At Monday night’s meeting, the City Council discussed two ordinances which would require stricter law enforcement. Neither of the proposed ordinances was approved by the council.
One ordinance would have prohibited riding high-powered utility terrain vehicles (UTVs) on city streets. The other would regulate fireworks sales in the city.
The UTV ordinance proposed an amendment to prohibit some higher-powered sport/performance-style UTV’s from being registered, renewed or operated on city streets. It would also add clarity to the definition for sport/performance recreational off-highway vehicle or sport/performance UTV.
Police Chief Stephen Kijanowski said that during the past month, there were no reported citations or stops following violations in UTVs.
“The task force was out 15 times specifically looking for violations and did not find any,” he said.
Councilman Adam Cernovich pointed out that the police force didn’t catch these violators because they had to spend their time on greater things at hand. Cernovich then went on to refer to The Kewanee Voice survey which highlighted residents’ concerns regarding UTVs.
Councilman Mike Komnick said data derived from residents doesn’t support a strong enough claim to enforce this ordinance and that there is “no data that says we’re trying to solve a problem.”
The lack of actual public complaints to the police department supported his claim of the issue being less than large. “Speed signs went up because of formal complaints,” Komnick said, furthering his argument that if the issue was that serious, the police department would have complaints and violations to show for it.
Ultimately, the council was divided in the vote, and since Councilman Chris Colomer was absent, there was no deciding vote and the ordinance did not pass.
As for the fireworks ordinance, council members felt the current ordinance leaves too much room for interpretation.
The goal was to pass an ordinance that adds clarity to existing laws such as: distributors must register and apply for a permit, location of the sales must be inspected and the permit to sell must only be valid for a limited time.
Overall, the ordinance was aimed to make it clear to consumers which fireworks are illegal, and clear to retailers what they are allowed to sell.
“It offers more safety regulations on stands, clarifies the definition of ‘fireworks’ and enforces stricter safety regulations at these retail spots,” said City Manager Kasey Mitchell.
The council again was divided on the issue. “Why authorize the sales if it’s illegal?” said Cernovich. “Why create trouble for our own law enforcement? We should police and enforce consistently and with integrity.”
The ordinance was tabled for further review.
