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City attorney Tim Shonk worked with council member Linda Bedwell on the revisions, Shonk noted after the meeting.
The edited version of the proposed ordinance was passed out to the council as well as Mayor Tom Jones by Bedwell -- who also asked that it be voted on in March.
During discussion, Bedwell asked Linton Police Chief Troy Jerrell to look over the revisions.
After a few moments, Chief Jerrell gave it the OK.
"Whatever you (council) decide we'll live with and work with," Jerrell added. "The only thing I ask is keep law enforcement in mind and keep it simple."
During discussion, council president Jerry Ellett asked Mayor Jones his opinion on the matter.
"My opinion, as it's written today, is I'd veto it...I don't want to sign something that gets someone killed...," Jones stressed.
The mayor also said that he's not against a golf cart ordinance but that it currently lacks several safety provisions such as mandatory use of child restraints.
Jones also added that it's dangerous for golf carts to cross intersections at highways and that golf carts shouldn't be used on certain streets in town.
Council member Tony Richards noted that people already drive golf carts in town and that local police have more to worry about.
"I really don't think the local police are going to bother people...," he added. "We've spent a lot of time on this and went into great detail. We need something simple."
A little common sense goes a long way, he said, adding police would do something about kids driving golf carts around town.
"I haven't seen it (revised edition) but I will look it over," Richards added, noting much effort has went into the ordinance.
Chief Jerrell also added that he knows a case in which a person with a golf cart will not drive it until an ordinance is passed.
Council member Charlie Cox agreed and added, "I think of others who would like to have one (golf cart) but won't get one because they don't want to break the law."
During discussion, city attorney Shonk said, "The (revised) ordinance reflects what the council wanted put in it."
The golf cart ordinance has been an on-going matter in Linton.
Last August, Shonk introduced the 'original working document' that's since been revised but is still tied to Indiana code.
Earlier in 2009, the state approved legislation allowing golf carts to be driven in towns and cities (beginning July 1, 2009) if there's a local ordinance allowing it.
Provisions within the current state legislation require the driver of the golf cart to have a valid driver's license and the vehicle to have insurance as well as a revolving red or amber light or slow moving vehicle sign.
All of the state provisions are included in the city's proposed ordinance, Shonk also noted.
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The mayor's position on golf carts makes no sense to me and I am suspicious of his motives. I very much doubt he is really worried about safety and it seems mountains are being made out of mole hills. Perhaps we need more clarification of whether an ordinance is necessary to legally operate carts on city streets or perhaps just one that simply states carts must follow any state laws pertaining to operating golf carts. If our city government cannot resolve such a simple issue then perhaps it is time for some change of our own.
Agreed Keninman...IF the Mayor was really worried about the safety of people already driving the golf carts then he would be instructing his police officers to ticket anyone driving a golf cart now because it is illegal wihtout one. I don't own one and won't, but this is more about politics and ego than about the ordinance. If the council doesn't do things his way, he will veto it or call them out publicly like he did over the annexation. Small town politics...Time for some new blood in the Mayors office.
Does anyone else find it a bit perplexing that it seems the number one issue from city council meetings for well over a year is about golf carts on city streets?
Is the city of Linton in such great shape that this is the most pressing issue on the table? Is our budget so large that we can continue to throw money to councilmen and our attorney to write and re-write this garbage repeatedly? This seems like something that would come up at a high school student council meeting. Perhaps we could get a proposal for a city wide extended recess on the docket for the next meeting?
Golf carts weren't the only issue proposed to the council last night. The Greene County Horse Council was also there asking to lease the Conservation Club. During their talk, they noted that they would fund the repair work themselves, have a big history of working with the green-sullivan state park in helping work to repair and improve the trail systems and have very experienced people to work with the existing water fall system to improve the lakes. The conservation club would still be open to the public, but the GCHC would like to improve the grounds and the buildings to make it better then ever.
Thanks cowgirl for the update.
It seems that the current area the horse council currently has leased has been turned into a private resort for the club. Didn't they do some logging out there as well?
I don't think it would be in the city's best interest to give up more valuable land for a $1 year.
