Council hears complaints on motorized bikes in downtown Humboldt

By PHIL MONSON
Public complaints on motorized bikes and scooters came to a head at the Humboldt City Council meeting on Monday night, July 6.

“I’ve received a number of complaints of near-misses on streets and sidewalks downtown, kids riding double on them and not following rules and regulations,” Humboldt Mayor Walter Jensen said.

“It’s on the agenda tonight to see if we need to take action or at least see what we can do about it,” Jensen said.

“I’ve gotten phone calls from people who have seen kids doing this but, they have to call the police department so they can see,” councilman John Sleiter said.

“I’ve talked to Jacob (Miller, police chief), and they are watching. They are on sidewalks that they aren’t supposed to be on and they are on Sumner Avenue. It’s a parent thing. The parents should be teaching these kids what they can and can’t do,” Sleiter said.

Chief Miller was on hand to field questions and share his input.

“I’m working on setting up an education class either with the hospital or another partner to at least try to educate people on what state laws are and what our laws are in Humboldt along with best practices,” Miller said.

“For example, stopping at an intersection, whether it is controlled or not. The problem with these micromobility devices is their acceleration,” Miller said. “When I was a kid we had bicycles that we pedaled hard, but we could only accelerate so fast.”

“These devices can speed up to 20 miles per hour in two seconds. That has changed the game a little bit,” Miller said. “We don’t want to punish kids for being kids. We are talking nine-year-olds riding these things, if not younger.”

“We try to stop and talk to them when we get a chance and tell them to slow down, stop at the stop signs and intersections and don’t ride on the sidewalks. But we need to put something on that’s more formal than that,” Miller said. “But the next option for the police department is to confiscate/punish because somebody is going to get hurt.”

“How it hasn’t happened yet is beyond me. We aren’t the only city dealing with it. I’ve talked to other departments in other cities and asked how they are handling it. They are in the same boat we are, trying to figure out a way. They’ve actually bought electric bikes for their officers to go on the trails and try to stop and talk to kids,” Miller said.

“The issue is never going to go away. When we created an ordinance for this last year, we’ve tried to stymie them from being on Sumner Avenue (downtown), riding on sidewalks,” Miller said.

Chicken ordinance
The second reading of an ordinance which would allow residents to have a small group of chickens in an enclosure in their back yard failed by a 4-1 vote.

Councilwoman Ann Phillips made a motion to amend the ordinance to remove the neighbor approval clause. Councilmen Matt Dominick and Joel Goodell, who both voted yes to the first reading of the chicken ordinance at the June 15 meeting when it included the neighbor clause, voted no this time, along with councilman Sleiter and councilman Kirk Whittlesey. Councilwoman Phillips voted yes.

“I personally don’t feel the neighbor clause is in the good spirit of neighbors. I think it will encourage bad feelings,” Phillips said.

“I think we were trying to put enough teeth into this so we wouldn’t have a lot of people doing it,” Sleiter said. “That’s why I was for that clause. I don’t want chickens in my neighbor’s back yards. I think it opens up a can of worms.”

Lindsey Winter, a resident who has been at a number of council meetings over the last six months in support of chickens, asked the council “of the people who don’t want backyard chickens, what scientific facts do they have to back up their opposition to this, besides just not wanting chickens.”

Another patron in the audience said the neighbor clause is a “violation of the Iowa and United States Constitutions. We cannot give my neighbor legislative power over my property.” She also said Winter has provided a significant amount of research into the topic. A lot of people who support this are afraid to speak up.”

“I feel we have enough teeth in what we have in the ordinance to take the neighbor clause out.

The meeting marked the first under the guidance of interim administrator Dan Gifford (see story elsewhere). Gifford told the council he will be in the office on Mondays and Wednesdays.

“I’m happy to be here to help out. I’ll do as much or as little recruitment as you guys want me to do,” Gifford said. “I’ve worked with Theia Management Consulting a number of times in the past. I will try to get you somebody good to take this spot so I can get back to being retired.”

Gifford has 27 years of experience in city administration.

“I was in Spencer for three years, 15 at West Burlington and three years at Holstein. I was a planner at Fairfield for five years, so I’ve been doing this for a while,” Gifford said.

Read the full, unabridged story in this week's issue of the Humboldt Independent!