Concerns about e-bikes, golf carts, and other specialty motor vehicles and lack of ordinances to help officers regulate their use led to discussion at the Aledo City Council meeting June 4.
Aledo Police Chief Carol Riddle explained that while the State of Texas has laws, those can be hard to decipher and having regulations on the books would help clear up any misconceptions.
“There have been resident complaints,” Riddle said, adding that most of those pertain to the specialty vehicles being operated on sidewalks or roadways and drivers not following the rules of the road.
Riddle then said that the department has been posting information for educational purposes and also handing out pamphlets and flyers regarding rules and laws from the State.
“There is confusion over what’s legal and what isn’t,” she said. “The plan is to draft an ordinance over the next couple of weeks.”
She encouraged council to review some suggested items she had pointed out, including requiring golf carts to obtain permits annually; prohibit their use on FM 1187 and FM 5; prohibit children younger than 4-years old from riding in them and require e-bike riders to wear a helmet and not ride on sidewalks.
“We need feedback on this,” she said, noting that the plan was to bring a draft ordinance back to council at the June 18 meeting. “We are not doing this for enforcement; we are wanting to promote safety.”
Some members of the council questioned why permitting would be necessary and how to navigate allowing for “kids to be kids” without compromising safety.
Mayor Shane Davis asked for members to get back with Riddle over the next couple of weeks so she and her staff have the information needed to present a fair ordinance for all.
“This is a sensitive issue,” he said, referencing the recent loss of life due to an ATV accident. “Please consider this carefully.”
Water agency
Also at the meeting, Jessica Brown, Vice President of Water/Wastewater Planning from Freese and Nichols, informed council members and attendees about a new initiative to help alleviate the water issues some cities and areas in Parker County are facing.
As she has done previously in other city presentations, Brown highlighted that Parker County drilled the most wells in the state from 2003-2025 with 15,488. Wise County was the next closest at 7,578.
For Aledo, more than 400 of those domestic wells are within two miles of city limits. The impact of having so many wells is that each must be dug deeper all while the yield is decreasing.
The Parker County Public Utility Agency (PCPUA) would help face the challenges of water supply, cost and funding, economic development impacts and establish a collaborative structure.
With neighboring cities including Annetta, Hudson Oaks, Weatherford, Willow Park, and others, the PCPUA would advocate as one body to assist in implementing and financing water supply strategies and increased funding options, coordinate efforts and provide administrative support, and help plan for undeveloped and unincorporated areas.
Cost for joining the PCPUA varies depending on population. For Aledo, it would be $20,000 annually. By comparison, Weatherford’s cost is $50,000.
Brown said the goal of the initiative is to address both short-term and long-term needs and keep decisions at a local level as opposed to a public utility that would require more oversight and involve longer wait times for answers.
“We’ve been working on this for about 18 months,” she said. “Right now, each entity does their own [water] planning and proposed strategies and this would bring everyone together.”
The timeline for next steps is over the summer but likely will be July, August, and September as opposed to earlier estimates. Ordinances need to be drafted, notices posted in the newspaper and more for the agency to form officially and Brown said the hope is to have a board seated and agreements signed and executed by the end of the year.