Names set for ATV taskforce

WASILLA — The city council is set to consider appointments to an all-terrain vehicle task force at its first meeting of the new year.

Wasilla Mayor Bert Cottle has nominated Wasilla residents Ryan Jew, Mary Kay Robinson, Kolin Smith, Anthony Borges, Hugh Towe and Craig Teich to the city’s ATV Task Force. The council will consider them at a special meeting 6 p.m. Jan. 5.

“We have six to appoint,” Cottle said. “Two are from the industry, and I actually went out and recruited those guys. We wanted someone on there from the industry, and four members of the public.”

Former Mayor Verne Rupright proposed the task force after a high-profile debate over a planning commission resolution banning ATV use within city limits after the Wasilla Police Department brought the issue forward as an enforcement item that is eating away police resources.

Cottle has stopped short of taking a position on the issue, saying his primary goal is to facilitate public discussion.

“I wanted to have everybody’s input,” he said.

The proposed ban was eventually tabled by the city council, and a resolution creating the task force was created. If the nominations go through uncontested, the task force will have until March to deliver recommendations to the council, Cottle said.

Members of the task force who responded to calls for interviews about their hopes for the task force generally said they favored enforcement of existing measures rather than rewriting the rulebook for ATVs.

An active motorcyclist and bicyclist, Jew said he sees both sides.

“I was riding my bicycle this summer and nearly had an encounter with people who were just crossing the bike path,” he said. “They weren’t looking where they were going, and they showed very little respect to the people who were out there.”

Despite his close encounter of the motorized kind, Jew doesn’t favor instituting an outright ban. Enforcement should be able to pick up the slack, Jew said.

“It’s just one of those things,” he said. “The complacency that is instilled just needs to go away. The ATV traffic stop should be just like a (regular) traffic stop. It should be five minutes and then you’re on your way.”

Another time, Jew was ditch-riding when he encountered a dust cloud from another rider so thick he had to come to a complete stop.

“Stuff like that just needs to be curtailed,” he said.

Teich listed safety as his top concern, and said he doesn’t favor an outright ban either.

“I don’t want to see them go away altogether, but I would like to see some restrictions on them because they fly up and down,” he said. “If you have a person that is level-headed and doesn’t do that crazy stuff, I don’t see anything wrong with that.”

He said he favors recommendations like a speed limit and a helmet requirement for children under 18. Like Jew, he also favors rigorous enforcement.

“If kids do this stuff, they should get their vehicle taken away,” he said.

Teich said Cottle appears determined to strike a balance between users.

“He told me he could go either way on the issue, that he’s not pro or con about this,” Teich said.

Smith is an employee of the Team CC chain of ATV dealerships. He got involved in part because ATVs are his livelihood. Team CC owner Korey Cronquist had originally applied, but withdrew his application in favor of Smith, his employee who resides in Wasilla.

“The ATV ban that was proposed struck a chord with me, personally, as I am an avid power sport enthusiast,” Smith wrote in an email. “I decided to move particularly to Wasilla from the Lower 48 just over two years ago, as the city of Wasilla offered every aspect of outdoor recreation I enjoy — from fishing to world-class hiking and snowmachining.”

Smith was involved in the summer’s debates and wrote a piece for Alaska SnowRider magazine about his feelings and experiences, both with the prospect of a ban and with responsible and reckless riders along Alaska trails. He said he would prefer the city provide a uniform trail system specifically for power sport enthusiasts.

“I would like to establish guidelines, regulations, speed limits, and mapping so that all power sport travel can be done both safely and enjoyably for all enthusiasts,” he wrote.

Wasilla city rules presently provide for ATV use along specific corridors though the city. And many local trails and bike paths — in the city and borough — are already marked with signage stating whether motorized use is allowed, or prohibited.

Contact Brian O’Connor at 352-2269 or brian.oconnor@frontiersman.com.