Action in works on snowmobile, ATV enforcement

By Kevin Strauss

We have all heard them, snowmobiles zooming down the alleys at two in the morning. Some people have seen snowmobile tracks across their lawns, and skiers on the Trezona Trail, more than once this year, have seen that nicely groomed ski trail destroyed by snowmobile tracks. Because the Ely Police Department has a “no chase” policy with snowmobiles, some residents get the impression that this is the Wild West and snowmobilers can do whatever they want in town and the police are powerless to stop them.
After several people complained to him about problems with snowmobiles in town, council member Mike Hillman called a study session on Tuesday to discuss the issue. After a wide-ranging discussion, meeting participants, including both snowmobile operators and non-sled residents, agreed to form an ad hoc committee to look at the issue and come back to the council with recommendations. While many at the meeting seemed to oppose requiring local snowmobilers to have larger identification numbers on their sleds, there was support for more safety education, better signage and more pressure from neighbors on trouble-making riders. An evening snowmobile curfew and high-tech “engine shutoff” gun may also be solutions.

“Most of the people who operate snowmobiles are very courteous,” said Hillman.

But not everyone is. And like most things, a few bad actors may be ruining the reputation of all the law-abiding snowmobilers in the community.

Initially, Hillman had proposed requiring larger numbers on each sled in town, so community members could easily identify a perpetrator and use the city’s new civil enforcement procedure to fine snowmobilers who were riding illegally in town. But that idea ran into major objections from snowmobilers.

“I think it’s another unnecessary rule and regulation,” said Bill Erzar, a snowmobile safety instructor for the Ely Igloo Snowmobile Club. “If someone is speeding down the street (in a car) should we (require) larger license plates?”

Currently, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, which regulates snowmobile use, requires two-inch high registration numbers on all snowmobiles.

“I rent snowmobiles and have a lot of contact with snowmobilers,” said Mayor Roger Skraba. “If we keep getting complaints about a certain area, maybe law enforcement should sit there.”

Hillman made it clear that he didn’t want to put a damper on the important snowmobile tourist business in the area, but most local violators seem to know what they are doing when they are doing it.

“I caught one guy running over the ski trail 20 minutes after Sam Zorman had groomed it and it costs $300 to groom that trail,” said Hillman.

According to council member Chuck Novak, is seems like most of the bad actors here are residents.

“Those who visit town tend to follow the laws better because they don’t know how lax we are,” said Novak. “(The question is) what type of enforcement can we do without jeopardizing human life?”

The strongest concerns about snowmobiles in town came from Will Hauser, who has also written letters to the editor about the issue.

“I am extremely concerned with this issue,” said Hauser. “Every evening I can expect to see kids (on snowmobiles) racing through intersections near my house. People are riding across the school yard and over my neighbor’s yard. I don’t think city streets or sidewalks are the place for snowmobiles.”

Skraba pointed out that in the past, when a property owner has had recurring problems with a snowmobiler cutting a corner over his property, the Ely Igloo snowmobile club put up fencing to alleviate the problem. The club could do the same kinds of things in other areas.

Novak pointed out that if there are parts of town that have recurring problems with snowmobilers, the city could put up surveillance cameras to help them catch the trouble-makers.

Former Ely police officer Larry Reedy provided enforcement perspective.

“I am a snowmobiler and I think it is a great sport, but enforcement is a nightmare,” said Reedy. “I’m not sure if there is one answer, but there used to be a (nighttime) curfew for snowmobiles. There is also a technology that will shut off a motor from a distance. It costs $40,000 but that might be a goal for service clubs. It would also be a lot safer for stopping cars than the “stop sticks” that the police use now.”

According to Reedy, the “engine shutoff” gun shuts down the electric ignition on cars, snowmobiles, ATVs and other vehicles. The vehicle just coasts to a stop and the officer could then make the arrest or impound an abandoned vehicle. Reedy also pointed out that ATVs in town are an even worse problem that snowmobiles.

Ely’s “no pursuit” policy is designed to save lives, since a high-speed chase in town could result in death or serious injury for a perpetrator or bystanders.

According to Ely Police Chief Archie Manning, the most common snowmobile complaints are noise complaints and excessive speed complaints. The city has a 20 m.p.h. speed limit, but with no ability to enforce the limit, some in town consider it more of a suggestion than a law. Several people at the meeting report seeing (or hearing) sleds running at estimated speeds of 40-70 m.p.h. in city limits.

Another snowmobile instructor, Mark Lindgren suggested that problems were really an enforcement issue.

“In a small town, you know who the kid is who is running up and down the street at 80 m.p.h.,” said Lindgren.

According to Lindgren, people should get a description of the person and sled and report it to the police and then the officer can pay the person a visit and tell them to knock it off.

Council members seemed willing to advertise the snowmobile route through town and city snowmobile regulations in the newspapers. The ad hoc snowmobile committee will come up with other suggestions over the next few weeks and report back to council.

In other matters, the council:

‰ Discussed how to move forward with setting the rules for the Ely Community Center Ad Hoc Advisory Committee. The city is accepting applications for the panel until March 20. Some council members advocated creating a mission statement for the committee so that the committee would look at all options for the community center, not just the one option that most committee members would like to see.

“We want an unbiased opinion of the facts,” said Mayor Roger Skraba.

Other council members didn’t want to tie the committee’s hands too tightly with council rules.

“Leave (the committee) to conduct their business and leave us to decide on what to do with that information,” said council member Mike Hillman.

Chuck Novak argued that having a mission statement has worked for him in business and it would keep the committee accountable for the work they do.

“One problem that I have with this council is that nobody writes anything down and documents what we say so we can hold ourselves accountable,” said Novak. “I hear a lot of windage but nothing is getting done.”

The city has been looking at what to do with the community center for more than 12 years, according to city officials. The council will take up the topic again at its next meeting.

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