contributed photo — The city council voted unanimously at its last meeting to support leasing about five acres of land to the Iowa River OHV (Off-Highway Vehicle) Club to install a skills course and bump track.

Riders of dirt bikes, ATVs and side-by-sides may soon have a new spot to master the art of off-roading.

The city council voted unanimously at its last meeting to support leasing about five acres of land to the Iowa River OHV (Off-Highway Vehicle) Club to install a skills course and bump track.

The club already operates one of only eight OHV courses in Iowa, Nicholson-Ford OHV Park located on E. Marion Street in northeast Marshalltown on another property leased from the city. It has been closed since the derecho caused tree damage throughout the park.

The property Iowa River OHV would like to utilize is a five acre piece of land north of the parking lot on E. Marion Street that is currently subject to an agriculture lease. It sits in an area where biosolids from the Wastewater Treatment Plant are spread.

Brian Arrowood, a rural Marshalltown resident representing the Iowa River OHV Club, presented to the council, discussing how the organization has operated its existing park since 2005.

“We’ve thought of some ideas to help the OHV community have a safe place to ride and enjoy their sport instead of ripping through neighborhoods and tearing up farm fields,” he said. “Part of that would be this area north of our parking lot. We could develop a skill area that would be functional all the time.”

Councilman Mike Ladehoff said the club has been a great entity to work with, noting that it had taken a poorly kept property in town and made it something to be proud of.

“It started out as what was a dump area. They had everything down there from Satanic rituals to four-wheel drive trucks,” he said. “These guys come along and say, ‘Hey, you let us use that area, we’ll take care of it.’ They’ve been a heck of a good steward. Everybody in my neighborhood loves them.”

Councilor Gary Thompson said he was unaware just how big of a deal OHV is, especially for Marshalltown.

“I was clueless. I didn’t know this existed down there,” he said. “I was impressed by just how much economic revenue this brings to Marshalltown. These guys come from out of town, and they spend the whole day here. The course, from what they’re describing, we’re going to see a boon in some economic stuff in those businesses on the north side of town.”

Dan Kleen, President of the National Off-Highway Vehicle Conservation Council, said the sport has experienced its largest year of growth with a nearly 30-percent uptick in OHV sales and registrations. There are about 65,000 registered vehicles in Iowa, and he estimates that there are far more which are unregistered.

“One thing that is unique is our sport is one of few where we pay our own way,” Kleen said. “State tax dollars don’t go to our parks. It’s all funded by volunteer registration.”

It’s also a sport that’s accessible across age groups and ability levels.

“Even people with limited mobility can get in one of these machines and run them,” he said. “It’s the great equalizer.”

Leaders in the OHV community are putting an emphasis on growing the sport among the youth and new riders in years to come. The proposed skills course and bump track would be one of the first in the state to have such an offering which fills the need of training new riders.

“So, you can take your kids out and teach them the basics in a safe environment,” Kleen said. “It would be a really unique opportunity and a great addition.”

City Administrator Jessica Kinser said the next steps would be discussing a potential 28E Agreement with the Department of Natural Resources, which would lease the new property in addition to what the club already uses through 2025. Because the deal would last longer than three years, a public hearing would be required.