[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Vernon 7-2-1998
by Ord No. 57 (Ch. 18 of the Town Code). Amendments noted
where applicable.]
The purpose of this chapter is to:
A.
Protect the Town's parks and appurtenances thereto from
fire, abuse and desecration.
B.
Provide for the recreational use of these areas.
C.
Control and regulate traffic and maintain general order
therein.
D.
Further the safety, health, and welfare of all persons
while within the limits of the parks.
As used in these rules and regulations, the following terms, phrases,
words and their derivations, unless the text clearly indicates to the contrary,
shall have the meaning indicated herein:
The Park and Recreation Committee of the Town of Vernon, Wisconsin.
A park, parkway, recreation facility, playground, beach or open space
area, owned or used by the Town, devoted to passive or active leisure time,
and which is now or may hereafter be under the jurisdiction of the Town Board.
Reference to any one park, recreation facility or area shall include all.
A building, owned or used by the Town, devoted to passive or active
leisure time activities.
The Town of Vernon, Waukesha County, Wisconsin.
Except for vehicular traffic moving upon through roadways, all parks
shall be closed each night between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. the following
morning. No person shall remain therein during said hours. The Town Board,
with a recommendation from the Committee, may from time to time, in all or
any of the parks, publish or post closing hours different from the above,
or discontinue closing hours different from the above, or discontinue closing
hours, as in the exercise of the judgment of the Town Board may appear reasonable
and necessary. Any change in the hours of any park shall be established by
the Town Board through resolution establishing park hours and effective dates
for the established hours. The change in hours established by resolution shall
be posted at the Town Hall and at the individual parks affected by the changed
hours.
All permit applications may be reviewed by the Committee with a recommendation
to the Town Board. All permits shall be reviewed by the Town Board and shall
be subject to Town Board issuance in writing. Any issued permit is subject
to park rules and regulations. The persons to whom such permits have been
granted shall be bound by said rules and regulations as fully as though the
same were inserted in said permits. Any person or persons to whom such permits
have been granted shall be liable for any loss, damage or injury sustained
by the Town or by any persons or property by reason of the negligence of the
person or persons to whom such permits have been granted, their servants or
agents. No person shall interfere with any person in the use of a permit granted
by the Town Board.
All persons within the limits of and/or using a park or recreational
facility within the Town are subject to the following rules and regulations:
A.
General.
(1)
Advertising. No advertising shall be permitted in any
manner unless such request is reviewed by the Committee and authorized by
the Town Board in writing, or in concessionaire contracts for goods sold on
the premises.
(2)
Aircraft use. No person shall ascend or land with any
aircraft or engage in stunt flying or parachute landing in any park without
a written permit from the Town Board.
(3)
Amplification systems. Public address or other amplification
devices may be used only by special permit. Any request for a permit is subject
to issuance from the Town Board.
(4)
Animals. All domestic animals are prohibited in said
areas.
(a)
No person having control or care of any domestic animal
shall permit any animal to enter or remain in a public park.
(5)
Auto radios. Auto radios must be tuned low at all times
so as not to be heard from a distance beyond 20 feet from the instrument.
B.
Camping. No person shall sleep, camp, or lodge in any
Town park, unless a permit is issued by the Town Board or such a place is
designated for camping purposes by the Town Board.
C.
Disorderly conduct prohibited. Disorderly conduct, as prohibited by Chapter 244 of the Town Code, is prohibited in all parks.
D.
Fireworks and explosives. It shall be unlawful to have
in any person's possession or set off or otherwise cause to explode or discharge
or burn any firecrackers, torpedo, rocket, or other fireworks or explosives
of inflammable material, or to discharge them or throw them into any park
or such area from land or highway adjacent thereto. This prohibition includes
any substance, compound, mixture or article that, in conjunction with any
other substance or compound, would be dangerous from any of the foregoing
standpoints, except as allowed by law.
E.
Gambling. No person in any park shall tell fortunes or
wager upon any game which is played, conducted, dealt or carried on with cards,
dice, corn or other device for money, chips, credit or any other representative
of value, nor shall any person maintain or exhibit any gambling table or other
instrument of gambling or gaming.
F.
Games. No person shall engage in any sport, game, race
or amusement in any park except upon such portions thereof as may be designated
for that purpose, and then only under such rules and regulations as may be
established by the Committee and the Town Board.
