Sheriff reports 806 calls in Bear River; town and DOT continue speed‑limit talks

Sheriff Cobb (Speaker 2) briefed the council on public‑safety activity in the Bear River area, saying that from Jan. 1, 2024, to the date of the meeting his office had taken 806 calls. He described those calls as mostly “information cases” and listed common incidents — animal problems, family disturbances, bites, deceased individuals and medicals — and told the council “There is a safe community. There's nothing major going on out here.”

On traffic and enforcement, Sheriff Cobb said the department has shifted to a digital citation system (DigiTicket) and that citations on the highway segment between the state line and County Road 1 have increased; he said officers do not write many tickets on town streets. He discussed plans to increase patrols around school bus times and efforts to redeploy a speed trailer, noting current equipment is degraded: “The 1 we have is probably between years old… it's not really up to par.”

Council discussion referenced past traffic‑calming steps (curb and gutter to add friction) and a DOT speed study. Speaker 1 said engineers were firm in their data‑driven conclusions and that a state statute may affect the ability to change limits; Speaker 1 reported that a DOT representative (John) committed to bring the town’s request to supervisors for further consideration. Speaker 1 summarized the exchange: engineers “put their study together and… they're not gonna… budge on where they stand,” and said the town will pursue both local and state avenues.

What happens next: town representatives said they will write letters of support, meet with DOT staff and county commissioners, and press for reconsideration of the speed limit. No enforcement policy change or ordinance was recorded in the provided transcript.