Question? What is the unemployment rate in Linton? School dropout rate? Poverty rate? Teen pregnancy rate? Homelessness? Taxes? Electricity? Anything? It is a golf cart, people. It cannot be that difficult to figure out. You either need a new lawyer or to figure out the mayor's political agenda. To spend months trying to write an ordinance for golf carts is a waste of taxpayer dollars. If it is that difficult turn it into a senior government project. I'm sure that by the end of a semester they have sufficient time to research, write, propose and revise an acceptable proposal all the while learning about how the American Government works. And getting a lesson in red-tape bureaucracy. It's a win-win situation for all involved!!
Seriously, you guys do understand that it is a golf cart. The people of Linton have much bigger issues to concern themselves with than golf carts. Education. How are our school children meeting the meeting the demands of a 21st century world? Are the right classes in place? Are our kids ready for college? Can they survive in college? Last I checked, no kids were driving golf carts around college campuses. What is the council doing to attract new jobs to Linton? How is it working to make sure colleg-educated youth stay in the area instead of moving to bigger cities? What is the council doing to help the un or under-employed. What is the housing market like? Graduation rate. How is the council working with businesses and the community to make sure kids graduate from high school?
Are they working with the medical community and schools to prevent teenage pregnancy and STD's? All I'm saying is the the Linton Town Council has so many other things it could be doing that could be of long term benefit to the community that worrying about golf carts seems to be rather trivial.
Stand Up, I couldn't agree more. If the City Council thinks golf carts are worthy of all of the time, effort, & legal costs, maybe we need a an all new Council. We need jobs right now more than ever. Focus should be squarely on jobs: how to create them, how to help local businesses, how to send current city business to local businesses (and not out of town), etc.
I eat my words for mistaking the saddle club for the GC Horse Council. Since the rest of the story has been posted, it sounds like a decent plan since they will be cooperating with other existing entities at the CC like the mountain bikers.
Maybe we would have jobs coming to this town soon if our council wasn't too scared to annex to the east of Linton. Too bad, they can't learn all the tax facts, or get the people of the city to understand them either, so it would be a no-brainer. Our council needs to open their eyes. We have lost a lot of jobs to this area, and a youth center, that would benefit people young and old, along with bringing in more grant money to build side walks and other infrastuture around town. They don't care!
WOOOOOOW!! Almost a year has passed and yet our city council is still wasting our hard earned tax dollars on a ridiculous ordinance!! remember folks, the states passed the law, we are only waiting on the city to put their 2cents to it....yet this things has cost us how much? this is ridiculous!!! who really cares that much about a bunch of golf carts? you lose your license from a DUI or too many tickets and they allow you to ride an ATV around on the streets without a helmet, zipping up and down the road well over the posted speed limit, seldom stopping for a stop sign whether it be fourway or not! but if you and your grandparents what to take a cruise around town in a golfcart then you can't!! this is a joke...our council looks like a bunch of fools...you make the town look ridiculous for it also i hope you know!!!!! stop wasting our hard earned money on this B. S. (FIGURE IT OUT) and start doing something for the city!! you might want to start looking for employment (or hobby since your position on the council seems that way) hopefully in the near future...i really hope you're not on the council again!! i am amazed you people can even agree to meet once a month!!
Van Wilder drives a golf cart around campus in his movie.
I'm sure an exotic dance club could spawn off of I-69. This would draw more people to the area than a place to watch birds.(Gooespond)
Tom I agree with most of what you said except for the part about education. I agree there are a lot of things in our educational system that need fixed,(that isn't isolated to Linton), but the city council has nothing to do with public education. Go to the school board if you want to address those issues.
I69 will not make any significant impact on anything but maybe WestGate. If we want to create jobs then we need to be focusing on companies that might employ 25-50 people and can get their products in and out within our current infastructure. Annexation is not going to help, and no large company is going to move in here because it cost to much to transport their products.
I am not opposed to I69 but it is not going to be the savior of Greene County. Support small to medium businesses. I would much rather have 10 small companies that employ 25 people than one that employs 250. Don't put all your eggs in one basket instead focus on the right things.
