Council considering permits for UTV use

By Geoffrey Woehlk | August 11, 2026 |

FORUM FILE PHOTO
Maryville Council file public safety building

MARYVILLE, Mo. — The Maryville City Council on Monday continued to work toward a utility vehicle ordinance that could require a permit to operate the vehicles on city streets.

The council did not make any decisions on the issue during its regular meeting on Monday, but City Manager Ryan Heiland said he could have a sample ordinance drafted for the council’s review next month.

Currently, city code only allows UTVs on city streets when in use by government entities and for agricultural purposes. The code also allows for “industrial” use, but only “on premises.” Law enforcement officials have seen an uptick in the use of the vehicles in city limits, prompting the council to take a look at revising the code to either expand how UTVs may be used or to clarify the existing exceptions to make enforcement easier.

Heiland said that city staff and the Maryville Police Department recommended against expanding UTV use.

During the public comment period that began the meeting, business owner Kobee Trueblood said he had been warned by police not to use his UTV on city streets and had refrained from doing so since then. But he asked the council to allow UTV use because the vehicles are helpful for him when performing maintenance at properties he owns and especially for clearing snow in winter.

“I encourage you to open that up so that we can use them for a multitude of things and not just have to go look at the exemptions that they’re used for and try to get under those,” Trueblood said.

Generally, council members said Monday that they would like to move forward with reviewing language for a potential ordinance, but had not definitively made up their minds. Bryan Williams was the exception.

Williams said that although he understood that many people would like to use them for productive purposes, he would remain against legalizing them for general use on city streets because of the safety risks.

“I can see the usefulness of UTVs, especially for commercial purposes and serving members of the community. I just, with my profession, I see a lot of well-intended things go poorly,” said Williams, who is a paramedic and firefighter. “And from my seat here on the council, I’ve also learned you can’t regulate stupid.”

Williams said he also believes that enforcement would be difficult to implement.

Other council members said that their concerns were about safety and enforcement, but indicated those would not necessarily be insurmountable concerns. Council member Erin Allen and Mayor John McBride in particular said that they would like to see the language of an ordinance first while continuing to collect feedback.

An ordinance could include regulating what streets UTVs would be allowed on, like only allowing the vehicles on streets with a speed limit under a certain speed. It would also likely include a permitting mechanism that would require some kind of safety inspection. The current city code calls for a $15 fee for permits, which Heiland said would need to increase significantly to help handle the costs involved.

Council member Dannen Merrill broached the possibility of putting out a community survey to gauge how many permits the city might be issuing. That likely won’t be useful until the city has a better idea of how much it will charge for the permits, council members agreed.

Heiland said he should be able to have draft language ready for the council’s review at the first regular meeting of next month on Sept. 14.

Pay study

Also during Monday’s meeting, the council reviewed a compensation study carried out by Gallagher Benefit Services that analyzed the city’s employee structure and compensation.

The study found that about 43 percent of the city government’s employees’ pay differs from the market median salary for comparable positions by more than 10 percent. The city’s goal is to bring all employees up to at least that number, which city staff have estimated would cost about $68,900.

The council indicated it supports spending that amount next fiscal year to achieve that goal, but will look at the figures during budget discussions in the coming weeks.

Other City Council notes

North Main Street between Fourth and Fifth streets will be closed starting Friday morning for concrete patching associated with a lead water service line replacement, City Manager Heiland said. The street will remain closed through the farmers market on Saturday afternoon.
Heiland said that crews will begin a concrete replacement project at South Main and Halsey streets on Wednesday morning. The 500 block of South Main Street will be closed through the end of business on Friday.
The contractor for Phase II of the South Main Corridor Improvement Project has completed the corrections identified during the punch list inspection, leaving only landscaping items to be addressed this fall, Heiland said.
The final punch list items were identified for the downtown pavilion project, which Heiland said will be ready for the farmers market on Saturday and then will be open to the public. Main Street in the area will be closed during the market on Saturday.
Heiland said the total economic impact of the recently concluded American Junior Golf Association tournament held at Mozingo Lake Recreation Park was estimated at $341,000, including 374 total room nights at hotels as well as $138,000 in direct spending by visitors.
The council approved the $20,539.20 purchase of four Taser 7 devices from Axon Enterprise for the Maryville Police Department. MPD Chief Mike Stolte said that three of the department’s six current devices reached the end of their service lives and manufacturer support in 2023 and have begun to exhibit battery charging issues.
Council members approved liquor-by-the-drink and Sunday liquor-by-the-drink licenses for The Ville 101 and The Powerhouse.
The council approved a request by Big Brothers Big Sisters of Nodaway County to hold its annual Glow walk/run from 6-10 p.m. on Oct. 3. The walk will begin and end in the Mosaic Medical Center – Maryville parking lot and follow the Safe Routes to School trail located behind the hospital, middle school and high school through the Crestview Addition to South Munn Avenue, then back to the hospital. The two-mile route will include the use of Highland Avenue while the 5K route will follow East Crestview Drive and West Crestview Drive.