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Resident urges ordinance and school outreach after e‑bikes, dirt bikes damage retention ponds
Summary
A Wellington resident told trustees that motorized vehicles — including e‑bikes, scooters and dirt bikes — are damaging retention‑pond turf and trails; the sheriff's office and parks staff are working with the town and proposed ordinances are expected before school ends.
William "Bill" Snodgrass, who identified himself as a resident of Harvest Village, told the board that electric bikes, scooters, dune buggies and gas dirt bikes have been riding on retention‑pond turf and along the Box Elder Creek Trail behind Horse Chestnut Street. Snodgrass said the wear to turf and landscaping will fall to taxpayers to repair and urged the town to pursue outreach and enforcement.
"The damage that is being done is obviously going to really kind of ... something that all of us are going to have to take care of with taxpayer dollars," Snodgrass said, describing repeated use of green spaces by a range of vehicles. He said he had spoken with parks staff and the Lammer County Sheriff's Office and recommended outreach to schools and a town newsletter, and noted signage and ordinances could help though they might not stop all incidents.
During reports, a representative identified in the transcript as "Tenant Van Hook" from the sheriff's office responded to a trustee's question about an observed uptick in traffic enforcement near schools, saying the office was "not seeing anything of concern" and that the uptick was within normal variation. Van Hook said the sheriff’s office and town staff are actively working on proposed ordinances addressing e‑bikes and similar vehicles and hope to present proposals to the board soon with a goal of codifying an ordinance before the end of the school year.
What the board will do: trustees asked staff to follow up; parks and the sheriff's office plan to bring ordinance proposals to the board for consideration.
