By John Balch
News-Leader staff
The City of Murfreesboro is pumping the brakes on its quest to become a street-legal ATV city and will hold a town hall meeting to solicit citizen input before proceeding.
The public meeting is set for Monday, July 13 at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall.
The city council is currently considering a proposal by Mayor Jim O’Neal to allow street-legal ATVs/UTVs to legally operate on all city streets to support tourism and local recreation. The proposal was pitched during the council’s May meeting and the mayor said it falls in line with the ongoing effort to establish ATV/UTV/bike trails in and around Pike County.
All recreational vehicles would have to meet Arkansas law to be street legal, with a specific criteria such as blinkers, seat belts, and headlights with a minimum age of 16 for drivers, etc.
A rough-draft ordinance is expected to be presented at the public meeting and will detail the involved state statutes and include specific local policies for operating within the city limits. It was consensus of the council at last month’s meeting to prohibit recreational vehicles in school zones during school hours and events, and to possibly establish a reasonable curfew.
The mayor noted Monday night that there is no emergency attached to the issue and, if an ordinance is drafted, it will require three readings, which will be held over the next three months. If passed, there will then be a 30-day waiting period, making November the earliest date the ordinance could take effect.
In other council business Monday night, Mayor O’Neal reported the city has experienced a net loss of approximately $20,000 over the last two months and informed the council the issue will need to be addressed “if it doesn’t level off.”
“So, let’s be thinking about some possibilities,” O’Neal said about possible money-saving options. “None of them are going to be pretty, but we’re going to have to adjust our budget at some point.”
Also Monday, Recorder/Treasurer Penny Lamb reported that iPads approved for use of council members are almost ready to be distributed and she hopes the devices will be ready for next month’s meeting. The devices are expected to reduce paper use, Lamb said.
The council also approved the city’s financial report, which included the following beginning and endings for May:
General Fund
$297,112/$276,451
Street Fund
$393,999/$382,458
Park Fund
$42,624/$42,809
Special Funds
$329,907/$3232,943
Tourism Commission
Fund
$64,037/$64,244
Waterworks Fund
$917,713/$931,562
