Wellsville city officials are considering making a change on an ordinance that prohibits residents under 21 years old from riding a golf cart around town.

Mayor Howard Steele said during a board meeting on Aug. 27 that board members are thinking about lowering the age limit of driving golf carts to 15. That will be discussed in the next board meeting on Sept. 24.

Alderman Richard Wilson said residents who are at least 15 years old with a legal driving permit should be able to drive a golf cart.

“What I think it’s appropriate is that we change the age limit to legal driving age,” Wilson said. “We don’t want 10 year olds out there driving a golf cart.”
Resident Joseph Simms said he is concerned about the safety issue of residents driving golf carts in Wellsville.

“I see a lot of people speeding on the sidewalk in golf carts, almost hitting my car,” Simms said. “I started to back out of my garage. There was no one around. All of the sudden, somebody was coming from West Street and around the corner, speeding golf carts.”

The ordinance issue was first brought up in the June 25 meeting. Wellsville resident Jock Bryson requested the board members to lower the age limit of driving golf carts to 15.5.

“The ordinance is pretty old,” Bryson said at that meeting. “It states that you must 21 years old to drive a golf cart in particular. If you read there, you have to be 21 to operate a wheelchair unless you have a disability. You have to be 21 to ride a scooter. I think we need to change that. The right age is 15.5. You can ride a motorcycle within 40 miles of your home unsupervised. I don’t see why our ordinance says 21. I would like to see it change to 15.5.”

Bryson asked the board members if he could sit next to his children and supervise them while they are driving golf carts. City Attorney Nathan Nickolaus responded no.

“The ordinance right now as it stands, you have to be 21,” Nickolaus said. “It doesn’t have any exceptions for parents.”

The conversation on the golf cart ordinance lasted 25 minutes, more than eight times the limit a visitor can speak at the meeting. It ended with board members voting to suspend the application of the ordinance of golf carts to anyone over the age of 15.5.

Also at the Aug. 27 meeting, board members approved the tax rate of $0.0983 per $100 of assessed value.