It appears as if the possibility of UTVs being allowed on Leitchfield streets will be determined by how Grayson County Fiscal Court addresses the issue, if at all.
The Leitchfield City Council at Tuesday night’s meeting was asked by a concerned citizen about considering passing an ordinance allowing UTVs on Leitchfield streets.
“The county will not pass it,” Councilman Billy Dallas said. “I’ve talked to each and every one of them (magistrates) … I am against it unless the county can get on board.”
Dallas’ concern with an ordinance allowing UTVs on Leitchfield streets arises from the possibility, or probability, that if the county does not pass the ordinance, UTV riders and county law enforcement will potentially be placed in awkward positions.
Dallas’ thinking is that riders will come from outside the city limits (where UTV usage on roadways is illegal) to visit stores and conduct business and then return home, beyond the city limits.
“If you can get the county on board, I’m on board, personally,” Dallas added.
Law enforcement concern
Acting Leitchfield Police Department Chief Ian Renfrow again stated Tuesday night that his primary concern with an ordinance allowing UTVs on city streets is the possibility of an operator fleeing police.
“Last time my biggest concern was if someone came into town (on a UTV) and we tried to stop them. In the past, UTVs don’t stop for us, they take off and we end up in a pursuit. Our guys can’t pursue a UTV through town. That’s way too dangerous.”
Renfrow expounded on his comment by adding that invariably, when law enforcement is pursuing a UTV the operator goes off road, creating dangerous situations for innocent citizens.
Pawn shop ordinance
At the August 17, 2026, Leitchfield City Council meeting, Renfrow requested the council adopt an ordinance requiring pawn shops to use Leads Online, a theft recovery resource.
Renfrow said that LPD began using Leads Online last year, “an investigative tool that tracks moveable property, scrap dealers, (pawn shops), things like that; places where people often take stolen stuff to unload it.”
He added that without an ordinance requiring local pawn shops to utilize Leads Online, they aren’t required to use the free service.
“We are finding stolen stuff in Louisville, we’re finding it in Evansville, we’re finding it in Owensboro, but if it’s here (in Leitchfield), we won’t find it because our local pawn shops don’t report (to Leads Online),” Renfrow told the council.
LPD has been using Leads Online for about a year, Renfrow stated, and has recovered stolen property using the tool.
“With the success we’ve already had with it, I think that we’ve used it long enough to know that this is going to be helpful in recovering stolen property for our victims here in Leitchfield,” he said. “It’s definitely something we could use a lot more of if we had access to it here in town.”
While pawn shops are required to cooperate with law enforcement regarding stolen property, oftentimes the stolen property has already been sold by the time police make their way to the pawn shop.
“Pawn shops are already required to report to us. But the way it works locally right now, if an officer has a case they would walk in the (business) and ask. A lot of times, we’re too late,” according to Renfrow. “By the time we get the lead, the piece of (stolen) property is already gone, or we don’t have enough information to follow-up on it any further.”
At Tuesday night’s City Council meeting, City Attorney Earlene Wilson held the first reading of an ordinance requiring pawn brokers in the city of Leitchfield to use Leads Online.
The ordinance calls for a fine of not more than $25 for every day a pawn shop is not in compliance with the ordinance, which goes into effect 30 days after its passage.
The council will vote on the ordinance at the next regularly scheduled meeting on September 21.
