BROOKINGS – The Brookings City Council on Tuesday set guidelines for commercial pedal cars/bars to operate in the city.

A commercial pedal bar, also called a party bike, is a non-motorized four-or-more wheeled bicycle-like vehicle that is human powered and transports passengers on bicycle-like seats and is propelled by five or more passengers, not including the operator, according to thepartybike.com online.

Pedal bars need to obtain an alcohol “carrier” license from the state, but each city can set their own guidelines, City Manager Paul Briseno said.

City staff recommended:

1. Routes must be approved by the city manager;

2. Hours of operation between 10 a.m. to midnight daily;

3. No liquor, only beer and wine;

4. No glass containers;

5. Vehicle safety and operational requirements;

6. Ability to revoke a permit.

Jessica Herrboldt owns Bum’s Bike & Brew and plans to operate a pedal car in Brookings starting in the spring.

She asked the council about where the routes would be allowed.

Briseno wants the routes to be contained to the business districts, not residential areas; and the pedal car would not be allowed on Sixth Street due to the traffic traveling faster than 30 mph.

Herrboldt pointed out that other cities allow pedal cars on roads with two lanes in each direction, such as Sixth Street.

Briseno said it was an evolving issue.

“As we grow into this, there will be opportunities,” he said.

Councilor Holly Tilton Byrne asked about accessibility for people who may not be able to pedal themselves.

There is a bench on the back and other seats for those who can’t pedal, Herrboldt said.

Herrboldt said she’s not operating a pedal car anywhere else; in fact, she’s in the process of building her pedal car, which she expects to have completed in March. At any rate, she won’t operate the pedal car in the winter but does want to get a screen for rainy days.

Councilors Nick Wendell and Mary Kidwiler were absent from Tuesday’s meeting.

Brookings Marketplace

On another topic, the council approved extending the agreement on the Brookings Marketplace development to April 1, 2019.

The project, on city-owned land northeast of Interstate 29 and U.S. Highway 14, is being proposed by Brookings Marketplace LLC and a team of developers, including Clark Drew Construction of Brookings and Bender Commercial Real Estate Services of Sioux Falls.

Jacob Mills from Mills Development spoke about his frustration with the project that has been in the works for four years. He chronicled the history of the project, including the controversy in the spring of 2016 when the council called for bids in February with a March 11 deadline. Several developers said at the time it did not give them enough time to develop proper proposals.

Mills said Tuesday that moving forward quickly was presented as being for the greater good. He added that there’s been no disclosure of what’s happening with the development.

There’s been a rush to do things with no transparency and none of it has yielded results, Mills said.

Mills presented questions to the council:

• How many of the four payments have been made?

• What has Bender Commercial spent money on (surveys, ads, etc.)?

• An extension of four months was requested, but what can be accomplished in four months that could not be accomplished in the years proceeding?

• The signed contract was not included for public viewing with the agenda.

Briseno said he didn’t have the financial information with him, but the financial department would have answers. The final contract is comparable to the one that was available on the internet. The law allows for less disclosure because of confidentiality prior to contracts being signed; and what has been made public is what’s allowed. He’s hoping that in four months everything will be made public.

In the future

Councilor Ope Niemeyer requested staff look into what it would take to set up a couple of charging stations for electric cars in Brookings. He envisions them as being places folks will stop to recharge and then extend their visit in the city. 

Contact Jodelle Greiner at jgreiner@brookingsregister.com.