ELLINWOOD — It was a short discussion among more pressing items on Tuesday’s agenda, but based on recent complaints received in the Ellinwood City Office about their use, Ellinwood City Administrator Chris Komarek had reason to place golf carts back on the council’s radar.
“The biggest issue with this is how the golf carts are being used,” Komarek explained. “It’s not because of one or two complaints; it’s dozens of complaints. It’s our responsibility to fix this before someone gets hurt.
Reported abuses have ranged from under-aged drivers and more people riding than allowed on a cart, to operating the cart on the street after sunset and parents holding small children on their laps without a safety restraint, Komarek noted. “We’re not opposed to them being on the street. I’m not trying to pick on golf carts, but it’s gotten out of hand,” he said. “You get a few people that abuse it from what it is intended to be and then you have a problem.”
Komarek noted that recently it’s become vogue to rent golf carts during After Harvest Festival to make quick short hops between events. “They are like mosquitoes all of a sudden,” he said. “But if they are going to do that, according to our ordinance, it better have a cute little sticker on it.” There were also some reports of operating abuses over the most recent Halloween holiday.
A city ordinance adopted in 2009 and amended in 2011 contains restrictions on the use of micro utility trucks, ATVs and golf carts in addition to the state’s Standard Traffic Ordinance adopted annually in August. While ATVs are not allowed on public highways, streets, roads and alleys within the corporate city limits, golf carts are allowed, with restrictions. They may not be operated on highways, but may be allowed to cross them. Golf carts are limited to four persons, including the driver; may not be operated before sunrise or after sunset and must have a slow-moving vehicle emblem. Drivers must be of age and possess a current driver’s license, and have proof of liability insurance.
Komarek noted that according to the original 2009 ordinance, the carts must be registered annually with the city at a cost of $5; a 2011 amendment removed the annual licensing requirement.
He explained that a recent records check indicated 381 licenses on the books since 2009. “I don’t know if two-thirds of those are still active. If we would bring back the annual license requirement, we could be dealing with about 200-250 licenses every year. My thought is if you’re due Jan. 1 of every year and have until March 1 to renew it, you go and get that colored sticker that the police department is going to be out looking for.
“While it is a big workload here in the office to keep that going, I’m suggesting that we do go back to it so that people can prove that they do have liability insurance,” he said.
“It’s not so much if it will happen, but when it will happen when a vehicle and a golf cart tangle at some point. You know the golf cart is gonna lose. I wouldn’t want to be in a vehicle in an accident where it’s the golf cart’s fault, but they don’t have insurance.”
Komarek noted that his plan was to research and draft an updated ordinance that could be discussed some time after the holidays and then approved by next spring. “We’ve got a lot of research to do, but I’ve been approached about it several times so I wanted to bring it up to council and let the public know that we’ll be talking about this. Hopefully when spring gets here we’ll have something in place.”
