By DAVID CLOUSTON

Salina Journal

Where Merlin Stephens travels on his mobility scooter, there may or may not be sidewalks, and sometimes the sidewalks are in such poor shape that his better alternative is the street.

"I don't want to be breaking the law, but at the same time, this is my mode of transportation," Stephens, 340 Maple, told Salina city commissioners and City Manager Jason Gage on Monday.

Stephens' scooter is equipped with a slow-moving vehicle sign and a bicycle horn, and he signals turns to other drivers using hand signals.

Stephens' comments were prompted by the commissioners' discussion at their study session Monday about the city's ordinance regarding special-purpose vehicles.

Stephens related how he had once been stopped by a police officer after he used his scooter to cross Crawford Street from the VFW post to the Dillons Supermarket parking lot.

Police Chief Jim Hill said scooters such as Stephens' fall under the category of electronic personal-assist mobility devices, which are electric powered, slow-moving units under 15 mph and are already legal under state law and the current city ordinance.

"This may be just a communication issue on our end," Gage told Stephens. "That vehicle is already legal."

Golf carts, all-terrain vehicles and work-site utility vehicles are banned from city streets as a result of 2009 legislation that went into effect statewide July 1. However, cities can opt out by passing an ordinance authorizing the use of any or all of those vehicles.

City commissioners at the meeting expressed their support for leaving Salina's ordinance as is -- making it illegal to drive golf carts on city streets but allowing the use of city-owned or business work-site utility vehicles. Such vehicles include small-profile, cart-type vehicles with a bed or cargo box for hauling materials.

Mayor Luci Larson asked how, such as during the Smoky Hill River festival, golf carts could be used to take trash from the festival grounds in Oakdale Park to a bin off of Walnut Street, a distance of about half a block, without violating the ordinance. In such cases the city manager has authority to close streets along any route necessary, according to attorney Jared Johnson. Johnson is with the law firm that represents the city, Clark Mize and Linville.

Action items tackled

City commissioners at their meeting after the study session took action on a short list of agenda items, including:

n Approved the installation of a pump and the rehabilitation of a sludge pumping station at the city's water treatment plant. The work is to be done by Smoky Hill LLC, which submitted a low bid for the project at $21,600.

n Gave first reading approval to an ordinance levying annual service fees in 2010 for downtown businesses in the Business Improvement District. The BID promotes the economic vitality of businesses in the district, and is administered by the not-for-profit Salina Downtown Inc. For next year, the fees remain the same amount; the fees haven't changed since 2003.

n Authorized the transfer of $150,000 from the city's general fund to the Bicentennial Center Event Fund. The transfer is part of the Bicentennial Center business plan previously adopted by commissioners. The money will fund the Bicentennial Center's self-promotion of concerts and entertainment events.

n Reporter David Clouston can be reached at 822-1403 or by e-mail at dclouston@salina.com.

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