The evolving proposed ordinance to regulate e-bikes and e-scooters in town will get another public hearing on July 21. The latest version would set the minimum age at 10 years old, and would require that young users attend a safety class and pass a skills test.

The original ordinance proposed in May would have set the minimum age for operators at 14 years old. A revised ordinance presented to the assembly at its meeting on July 8 would have set the minimum at 12.

The assembly on July 8 voted 2-3 against an amendment that would have eliminated the age requirement entirely.

Members then voted 3-2 to adopt an amendment setting the age at 10 years old, and voted by the same 3-2 margin to schedule the amended ordinance for another public hearing at the next assembly meeting.

Assembly Members Brittani Robbins and Jim DeBord voted against advancing the ordinance; Mayor Patty Gilbert and Assembly Members Bob Dalrymple and Phillip Mach voted in support of the measure.

“Kids need to be walking and using their bicycles,” Robbins said of the exercise value that is lost with e-bikes and e-scooters, particularly for younger children.

DeBord, Robbins and Gilbert voted against the motion to eliminate the age limit. “I think it’s too high of a risk,” DeBord said of no age restriction.

Mach and Dalrymple voted in support of no age limit.

Robbins and DeBord voted against the amendment to set the limit at 10 years old. “It’s already to me, meeting in the middle,” DeBord said of sticking with a 12-year-old minimum.

Two members were absent from the July 8 meeting.

Nothing in borough or state code currently restricts young people from operating e-bikes or e-scooters, both of which are growing in popularity.

In addition to setting a minimum age for users, the Wrangell ordinance, if adopted by the assembly, would require young operators to attend a safety class run by the police department and pass a skills test, much like people need to pass a test to get a state driver’s license.

Riders could avoid the borough safety class and test if they have a state-issued driver’s license or learner’s permit. The minimum age for a learner’s permit is 14.

“There’s going to be some tears shed over this,” Police Chief Gene Meek said of the expectation that some youngsters may fail the new borough-administered test.

“There will be growing pains on each side,” he said of police running the class and administering the test, and kids who attend the class and take the test.

The police department has not yet developed the exam.

“If you can pass the test, you should be permitted to ride” an electric-assisted bike or scooter, Borough Manager Mason Villarma said of the provision.

“We can all agree there are 10-year-olds smarter than some 20-years-olds,” Villarma said.

The ordinance would ban riders from schools, parks, playgrounds, trails, sidewalks, docks and harbor floats, the golf course, cemeteries, the Mariners’ Memorial and other public spaces.

Helmets would be mandatory for anyone under 18.

The ordinance also includes a section on parental responsibility: “A parent or guardian of a minor violates this chapter if he or she knowingly permits, or through failure to exercise reasonable supervision or control, allows his or her child or ward to operate a micromobility device in violation of this chapter. … Violations of this section are subject to citation.”

Separate from the ordinance to regulate the use of e-bikes and e-scooters, the assembly on July 21 will consider an ordinance to set fines for violations.

Under the ordinance, repeat violators would risk impoundment of their bike or scooter, with a $150 fee and a daily impound charge.

Police also could revoke a borough-issued operator’s permit.

The penalties for violating the new e-bike and e-scooter rules would be set at $75 for failure to wear a helmet and $75 for speeding, with several other infractions on the list, including as much as $150 for violating a traffic law.