Council votes to allow UTVs on Lincoln Street, approves playground equipment purchase

The Rhinelander Common Council gave final approval Monday to an ordinance that will allow UTVs — but not ATVs — on a stretch of Lincoln Street starting next year, rejecting a last-minute attempt to ban both vehicle types outright. The council also unanimously approved the purchase of new playground equipment for Pioneer Park, a project that had been tabled at its June 22 meeting over accessibility questions.
UTVs cleared for Lincoln Street starting January 2027
The council adopted an ordinance amending the city’s ATV and UTV regulations, on second reading. As approved, the ordinance maintains a full prohibition on both ATVs and UTVs on Lincoln Street between Oneida Avenue and Eisenhower Parkway until January 1, 2027, at which point UTVs — but not ATVs — will be permitted on that stretch. The vote followed weeks of council debate over whether to treat the two vehicle types the same.
Alderman Gerald Anderson questioned the distinction before the vote. “Why are we saying we’ll allow UTVs and not ATVs if they’re both allowed in the whole rest of the city?” he asked, adding he could see reasons to prohibit both vehicles on Lincoln Street but not to treat them differently. Mayor Kris Hanus said the distinction reflected a compromise, noting UTVs are generally considered safer than ATVs.
Alderman Steven Jopek said he remained opposed to allowing either vehicle on the corridor, citing crash data and a recent fatal UTV crash in Boulder Junction in which a UTV was struck by a pickup truck. “If you look at the crash data and the statistics between even UTVs and ATVs, it’s pretty marked,” Jopek said. “I’m out on ATVs. Almost certainly, I wouldn’t recommend it.”

He said he supported the ordinance’s cleaned-up definitions of ATVs and allowing UTV traffic on Lincoln Street was something he could not support.
Anderson then moved to amend the ordinance to prohibit both ATVs and UTVs on the Lincoln Street corridor indefinitely, rather than allowing the January 2027 UTV exemption to take effect. City ttorney Steve Sorenson worked through the practical effect of the amendment with the council, confirming it would strike the provision permitting UTVs in 2027 and leave the existing prohibition on both vehicle types in place “until this council does something else in the future.”
The amendment, seconded by Jopek, failed on a 5-2 vote, with only Anderson and Jopek in favor and alderperson Leanne Felton absent.
The council then voted on the original motion — adopting the ordinance as presented, with the January 2027 UTV allowance intact. That motion passed 5-2, with Anderson and Jopek again the dissenting votes.
Playground purchase approved
The council also took up the previously tabled purchase of new playground equipment for Pioneer Park from BCI Burke and Company, a proposal that had stalled at the June 22 meeting after questions were raised that staff could not answer at the time.
Public Works Director Tom Roeser returned to the council Monday with those answers. He told the council the new equipment would include 21 features meeting Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance standards, well above the 11 required. The city’s only additional responsibility, he said, would be installing a compact path connecting the street to the playground.
Alderman Luke Kramer questioned the procurement process, noting the city had gone through Lee Recreation, which uses the Sourcewell cooperative purchasing program, and that the council was not shown competing bids Sourcewell may have solicited. “It seems like that’s only one bid,” Kramer said. “There’s nothing that says that there was any other bids.” Roeser responded that Sourcewell is a reputable government purchasing cooperative the city has used successfully before, including for an end loader purchase roughly eight or nine years ago.
Sorenson clarified for the council that the Pioneer Park purchase is structured as a service contract rather than a public works contract, meaning it is not subject to the state’s competitive public bidding statute. “This is not a bidding process,” Sorenson said. “This is you picked an organization. You told them go out and put this together. So you’re going to vote tonight whether you like this proposal or you don’t like this proposal.” He noted the council’s option, if dissatisfied, would be to send the company back to redesign the proposal rather than to solicit new bids directly.
Anderson asked whether any of the existing playground equipment could be salvaged for reuse elsewhere. Roeser said he was reluctant to give the equipment away given its age and the risk that deteriorated material could injure someone. Sorenson advised against donating or selling the old equipment regardless, citing liability concerns:
“When you abandon equipment like park equipment, for heaven’s sakes, don’t give it away, don’t sell it, because then the liability goes to you,” he explained.
Council President Carrie Mikalauski made the motion to approve the purchase. The motion passed unanimously.
The purchase will be funded through a combination of previously earmarked borrowing, downtown TIF financing and savings generated when the Streets and Parks departments completed the new Hodag Park bathrooms in-house rather than contracting the work out.