Loyal council begins discussion on golf cart restraints, dog limit, accessory buildings

By Valorie Brecht At the last Loyal Common Council meeting, the council briefly discussed a few issues that ended up getting referred back to committee for further deliberation, including restraints on golf carts, a limit on the number of dogs residents can have, and rules for accessory buildings in the city.

Nathan Hauge spoke during public comment at the July 16 meeting. He said we would like the city to revisit its golf cart/ATV ordinance, as he did not want there to be a seat belt requirement or blinker requirement.

Police Chief Matt Kubista said he had concerns about changing the ordinance.

“Not to pick on Dollar General, but for example, the Dollar General’s on 98. And we don’t allow golf carts right now to drive on 98, but the thing is, they are crossing over. And you see kids, and if they have the four seats, they have the two seats in front and the seats in the back, if you don’t put anything about restraints, you could have a 5-year-old, you could have a 1-year-old just sitting on the back of that golf cart. And if a milk truck, comes, boom. Where is that kid going to go?

“That’s the reason we put it in the first place was, trying to make them as close to road legal and have blinkers so you can give direction,” he said.

“And it doesn’t totally matter what other cities have, but I believe it’s Spencer that people under the age of 16 have to have seat belts. I actually wouldn’t even have a problem with that. Just, I’m looking for a compromise is all,” Hauge replied.

Carmen Englebretson agreed to send the issue to the police committee to be discussed further. That meeting is scheduled for Aug. 6 at 4 p.m. at Loyal City Hall, and is open to the public.

The council also briefly discussed putting a limit on the number of dogs a person could have in the city. The discussion started at the last council meeting in the context of someone talking about the city allowing chickens, which then expanded to, if the city were to allow chickens and there was a limit on the number of chickens, should there be a limit on the number of dogs? Loyal currently does not have a limit.

The City of Greenwood allows two dogs and two cats per resident, and they have to be registered. Emotional support animals still count toward the two dog and two cat limit, as they are not ADA-certified. If a person had three ADA-certified dogs, for example, the city would have to allow all three.

Kubista said he brought the issue up as he was just looking to get the feeling of the council, if they were interested in acting on it or not.

“I would be in favor of some sort of limit,” said council member Curtiss Lindner.

Council member Kayla Schar, who is also the Greenwood city clerk, cautioned that it could be opening a can of worms.

“We have (a limit of) two and have people coming to the council all the time wanting more,” she said. “But if

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it were three, then people would want four or five dogs. So no matter what it is, people are going to want more.”

The council agreed to send the matter to the Aug. 6 meeting for further discussion.

Another topic of discussion was outbuildings on residents’ property and what was and wasn’t allowed. One resident has a soft-shell shed that they are using as a greenhouse. City ordinance states a resident cannot have a soft-sided shed. The ordinance allows only one accessory building, and a gardening shed is considered an accessory building.

“It’s really a grey area,” said Geier. “It’s not as simple as a yes or no, necessarily,” agreed Greg Brock.

The council agreed to send that issue to the police committee as well.

In another issue eventually referred to committee, the council discussed allowing an extension for Robert and Jackie Loos for more time to build on their lots in the City View Estates. The Looses purchased Lots 5, 6, 7 and 8 for $18,000 on Aug. 1, 2022. At that time, city council member Matt Prein made a motion to approve the sale and “grant them two years to complete the building,” per city council minutes. Kris Schultz seconded the motion and it carried, with Tim Froeba voting no. If they do not build on the property in the time period indicated, the property is supposed to revert back to the city. They have not built anything yet. Mayor Carmen Engelbretson questioned why there had been a delay in the Looses getting going on the project.

“Jackie had said that they had been quite busy with their home in Florida,” said deputy clerk Viki Pieper.

“With that hurricane that went through,” added Kayla Schar. “And they have everything set to go for spring.”

Lindner felt it would be good to discuss the issue in a committee meeting before bringing it to the full council. The council decided to host a City View Estates/finance committee meeting on July 23, with the plan of bringing the issue before the whole council at the next regular meeting, which will be Aug. 20.

Other business The council approved the creation of a driveway on the undeveloped Vita Plus lot on Davel Drive. The driveway will be for the fire department to access three shipping containers they have there that they’re going to use for burn trainings. City council member Dave Geier said he had gotten the go-ahead from public works director Terry Weyer.

“There’s a bunch of junk stuff at the city compost pile that we can use to backfill the culvert. It will be covered by the fire department. We will mow, trim the brush and make it look presentable. We’re just looking for approval for the culvert and driveway. The water will run underneath the driveway,” said Geier.

The council voted unanimously to approve the driveway and culvert.

The council also heard from Kubista on a potential ordinance regarding vaping devices. In 2019, a federal law went into effect that made 21 the minimum age to purchase tobacco products, including cigarettes and electronic nicotine delivery systems, such as vape pens. However, Wisconsin is one of eight states that has not yet changed its law to match the federal law. This has created confusion and enforcement challenges statewide.

“The state has not passed what the federal law says, which bans possession or use under the age of 21,” said Kubista. “So basically it’s, do you want to pass this ordinance? But we wouldn’t be writing tickets for anybody possessing it that’s underage, because the state has not adopted that.”

“We can do an ordinance. Then it would be an ordinance citation,” said council member Kayla Schar.

“If they’re under 21, we couldn’t cite them, but we could cite the retailers for selling it,” said Kubista. “It’s a confusing thing. We can hold off and wait on the whole thing… If you want to table it, then we’ll table it and bring it up again when the State of Wisconsin does act on it.”

Council members preferred to do that, because they didn’t want to create an ordinance that wasn’t fully enforceable, or make an ordinance and then have to change it soon after to comply with state law. The council agreed to table the issue.

The council approved additional employment for Police Officer Jacob Schar, who wished to join the Clark County Emergency Response Team. Jacob Schar will meet once a month for training, as well as respond to whatever calls come up.

“He’s always allowed to respond in Clark County. But if there’s a big emergency here (in Loyal), they’re supposed to provide coverage,” said Kubista.

The council unanimously approved the employment, with Kayla Schar abstaining.

Tom Bobrofsky gave the library report. A $50 donation was given in memory of Betty Gluch-Voss. The circulation for June was 1,373 items, with 9,327 in January through June.

The council approved a picnic license for the Loyal Fire Department for Corn Fest, as well as several bartender’s licenses.