Utility vehicle debate continues in Millersburg as council nears decision

MILLERSBURG ‒ Village leaders continue to weigh the possibility and legality of allowing utility vehicles on village roads, aiming to have a decision by the next council meeting.

Mayor Jeff Huebner asked council to consider information provided by Solicitor Bob Hines and input from residents and business operators to make an informed ruling.

"We need to make a decision if we're going to ask the solicitor to draft legislation," the mayor said. "We have received a lot of comments, and a lot of questions have been asked. And from what I have heard, 90-plus percent do not want this. I don't know what you guys have heard. You six have to make this decision."

More:Millersburg council continues debate over utility vehicles in the village

Councilman Brad Conn said he hasn't see 90% one way or the other in the emails he's gotten. And many of those weighing in have gone beyond the utility vehicle issue initially raised by business owner Nick Mullet to include all-terrain vehicles and golf carts.

"Mr. Mullet is here on a UTV issue, not an ATV," Conn said. "He is the only one who has come to council and addressed us on a UTV issue."

Millersburg businessman wants to drive his utility vehicle in town

Mullet presented documents about the legal definition of utility vehicles in Ohio. He wants to legally drive his unit into town to clear the parking lot at his business.

He cited the definition of a utility vehicle in one section of Ohio law as a self-propelled vehicle designed with a bed, principally for the purpose of transporting material or cargo in connection with construction, agricultural, forestry, grounds maintenance, lawn and garden, materials handling or similar activities.

Mullet said his unit has been titled as a utility vehicle.

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He also distributed a copy of another Ohio Revised Code section that reads. "... a person may operate a utility vehicle on any public roads or right-of-way, other than a freeway, when traveling from one farm field to another for agricultural purposes if the vehicle is displaying a triangular slow-moving vehicle emblem ..."

"I don't plan on running around Millersburg. I plan to bring my vehicle in to work on the property as maintenance, whether it's snowplowing, cutting the brush, skidding some logs out, whatever it takes to maintain the property," he said.

He suggested council consider enacting an ordinance exempting utility vehicles servicing property in Millersburg from any of the current ordinances.

"This is not going to harm the village at all. It is strictly going to take care of properties," he said. "I'm asking you to use a little common sense with this and draft the ordinance that eliminates this and makes this all go away."

Solicitor points to confusion of law as problem

Hines said he has been wading through the Ohio law regarding such vehicles.

"This is so confusing," he said. "That's why people don't really know what the law is. Let me clarify something right off the bat. A utility vehicle is different than an all-purpose vehicle, also called an all-terrain vehicle. The village does not have the statutory authority to allow all-purpose vehicles to ride on the streets of Millersburg.

There is a specific definition of a utility vehicle, he said, but what a manufacturer calls a utility vehicle may not be the same as what Ohio law views as a utility vehicle.

"If we inspect the vehicle and it meets the definition of what the ORC says, the village does have the authority to allow a utility vehicle on the streets of Millersburg," Hines said. "There are certain requirements..."

One requirements is "No person shall operate a utility vehicle upon any public highway or street, except as follows: a street or highway having an established speed limit not greater than 35 mph. So any street in Millersburg that has a speed limit greater than 35 miles per hour, you do not have the authority to allow a utility vehicle on that street.

"Likewise, the county wouldn't have that authority; the state wouldn't have that authority," he continued. "Nobody can allow this vehicle to ride on a road with a speed limit greater than 35 mph. It is not legally possible."

Council could allow them on roads less than 35 mph, he said. But that will require an inspection by local law enforcement with strict requirements.

"The highway patrol is the only jurisdiction that does those kinds of inspections," Hines said. "And I'm sure they go through all kinds of training to learn how to inspect these vehicles.

"To me, a consideration of the village: Are you going to train an officer to learn how to do these inspections?" he asked. "To me, that is a burden to the police department."

Councilman Brent Hofstetter said it sounds like the regulations and enforcement would be onerous.

The bottom line, Hines said, is Ohio legislators need to act and reconcile conflicting laws and regulations, he said.

"If he wants to run his vehicle from Buckhorn into Millersburg, with the SMV sign, if he meets the requirements of the Ohio law, he can do that. I don't think he does, by the way," Hines said. "If he thinks he does, we'll check into it; the Millersburg police, the sheriff's department and I'm sure the highway patrol will test him to see if he meets all the requirements."

The mayor said council will make a decision at its next meeting.

"We've all had enough discussion on this and information presented," Huebner said.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Millersburg mayor wants decision on utility vehicle use next meeting