St. James Police Department’s Lt. Ryan Gaddy spoke to the city council on Nov. 10 about requested changes to an ordinance about recreational vehicles and tents that is tied to public safety, health and welfare.

“There was one change we presented to y’all, moving the visitor’s permit (from) $50 down to $25 and then we upped it from three times a year to five times a year,” said Gaddy. “We just felt like this was more reasonable, and it was cheaper.”

Gaddy clarified with the council about tents in the ordinance.

“If a kid wants to have a party in the backyard and put a tent up out there, that’s perfectly fine, it has no bearing on this ordinance, it’s just temporary,” said Gaddy. “You just can’t have a tent permanently.”

There was a concern about recreational vehicles that Gaddy brought to the council’s attention in the wintertime.

“Permits are needed for the wintertime,” said Gaddy. 

Street parking was another concern he brought to the council’s attention.

“There can’t be parking on the street for more than 48 hours, per loading or unloading. We have some very narrow streets in this town, and RV against another RV just takes up a whole lane of traffic,” said Gaddy.

He said that for 99 percent of the residents, this shouldn’t be an issue; it’s just the one percent the police have to look out for. 

“RVs are temporary living quarters; we just don’t want people living in them permanently because we have had that in the city, and it was a huge ordeal to get that corrected,” said Gaddy.

There was one issue in the past that the police struggled with for an extended period. 

“People were running utilities through the windows from the house to the window of the RV and were defecating inside of it,” said Gaddy.

He and the police want to beautify the town and mentioned again that RVs are for temporary living only.

Mayor Rick Krawiecki asked about Gaddy’s request.

"So you would recommend on this second reading the permit change from $50 to $25,” Krawiecki asked.

“Yep, the visitor permit from $50 to $25 and then up from three to five times a calendar year,” replied Gaddy.

“And if passed, it would go into effect 90 days from now, and it would give us more time to get information out?” asked Krawiecki

“Yeah, we did put a grace period at 90 days, so after the 90-day point, then we would start enforcing anybody,” said Gaddy.

Councilor William “Bill” Dunkus also had questions about the ordinances.

“Under the ordinance, the way it's written, if I have a guest traveling through town in a motor home and he’s brought a couple of motorcycles that we’re going to ride the next day and he wants to park in my driveway and plug into an outdoor outlet for the night, do I need to get a permit in advance?” Dunkus asked.

“Per the ordinance, if he were to live in it, he’d be a visitor,” said Gaddy.

“For one night, and it wouldn’t be required to have a permit in that case?” Dunkus asked.

“If he’s staying in it for one night, then yeah, he’d need a permit,” replied Gaddy.

Councilor Ryan Miller addressed Gaddy. 

"So, in your opinion, is this enforceable the way it’s written? Do you think we’d be fully able to execute it?” Miller asked.

“Absolutely, I’ve read over it several times myself, and you have all looked at it. I think it’s very enforceable,” Gaddy said.

Dunkus made a motion to make amends to the ordinance to bring the visitor’s permit down from $50 to $25 and change from three to five times a year. The motion passed with a 6-0 vote.