Recently I became aware of Crow Wings County's proposed changes to Ordinance No. 0601. Being a frequent visitor to the county I was disheartened by Section 4.1 of the ordinance that proposes that only Class 2 ATVs will be permitted to drive on the shoulder of County Road 66 from Highway 3 in Crosslake to County Road 1 in the City of Manhattan Beach.
I would recommend to the county board that the proposed ordinance be amended to allow both Class 1 and Class 2 ATVs to drive on the shoulder of the abovementioned route.
The current proposed ordinance would adversely affect the majority of registered ATV owners in Crow Wing County and its surrounding counties. According to DNR reports, last computed in 2014, there are 7,677 registered Class 1 and 2 ATVs in Crow Wing County. The DNR does not break down the numbers to Class 1 and 2 but admits that the large majority are Class 1.
From the same report, Crow Wings' surrounding counties (Aitkin, Cass, Hubbard and Mille Lacs have in excess of 13,000 registered ATVs. This does not take into consideration visitors like myself who live out of the immediate area.
Let us hope the Crow Wing County Board does what is best for its residents and visitors.
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Robert Skomra
New Hope