Now about this golf cart thing lol....wow this train is off the tracks
I think you were missing the point I was trying to make. The point being - for the council to spend the amount of time they have of a golf cart ordinance is inane. However, if you wish to aim so low as to think that your community has nothing to offer anyone, knock yourself out. I, on the otherhand, prefer to think differently. Of course the town council can't change everything that ails the educational system, but does that remove them from all responsibility? I do not think so. They have a responsibility to the community, as does the school. Just because Linton is not a big or bigger city, does not mean that the school and city council are incapable of working together to target at-risk you and who have graduated from college to see that they return to the area. I'm sure you have heard of the word entrepreneuship. It's not only limited to big cities.
I don't think the interstate will save anything. It will or won't bring what you allow it to bring. At the rate the city council works, nothing will get in, good or bad.
Why is it that you aim so low? You are doing nothing but perpetuating the stereotype most of the State has of Greene County anyway. Dumb, stupid hicks. Respect your fellow citizens and aim a little higher than a months long arguement over golf carts. That's all I was trying to say.
Who said I was expecting anything?? What I said was the Linton Town Council should have better things to do than argue over a golf cart ordinance. I brought the other stuff up to make the point. Crane is trying to open a tech park. They employ hundreds of engineers, etc. All educated people. They have to live somewhere.
You have to open your mind to more than just golf carts and think about the community at large. I'm not talking about turning it into Chicago. I'm talking about not turning it into nothing. Big difference. I refuse to believe that Linton lacks any intelligent people despite how the town council appears. Unless you have moved out of state, which is quite possible, we are all citizens of the State of Indiana. What effects one, effects all. It's a global and interconnected world these days, haven't you heard?
And you shouldn't necessarily assume that I live in Greene County.
Two town events and a bunch of overfished lakes do not make Linton a town with a lot to offer to the public.
If wildlife spikes the economy in Greene County, why is everyone looking/concerned for/about jobs?
Yes, please do share all these wonderful job/entrepreneurial opportunities in the wildlife sector that are available in the GC area. I'd love to hear about all of the prosperity that is about to come the way of Greene County because of excellent fishin' holes.
"Rallys- there are plenty of entrepreneurial opportunities associated with our wildlife areas. I think we need to focus on attracting something like a fishing tournament that could bring in some major money and bring people to the area."
What opportunities? A 'Pro Bass Shop' store? or an 'Outdoor Addiction' type of place? I'm sure Greene County could host the Bassmaster Classic. Right.
"I'VE ALSO HEARD ABOUT THE CHANCE OF GETTING A PONDEROSA!!!!YUM!!!!!" - Ponderosa is the first thing that comes to my mind when I think of fine dining. Maybe it'll be close enough, so I can ride my golf cart to Jiffy Treat afterward.
"Bill- I would love to see a Bass Pro Shop type store."
^I was clearly making fun of the hillybilly shack by Bob Walters. 'Pro Bass Shop'
"They would choose Linton if we could bring in a major fishing tournament. I know a lot of people from out of state who come to Greene County each and every year for fishing. We are sitting on a hot bed."
^Keep dreaming tim47441.
Walter, thanks for the grammar check :-). Although I don't know about the part about this being the internet as many people who post on the internet lack basic grammar skills.
Everyone has the option of living wherever they wish, within reason, and with the expection of those under the age of 18. If you don't like living in the Greene County area, leave. It is not a complicated concept.
In every city, town, metropolis, state, whatever or however you wish to define it, part of the elected officials job is to represent their city and to try and make it a better place. If building a nice hotel and devoloping a fishing tournament is going to bring money to the area then how is that a bad thing? There is no doubt a decent hotel is needed. The fishing is good. Build on the resources you have available as a start. But, it is the job of the mayor and the town council to go out and attract jobs to the area. What do companies look for when building? Good schools, low crime rate, taxes, transportation, cost of living, etc. Don't go look for a business that would be completely out of place.
