During their first meeting of the year, the Clearwater City Council discussed city ordinances and policies regarding snow fencing, snowmobiles, and licensed vehicles.

New Council Member Lindsey Luhmann, who replaced Vern Scott after his term expired in December, reviewed the snow fence concerns with the council that had been brought forward during their December meeting. 

In November 2018, the city and the snowmobile club had agreed to the use of snow fencing to help snowmobilers stay on their trails. The fencing was also considered a positive step as it helped ensure snowmobilers didn’t drive through resident’s yards and helped in regard to safety issues.

The plastic webbing fence used as snow fencing is specifically listed against the city’s fencing ordinance; the agreement in 2018 had never been added to reflect it.

Council members discussed whether an exception for the snowmobile club should be added or if the ordinance should be amended to allow the use of snow fencing for anyone during the winter months. Luhmann stated she believes the fencing is a good idea, especially for people who have snowmobilers going through their yards and are worried about safety. 

Member Richard Petty suggested the city should look into why the ordinance disallowed that type of fencing in the first place, which would help the council know which direction to go with the matter. 

The issue will be sent to planning and zoning, as any amendment to the ordinance would need to go through them first. 

Recreational Vehicles

The meeting next moved to ordinances and policies regarding recreational vehicles; one concerning snowmobiles and the other licensing.

The city’s 2016 recreational ordinance states snowmobiles aren’t allowed in city parks however, an agreement had been reached previously allowing snowmobiles in Riverside Park because of safety concerns crossing the bridge.  As it’s not a zoning ordinance, staff will bring it back to the next council meeting for approval after it’s been posted.

The city currently requires recreational vehicles to have a license to operate within the city. It was brought forward that many of these vehicles already have a license to operate from the state, so in these cases the city is basically requiring a double license from them. 

The council determined vehicles that already have a license to operate on roads from the state will no longer need a second license from the city.

Other Business

City Administrator Annita Smyth gave the council a brief summary of what city staff worked on in the last year, which was highlighted by building and development and emergency management due to the pandemic. In a separate discussion, a motion carried moving Smyth a step up on the pay scale after her annual review. 

A motion carried approving reimbursement of another quarter of the annual on-sale liquor license fees businesses paid for 2020 due to the COVID-19 shutdown. The council had previously refunded the first 25% of the fee. Motions also carried approving Resolution 2021-01 Approving Annual Appointments and Resolution 2021-05 Declaring Surplus Equipment.

The COVID-19 emergency order was extended for another month.

The Wright Co. Sheriff reported 54 calls for service in the city of Clearwater, including one gas drive off, three motor vehicle accidents, one domestic, three theft complaints, two fraud complaints, and eight traffic stop citations.

The next Clearwater City Council meeting will be February 8 at 7 p.m.