Council votes in favor of UTVs

The Fairbury City Council voted 7-1 in favor of allowing UTVs on city streets during Wednesday’s regular meeting.

The only alderman voting against the ordinance change was Jon Kinate.

The ordinance goes into effect immediately. The annual fee for registering a UTV is $75 for citizens living in the city and $150 for non-residents. The minimum age for the vehicle operator is 16 for golf carts and 18 for UTVs.

More than ten members of the public attended the meeting due to their interest in the possible change to the city ordinances that would allow the use of UTVs within City Limits.

Under current laws, golf carts were permitted within city limits while UTVs were not allowed. An all-terrain vehicle (ATV) usually allows one rider to go off-road. A utility task vehicle (UTV) is a larger type of ATV designed to haul heavier loads and allow additional passengers. ATVs are primarily used for recreation, whereas UTVs are often used for professional tasks such as farming or landscaping.

Citizen Michael Pawlowski spoke during the Public Comment portion of the meeting, advocating against allowing UTVs on city streets.

He stated that in 2024, there were 600 fatalities from golf carts in the United States, with most of these occurring from vehicle ejections with related head injuries. Mr. Pawlowski has observed toddlers on the golf cart driver's laps, with some of these toddlers having their hands on the steering wheel. He advocated for changing the current golf cart ordinances to include age-appropriate safety restraints for all occupants.

“I therefore am opposed to the expansion of the use of substandard vehicles on city streets to include side by sides or any other form of what was designed as an off-road vehicle, without first fixing the underlying omission of requiring age-appropriate safety restraints for existing vehicles, as well as new additions,” he said.

Diane Pawlowski also spoke against allowing UTVs on city streets.

She reminded the City Council that the golf cart ordinance was adopted in 2008 when gasoline prices were high and people could save money by driving golf carts. She provided three examples of careless golf cart driving in Fairbury. One example included a toddler sitting on the adult female driver's lap and steering the cart on Locust Street. Other examples included a large dog standing across the driver's lap and a driver talking on a cell phone while operating the golf cart.

“Perhaps out of economic compassion, the council passed the ordinance but only after certain safety aspects for golf carts were carefully considered,” stated Diane. “We have all seen how careless some golf cart drivers can be.”

Brad Duncan spoke and advocated in favor of allowing UTVs on city streets. It was noted that most of the towns surrounding Fairbury have recently changed their laws to allow the use of these types of vehicles.

Alderman Kinate reported he had talked to dozens of Fairbury citizens and the majority were not in favor of allowing UTVs on city streets. These citizens felt Fairbury already had too many golf carts in use, and adding UTVs would decrease the safety of residents. Kinate checked with City Hall, and currently, there are 450 golf carts registered for use in Fairbury.

In other business, a representative from the Farnsworth Group gave a short presentation about the design of the new park located next to the wastewater treatment plant.

The estimated cost is $1.2 million and a grant of $600,000 is being pursued for this new park. The remainder of the expense will come from the city. The new park will feature a dog park, walking loop, pavilions with restrooms, a sledding hill, fitness court and a natural look achieved through native plantings. There will be room to park 30 cars plus golf carts.

Alderman Tipton expressed concern that the landscaping around the new sidewalks on Route 24 will not be performed appropriately. Brett Ashburn, City Superintendent, said he will be monitoring this work which should be wrapped up in the next few weeks.

The City Council approved purchasing a new vehicle for the Wastewater Department, including credit for trading in vehicles.