Obviously, Ponderosa is not fine dining, but there is nothing wrong with wanting something different. You seem to think that the residents of Greene County are without intelligence or desire to live anywhere but in a black whole. It is possible to live in a nice, thriving, community while still maintaining the small town feel that makes it Linton. It just will take some hard work. My question is are the right people in the right places.
WalterTodd...GREAT point.....the ordinance!! what happened? too many people with too many GREAT ideas!! i said it months ago...just let it go and eventually it will not be an issue!! that's the way the council likes it...that way they are not responsible for any "blood on the their hands"!! they would prefer to just avoid the topic and prolong the decision till hopefully it all settles and no one cares anymore!! what a joke!! personally, i love living in linton, i love the people, do we have problems...heck yes we do...but what town/city/ metropolis/??? doesn't!! when was the last time you had your wallet picked from your pocket in linton? when was the last convicted rapist or serial killer in town? how about the last drive-by shooting? any gang-related activity in your neighborhood? hmmmm...wait a minute, maybe linton isn't so bad huh? i seldom worry that my car will be stolen if i forget to lock the door, or that my child may be gunned down in crossfire from rival gangs; these things happen, daily mind you, in the "BIG CITY" !!! so take your big city and stick it where the sun don't shine...we dont want it or need it here! all we want is the public official(s) that was/were elected to represent the common person to do their job!! figure it out!! either let us have our golf carts or not! but if not...then get rid of the atv's zippin up and down the streets without helmets!! i am more concerned that my child will get ran over by them while riding his bike in the street than i am your grandmother hitting him on a golf cart!! shoot, she would give him a ride home atleast if she did!! that's just how small-town people are!! we care about each other! honestly, you more than likely can't name more than one or two of your neighbors in the CITY!! oh yeah by the way...when's that skatepark goin in? bout time to bring that one back to the ballot isn't it? or has it been long enough for people to forget about that too?
I believe the attorney is dragging his feet and making this alot more complicated than it really is, in meantime he's making a killing! There is such a thing as requiring a deadline.
I'm very proud of the city council holding their ground on the annexation! I think they really have thought about this! I just can't get past the notion that it seems there are alterior motives on those who are wanting it so badly. Why not stay in our own township! Stockton township goes as far south as 200S (the goosepond) and way North! There is plenty of land to annex within the township that is already included in our service area.
as for our new posters who have nothing but time to bash our area and surrounding communities that we are proud of I will not be reading any more of your nonsense... you sound like an adolesent who really has some growing up to do.
"Too bad we probably don't offer JNCO jeans or Ambercrombie and Finch clothing around here pretty boy." - I prefer to Wear wrangler jeans, cutoff camo t-shirts, and a Notre Dame hat.
"Maybe you can also head to Terre Haute and get a spoiler on your rice burner!"
I also drive a 1986 Scottsdale, with Nitto Mud Grappler Tires, and a Hi-Lift Jack sticker on the back. I try to stay out of Terre Haute. They have noise ordinances, and my by blown-out Cherry Bomb Glasspacks are too loud.
elynn66,
just because something has been like that for years, doesn't mean changing it is bad.
TheRaven Why not stay within the twshp in which we dwell and service? If that property were all annexed then I could see this but it is not. it will inevidably take away from Grant twnshp's funding.
Keep having faith tim47441. Go back to Ivy Tech and make it happen.
tim47441 - Please go back and read all your comments and tell me if you do not have issues. You might want to get help. Clearly, you have not been outside the Greene County bubble for quite some time, or you are high. This website might be able to help you: http://tinyurl.com/mfbwav
No, they do not. State school or not, they have entrance requirements.
Independent thought, I agree. And that was part of the point I was trying to make. The council needs to make a decision on the golf cart ordinance and it can't be so difficult as to take a year. Unless something else is behind the decision to drag this thing out for an unlimited amount of time. The taxpayers deserve better and the council should have better things on which to focus their time.
Bwah-hahahaha.....(wipes tears away from laughing so hard and catches breath)
This is best discussion I've read on this site.
ISU entry exam:
ifn youins kin reed dis den youins is smert enuf fo dis scoo