we want to make sure is they’re off all restrictions, they have no violations, no speeding, they’re wearing their seat belts — they have to show six months of clear driving behavior until they’re off that probationary period.”

The ordinance amendment was unanimously approved, with the provision that ATV/UTV drivers age 12-15 will still be required to be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian and have their safety certificate.