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East Grand Forks councilors consider engine‑brake ordinance amid noise complaints; staff to research enforcement options
Summary
Council conversation on Sept. 9 prioritized researching a potential ordinance to restrict loud engine brakes in town after residents complained; staff warned tying enforcement to a decibel noise standard could be difficult under Minnesota statute and will survey neighboring cities and draft options for council review.
Council Member Dale Helms on Sept. 9 asked the East Grand Forks City Council to resume work on an engine‑brake (Jake brake) ordinance that a previous mayor had begun, saying residents report loud, rattling engine brakes that shake windows.
Helms described an incident during Heritage Weekend where a missed trash pickup and subsequent attempts to contact staff highlighted both the problem and the difficulty of reaching on‑call personnel. "I was calling trying to find out who to get a hold of... that's my question is how do we get a hold of somebody like that if we need to?" he said.
Reed (staff) and Jason (public works) explained city‑issued cell phones are expected to be carried only while employees are on duty or when they are on call; for after‑hours issues the police dispatch desk maintains contact channels and can connect callers to department heads. That procedural clarification preceded the engine‑brake discussion.
On engine brakes, staff noted there is no current city ordinance and presented an example ordinance from another Minnesota city. One staff cautioned that "if you're tying it to a noise ordinance, it's going to be impossible to prosecute because I'm not going to have any definitive... evidence that that is over the decibels that are allowed according to Minnesota statute," and recommended crafting local language carefully. Council members asked staff to survey what Krookton, Thief River and other nearby communities have done and to solicit public input.
Council members and the mayor raised enforcement and safety questions, including whether state highway patrol or local officers could aid enforcement on approaches to the city and whether targeting heavy trucks at specific approaches (for example, during beet harvest) would be more effective than a blanket ban.
Next steps: staff will research ordinances used by similar northwest Minnesota communities and return with draft language and enforcement options for council consideration.
