By Rebecca Rider

rebecca.rider@salisburypost.com

LANDIS — The town of Landis will consider an ordinance that would allow golf carts on town streets, after officials reported an increase of the vehicles. Mayor Mike Mahaley said at the Board of Alderman’s Monday meeting that the vehicles are becoming more popular.

“We’re getting to be like the beach now,” he said.

Landis Police Chief Bob wood said that in China Grove, golf carts are legal on roads as long as they have insurance, tags, signals, are in an area with a speed limit that does not exceed 35 mph and traveling at speeds at or below 28 mph.

“You can’t just take any golf cart out there and run it up and down the road,” Wood said.

The problem, he said, is that residents of China Grove travel by golf cart down Main Street to the Food Lion or Family Dollar in Landis. When they do so, they are breaking the law, Wood said. That stretch of road has a posted speed limit of more than 35 mph. Wood recommended the ordinance.

“It would just give us a uniformity to those people who are coming 200 feet inside of our city limits who are really, now, violating the law by doing it,” he said.

If the board chooses to pass the ordinance, it would need to lower the speed limit in some parts of town.

“We would need to lower, I think, about two blocks,” Mahaley said.

Alderman Seth Moore asked if the ordinance would allow Mules or other alternative vehicles.

“I don’t think we want to open up that can of worms,” Wood said.

The board asked the town’s lawyer to draft an ordinance to bring back at the June 6 meeting.

“It’s going to make Farmers Day more interesting,” Moore said.

During public comment citizens again asked board members to fix the high prices of their utility bills. Phil Glass handed out a spreadsheet of his water bills for the past year, pointing out a usage jump in June 2015 from 44 gallons per day to 112. Glass claimed that his water usage had not changed.

“I would like an explanation for why these things occur, these drastic inconsistencies,” he said.

Glass urged other town members to keep records of their bills, as well.

In other business the board:

• Announced a scheduled power outage for the town on May 7 beginning at approximately 7 a.m. and lasting until approximately 1 p.m. Town Manger Reed Linn says the outage will occur while the town converts its system from 4 kilowatts to 12 kilowatts. Landis will receive help from Huntersville and Cornelius — the two closest ElectriCities neighbors — during the process.
• Declared two pieces of property located at the intersection of West Ridge Avenue and South Meriah Street surplus.
• Announced its next budget workshop on Wednesday, May 18 at 6 p.m.
• Voted to approve pool prices. According to the minutes of the April 13 budget workshop, the pool will have a daily rate of $5 for children 12 and under and $10 for those 13 and over. Season passes are available to families living inside the town limits for $200 for a family of up to four and $400 for families of up to four living outside the town limits. Tickets go on sale May 9. The pool is currently undergoing a $198,000 renovation, which was budgeted by the previous board, Linn said.

Contact reporter Rebecca Rider at 704-797-4264.