G.
Hunting and firearms. It shall be unlawful in any park
to hunt, trap or pursue wildlife at any time. No person shall in any park
use, carry or possess firearms of any description or air rifles, spring guns,
bow and arrows, slings, or any other forms of weapons potentially inimical
to wildlife and dangerous to human safety, or any instruments that can be
loaded with and fire blank cartridges, or any kind of trapping device, except
as licensed or otherwise allowed by state law. Shooting into park areas from
beyond park boundaries is prohibited.
H.
Interference with employees prohibited. No person shall
interfere with or in any manner hinder any employee of the Town or any employee
of a contractor while engaged in constructing, repairing or caring for any
portion of the parks or while in the discharge of the duties conferred by
this chapter.
I.
Littering prohibited.
(1)
No person shall deposit, dump or leave any litter, debris,
trash, or rubbish in any portion of the parks, except in the receptacles provided
for that purpose.
(2)
No person shall deposit, dump, or leave any earth, rubbish,
dust, manure, paper, garbage, or any other refuse matter or any sand, stone,
lumber or building material, or any substance of any kind, in or upon any
part of the waters, grounds or roadways of any park without written permission
of the Town Board.
J.
Fermented malt beverages prohibited without permit. No person shall bring into or drink any fermented malt beverages in any park without a written permit from the Town Board and at such places and times as are approved by the Town Board. Only fermented malt beverages may be allowed into Town parks pursuant to § 125.26(6), Wis. Stats., as amended from time to time, and Chapter 187 of this Code. The Committee may make a recommendation to the Town Board concerning the approval or dismissal of a request for a written permit for fermented malt beverage possession in the Town park.
K.
Park property protected. No person, except those authorized
by the Town Board, shall climb any tree, or pluck any flowers or fruit, wild
or cultivated, or break, cut down, trample upon, remove, or in any manner
injure or deface, write upon, defile or ill use any tree, shrub, flower, flowerbed,
turf, fountain, ornament, statue, building, fence, apparatus, bench, table,
official notice, sign, bridge, structure or other property within any park;
nor shall any person in any park remove any device for the protection of trees
or shrubs; nor shall any person fasten a horse or other animal next to any
tree, shrub or grass plot which may become damaged by the action of the animal.
L.
Sales and solicitations; permit required. No person shall
sell, keep, or offer for sale any tangible or intangible article, merchandise,
or thing, or solicit for any trade, occupation, business or profession, or
for alms, within any park, without a written permit from the Town Board.
M.
Smoking. No person shall be permitted to smoke or to
hold a cigarette, cigar or pipe in any public building or section of a building.
Also no person may smoke or hold a cigarette, cigar or pipe in any park area
where posted notices so prohibit.
The following rules regulate the use of bicycles in Town parks:
A.
No person shall ride a bicycle upon the lawns, walking
trails or foot trails.
B.
Riders shall proceed in the extreme right-hand lane of
the road at all times, in single file only.
C.
Riding crosswise and curving to and fro are strictly
prohibited.
D.
No rider shall take both hands off the handles or ride
recklessly in any other manner.
E.
A bicycle shall not be towed by a rope or otherwise,
nor shall any rider hold onto any moving vehicles for the purpose of being
drawn along.
F.
Infants, children, or extra passengers shall not be carried
on bicycles in any manner whatsoever, except in a safe, secure carrier designed
to carry children, infants or extra passengers.
G.
Wherever possible bicycles shall be parked in places
provided.
A facility use form must be completed to obtain the exclusive use of
any picnic or play area for a specified date or time. A completed facility
use form can be granted or denied based upon the discretion of the Town Board.
No person shall in any manner disturb or interfere with any person or party
occupying the ground stipulated under such facility use form or disturb any
of their equipment or property.
A.
All picnics shall be restricted to those areas designated
for that purpose. Employees of the Town shall have the authority to regulate
the activities in such areas when necessary to prevent congestion and to secure
the maximum use, or to comply with any direction given to achieve this end.
B.
Is shall be unlawful to use any portion of the picnic
areas or of any facility or structures therein for the purpose of holding
picnics to the exclusion of other persons, except by the completion of a facility
use form, nor shall any person use such area and facilities for an unreasonable
time if the facilities are crowded.
