Golf carts, track and football field, and ethics City's top concerns

DAYTON–The City Council heard discussion for a new golf cart policy; school lease and code of ethics at the meeting February 6.

Many council members had concerns about writing a policy for allowing golf carts on Main St., that would be aligned with local laws, liability, and safety concerns. Another consideration is the cost of updating the intersections, signage, increase to insurance for liability. Public Works Director Ryan Paulson stated updating one crosswalk would cost the city $5,000. "To update one crosswalk intersection would cost the city approximately $5,000 to update with the required retro reflective rapid flashing beacon that would need to be installed, said Paulson. He has not done a cost analysis for getting signs for the entire town, but says that number will not come cheap. More discussion and consideration is needed.

The Council approved a letter of support requested by the Dayton School District No. 2 for improvements to the track and football field which is on city property. The school district is applying for a $1.2 million grant to repair the track and the football field. Improvements will include making sure the field drains properly, getting LED lighting, and resurfacing the track. As part of the requirements for the grant the school is asking for a letter of support from the city, which the city council has agreed to sign and get to them by their next city council meeting. The school also needs to renew the facility use agreement for the use of those fields, the school was asked to rewrite the agreement, and then the city council will review it for approval.

The council will review and update the city council code of ethics. Due to a recent lawsuit filed against the city of Dayton, the council ascertained the relevancy of revising updating the code of ethics policy to include a social media policy. The current policy was rewritten and put in place back in 2020, but has not been revised since then. City councilwoman Aukerman asked the council to consider not only updating the social media section of the policy, but to create a more in-depth policy for social media for all staff and council members in addition to the council code of ethics.