Town cancels Plan Commission meetings for rest of the year

The Town of Belgium has canceled its remaining three Plan Commission meetings for the year, citing the Covid-19 pandemic.

An email from Clerk Ginger Murphy said meetings are scheduled to resume in 2021 “in hope of less stressful and safer conditions.”

The Plan Commission is in the process of deciding whether to allow all-terrain and utility-task vehicles on roads with speed limits of 35 mph or slower. The proposal from the Belgium-based Lakeshore ATV/UTV Club drew 80 people to a meeting in August when the commission took public input on the issue.

At last month’s Plan Commission meeting, a lawyer representing a few town residents, a Department of Natural Resources warden and a town resident provided more feedback on the proposal.

At last week’s Town Board meeting, Kevin Peiffer, president of the Lakeshore ATV/UTV Club, said he understood why the warden spoke, as well as the attorney — he said he wants to rebut “some of the silliness that came out of his mouth” — but questioned why a town resident had a chance to address the board.

“What we need to do is be able to rebut” some of the information against the proposal, he said. “We’re hearing things that are not necessarily true.”

Town Chairman Tom Winker said he will make sure Peiffer and the club get invited to the next meeting.

“We will continue to research it,” Winker said of the issue.

To report ATV violations, people are asked to call 1-800-TIP-WDNR