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Residents press commission over continuous generator noise; board directs planning commission review and sheriff opens investigation
Summary
Multiple residents described round‑the‑clock noise from a generator tied to a commercial operation; the sheriff's office confirmed a criminal investigation is open and scheduled a meeting with company representatives. The board agreed to convene the planning commission for formal review of a draft noise resolution and asked counsel to attend.
Public comment at the Oct. 27 Bourbon County Commission meeting focused on a persistent noise complaint in the county’s northwest corner. Neighbors said a stationary generator — associated in public comments with crypto‑mining or related industrial activity — is producing continuous low-frequency noise and vibration that they say has disrupted sleep and reduced the livability of adjacent properties.
Multiple residents described the sound as continual, comparing it to an auger or combine on high idle. One resident, Derek, told commissioners the noise “sounds like an auger…just constant” and said it disturbed his home day and night. Several speakers asked the county to act. “I came down here for the peace and quiet, and it's gone,” one resident said.
Sheriff Martin told the board that the sheriff’s office has an active investigation and that a detective would meet with company representatives and counsel at the site the following day. “We just gather the information,” he said, and any determination about criminal charges would rest with the county attorney after a report is filed. The board’s county counselor cautioned that the commission’s legal authority to enforce a noise ordinance is limited without clear enabling rules and an enforcement mechanism; he noted that counties can employ codes enforcement officers under Kansas statute but that hiring such an officer would be a separate budgetary and policy decision.
Commissioners discussed a draft county noise resolution that had been circulated earlier in the month. The counselor and the sheriff advised that making noise a criminal offense at the county level is legally risky; they suggested code enforcement or planning-and-zoning pathways, or civil remedies, as more practicable alternatives. After discussion the board scheduled a planning‑commission meeting (Thursday at 5 p.m.) to examine the draft rules and public process. Commissioners also said they would continue mediation efforts and asked staff to keep the board informed of any developments from the sheriff’s investigation.
The board did not adopt an emergency prohibition at the meeting. Instead it directed the planning commission to review the draft and asked staff and counsel to prepare options and enforcement pathways that would be legally enforceable and practical for the county.
