Allowing the use of all-terrain and utility vehicles in the Panora city limits was discussed at a town hall meeting Monday.

The City Council required those who wished to speak at the meeting to register beforehand, and since only eight people signed up, the Council allowed them all to join together spaced apart inside Veteran’s Auditorium. Mayor Pat Parker says the Council had been wanting to hold a town hall since they first received a petition to allow ATV/UTV use earlier this spring, but COVID-19 restricted them from holding a meeting until now, “Having a town hall meeting like we did was a great opportunity for the Council to meet and let this group come in and tell their reasons why they would like to have it and then the Council to have a discussion and start that fact finding to see if this is something that we would like to modify our ordinance to or if we change our ordinance and allow, what are the ramifications or side effects and things we need to consider.”

All eight citizens were in favor of changing the city code, as Guthrie County legalized ATV/UTV use on county roads in the past year. Parker says he and some other Council members brought up concerns, such as where these vehicles would be parked downtown, and if they could travel to Casey’s General Store for gas and food, as the station sits on two state highways. Parker says this meeting was the first step in looking to possibly change their ordinance, and upcoming plans are to consult their city attorney about the Casey’s matter, and hold a public safety meeting with a couple of the Council members and the Panora Police Department next week. You can find a link to watch the town hall here.