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Neighbors, promoter and sheriff spar over Labor Day concert noise; promoter cited
Summary
Residents told Meade County commissioners that a Labor Day music festival at Bulldog Creek Campground repeatedly exceeded acceptable noise levels; the promoter and sheriff said they tried to comply and issued one citation. Commissioners discussed tightening enforcement, decibel standards and holiday exceptions.
Bulldog Creek Campground neighbors urged Meade County commissioners to tighten enforcement of the county's noise ordinance after a Labor Day music festival they said produced sustained low-frequency bass well past the ordinance cutoff.
"It started earlier and went … it lasted about 10 and a half hours till about 01:30 in the morning," Howard Scow told commissioners, describing repeated disturbances across Friday through Sunday. Scow said phone decibel apps at his property registered between "90 to a hundred" during peak periods and asked the commission to adopt a property-line decibel threshold and allow repeated citations when owners fail to comply.
Festival representative Casey Krebs, who said she is the founder of Impact Entertainment and represents Synesthesia Music & Arts Festival, said the promoter put procedures in place this year to limit noise and ran a food drive that raised more than 400 pounds for local pantries. "We tested that Friday and Saturday because we knew that Sunday we needed to make sure we are under that decibel limit," Krebs said. She said the event shifted to a headphone system after 1:30 a.m. and that her team had coordinated with the sheriff's office.
Sheriff Pat West said deputies responded to four service calls tied to the event over the weekend and that the promoter, identified in the record as Lucian (Ellucian) Bedard, was issued a citation after deputies visited the site at about 10:35 p.m. on Sunday. West told commissioners his office does not have a decibel-measuring device and relied on the county ordinance and his discussions with the promoter. "At 10:35, I had deputies at the location. They made contact with Mr. Bedard. He was issued a citation and was then summoned into court at a later date," West said.
County legal staff told the commission the ordinance contains an 80‑decibel limit and makes no special allowance for holidays that fall on weekdays; the county's maximum fine under the ordinance is $500. Commissioners debated whether to adopt a property-line decibel standard, create an escalating-citation approach (issue another citation if the promoter fails to reduce noise after notice) or revisit zoning and longer-term land-use restrictions. One commissioner noted the challenge of enforcing a single-decibel reading when sound levels can vary from moment to moment.
The commission did not take action at the meeting; the sheriff and legal staff said they would supply additional interpretation and commissioners left the item on the agenda for future consideration.
