WHITEHALL — The county board tabled a proposed 30-mile expansion of the county’s ATV route network Tuesday night, voting to delay a decision until its August meeting after nearly two hours of public testimony filled the courthouse boardroom past capacity.
The expansion would open stretches of county road shoulder in the towns of Ettrick, Arcadia, Burnside and Sumner to all-terrain and utility vehicles, linking existing routes near Blair and Osseo into a continuous loop supporters say would draw riders — and their wallets — from across western Wisconsin.
The motion to table, adopted on a voice vote, asks the affected town boards to take up the question at their own meetings and report back before supervisors vote. Several supervisors said they were unwilling to designate roads in townships whose boards had not formally weighed in.
Testimony split roughly evenly. Riders and business owners from the Osseo and Blair areas argued the routes would capture tourism traffic that now bypasses the county for trail systems in Jackson and Clark counties.
Every mile of route we don’t have is a mile of business going somewhere else.
Verne Slette, tavern owner near Blair
“Those machines stop for gas, for burgers, for bait,” said Verne Slette, who owns a tavern and supper club outside Blair. “Every mile of route we don’t have is a mile of business going somewhere else.”
Renee Slaby, president of a coulee-region ATV club with about 140 members, told the board her group grooms and signs its routes at no cost to the county and would do the same for the new miles. “We’re not asking for a handout,” she said. “We’re asking for a road shoulder.”
Opponents, many from the Ettrick and Arcadia valleys, raised dust, speed and liability. Lloyd Stendahl, who farms along one of the proposed segments, said gravel dust from weekend traffic already coats his hay windrows. “I’m not against anybody having fun,” he said. “I’m against having it 40 feet from my kitchen window at 9 o’clock at night.”
Others questioned who bears the cost if a rider is hurt on a designated route. The county’s corporation counsel told supervisors that state law generally shields local governments that designate routes under the statutory process, but that signage and ordinance language must be done correctly — one reason, she said, not to rush.
The highway committee had recommended approval in June on a 3-2 vote. Committee members said Tuesday they would forward town-board responses as they arrive.
Town boards in the four affected townships meet at various dates in July and early August. The county board takes the question up again at its August meeting in Whitehall; if supervisors approve, routes could be signed and open before the fall riding season.