C.
It shall be the duty of the person or persons using a
picnic area(s) to see that, if a fire was used, it has been completely extinguished
and to pick up all trash in the nature of boxes, papers, cans, bottles, garbage
and other refuse and place it in the receptacles provided. If no such trash
receptacles are available, then all such items shall be carried away from
the park area by the person or persons responsible for their presence and
properly disposed of elsewhere.
A.
No person, except those authorized by the Town Board,
shall drive any automobile, motorcycle, or other vehicle of traffic or recreation
upon any part of the parks, except the proper drives and parking areas, or
permit the same to stand upon the drives or any part thereof so as to congest
traffic or obstruct the drive.
B.
It shall be unlawful for any person operating a vehicle
in any park or recreation area of the Town to fail or refuse to obey any traffic
sign or other traffic control device regulating the operation, stopping or
parking of vehicles.
C.
It shall be unlawful to disobey any traffic officers,
park employees, or any persons authorized and instructed by the Town Board
to direct traffic whenever and wherever needed in the parks and on the highways,
streets or roads immediately adjacent thereto in accordance with the provisions
of these regulations.
D.
Parking shall not be permitted during regular closing
hours or in any areas closed by the Town Board. It shall be unlawful to park
so as to obstruct access roadways and parking area or areas designated by
sign for emergency vehicle use only. Vehicles may be parked in park and recreation
areas only if the occupants are engaged in an activity connected with the
area.
A.
The Town Board may restrict the hours, days and weeks
of use for any recreation facility by resolution establishing the restricted
hours and effective dates for restricted hours. These restricted hours shall
be posted at the Town Hall and the recreation facility or building affected
by such restrictions. The Town Board may also restrict or remove any user,
individual or group for violation of any rules and regulation set forth herein.
B.
It shall be unlawful, except for those individuals authorized
by the Town Board, to willfully mark, deface, disfigure, injure, tamper with,
or displace or remove any facility, bridges, tables, benches, fireplaces,
railings, paving or paving material, waterlines or other public utilities
or parts or appurtenances thereof, signs, notices or placards (whether temporary
or permanent), monuments, stakes, posts or other boundary markers, or other
structures or equipment, facilities, or park property or appurtenances whatsoever,
either real or personal.
C.
It shall also be the individual's responsibility to cooperate
in maintaining rest rooms and washrooms in a neat and sanitary condition.
The Committee is hereby authorized and empowered to enforce all rules
and regulations in this chapter or issued by the Town Board in accordance
with the authority granted in this chapter.
[Amended 11-21-2002 by Ord. No. 2002-1; 2-16-2006
by Ord. No. 2006-03]
[Added 7-19-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-07]
A.
The Recreation Director shall have the authority to solicit sponsorships and donations for equipment or facilities used for Recreation Department activities. All requests for sponsorship and donations shall be forwarded to the Town Board for approval determination in accordance with Subsection B.
B.
All sponsorships and donations shall be subject to the
approval of the Town Board. Basis of approval shall include, but not be limited
to:
(1)
The suitability of the written signs, or displays or
public recognition of donors and sponsors to the equipment proposed.
(2)
The suitability of the written signs, or displays or
public recognition of donors and sponsors to the age of the participants of
the Recreation Department activity where they will be displayed.
(3)
The suitability of the written signs, or displays or
public recognition of donors and sponsors to the facility where it will be
displayed.
(4)
The amount of money that the donation or sponsorship
will generate for the Town.
(5)
Compliance with all other ordinances in effect in the
Town.
(6)
The acceptability of any conditions attached to the donation,
and the purpose for which the donation is made.
(7)
Any other conditions the Town Chair determines are appropriate.
C.
All donations shall be made to the Town of Vernon, and
not to any department or unit within the Town government. If the donation
is cash, it shall be placed in the general fund of the Town of Vernon, unless
specifically directed otherwise by the Town Board.
D.
If it is contemplated that there will be any written
sign or display or other public recognition of the donation or sponsorship,
the donor or sponsor shall sign an acknowledgment form. There shall be no
contractual rights associated with the recognition, sign or display, but instead
the recognition, sign or display shall be deemed to be the Town's voluntary
and revocable recognition of the donation.
E.
All signs, displays or other public recognition shall
be subject to Town Board approval.
