When it comes to outdoor concerts, it seems there are more than a few residents in Mount Forest who do not consider rock and roll the Sound of Music.
It is relatively rare for Wellington North councillors to get multiple letters of complaint regarding a single event, but on Monday night, council considered several pieces of correspondence voicing concerns – topped off by a letter of apology from promoter Richard Sharpe.
Most of those who wrote came as delegations.
Sharpe, of the Old Roxy Theatre, was not among them.
While his letter thanked the municipality for its support of Roxy Summer Nights June 9 and 10, he also apologized to council and the community “for any inconvenience due to the volume and length for the show [that] ran on June 10.
“It was decided to present the show on Sunday appealing to the youth of our community and surrounding communities when several of the artists became available for Sunday performances, creating a show that would normally have not been available in rural Ontario.
“However, out of respect for local churches it was necessary to hold our sound checks to prevent interferences with local church services. Therefore preventing our production team from meeting our self-imposed curfew. In hindsight, presenting a show of this nature and length on Sunday may well have been an error in judgement.
“Given the above and local concerns it has been decided there shall be no more outdoor shows on Sunday, save and except for long weekends, further respecting our local citizens and parishioners.”
Barbara Noss’s letter outlined her complaints about “the terrible noise from the rock concert held behind the Roxy Theatre over the weekend. It was a terrible noise and whoever gave them permission to run this concert should have been sitting on my deck three blocks away. We had no peace all weekend until I called the police to complain at 11:20pm Sunday evening. I do hope there will not be any more performances like this in the future.”
Resident Gail Payne also wanted “to go on record with a formal complaint about the ‘noise pollution’ we were subjected to over this weekend, June 9 and 10 … emanating from the parking lot of the Old Roxy Theatre in Mount Forest.
“As suggested by you, I checked the Old Roxy website, and did indeed find advertising there regarding this event, however, I should point out as a senior citizen, I really have no interest in checking websites for rock concerts, no matter where they are being held.”
Payne’s letter stated, "We live at 176 Fergus Street, in Mount Forest, almost directly behind the municipal parking lot at the back of the Old Roxy Theatre. On both Saturday and Sunday, we were forced to listen to excessively loud rock music, which began at 1pm on both days and ended at 12:11am Sunday morning and 11:30pm Sunday night.
Payne pointed out the Roxy website stated shows would begin at 3pm on Saturday and 4pm on Sunday.
While she lodged a noise complaint to the OPP on Sunday morning, she was told that because the township approved the permit, there was nothing that could be done – but an officer would check to try to reduce the volume.
"In fact, the volume kept increasing as the day wore on, to the point where we had to close all our windows in order to get a bit of peace, and be able to hear ourselves think. And sitting outside on a beautiful summer weekend was completely out of the question. The whole weekend was absolutely intolerable," Payne said.
While nothing can change what happened, she asked if another similar event is planned this summer, and if so, would she like some advance notification. In her presentation to council on Monday night, she said her major concerns are the lack of notice to area residents, and the volume.
Her original understanding was the concert was supposed to be for one day, only to discover Sunday that another show was running that afternoon. In reviewing council minutes, all she saw was council’s approval earlier this year for the Roxy to hold two events. If the two concerts are considered one event, she asked when the next one is planned.
In talking to other residents, "I’ve heard the term – being held hostage," Payne said.
Mayor Mike Broomhead agreed council approved two events, but was uncertain if the weekend concerts would be considered one or two. He also believed there was a signed agreement for concert times, which would need to be looked into.
Resident Douglas Teddiman asked to be a delegation at the night’s meeting to propose changes to the township’s noise bylaw. He, too, has concerns with the concerts, from a different perspective.
As a local realtor, he said one of the people at his office was showing a property at the time the concert was being held. The town did not show well, as a result, he said.
While police were at the site to remove drunk or disorderly persons, Teddiman had concerns with control of those individuals once they were back on the main street. He believes some of the problems could be alleviated through amendments to the township’s noise bylaw to prevent exemptions, such as the one granted to Sharpe for the concerts.
Teddiman stated council should not allow exemptions unless they are for a community-based event or a community fundraiser. "It should be the community at large which benefits, not one or two businesses."
He believes that if the show had been a community fundraiser, a different approach would have been taken.
Teddiman said the music ended around 11:31pm for the Sunday performance. "That is unacceptable for a Sunday night." He added that amending the noise bylaw "would prevent future councils from taking away our rights."
Teddiman did say he supports community events, but he does not believe in "holding residents at ransom."
A letter from James and Margaret Black lodged a vehement complaint about the noise.
"We found the level of noise extremely annoying and inconsiderate. We live two blocks away from the source of this disturbance and our plans for the enjoyment of normal weekend activities were totally destroyed. We thought Sunday would bring relief. But No! the show must go on! We had to leave town to get relief."
Keri Benn and Jim Bowden Jr., also wrote to council with a recommendation to move the venue to somewhere farther from a residential area. They presented council with a petition signed by residents upset with the noise created by the concerts. Their suggestion was not to ban the concerts, but to find a more acceptable venue.
Benn suggested that once the new arena is built, the old one might be used, which would confine and control the noise.
Bowden said the noise remains a big issue. He noted the municipality has a 76 acre property on the edge of town it is trying to sell. If the concert was held there, he doubts there would be the same concerns by residents.
Benn agreed the concerts did bring business to Mount Forest during that weekend, but she also believes the business would have still come had the concerts been held elsewhere in the community.
She added they had friends who claimed they could hear the music [faintly] in Conn, many miles away.
Bowden added that if part of the approval is because a donation was to be made to the new arena project, he believes it should be made public exactly how much the donation is.
Benn added part of the concern of local residents is they do not know where the money is going. She also noted that while she used to be employed by Sharpe, she believes a future concert should be at a different location.
Resident Anne Kennedy stated she was less than entertained by the weekend concerts. With a home backing on to the site, "I got the concert up close and personal."
She was also not impressed with nine portable toilets being lined up near the property line adjacent to her living room window on hot, humid days.
She also had issues with the walkway to her property being blocked off by fencing to contain the concert.
"If council does not want the beer or liquor store open Sunday, why allow this? "Unless you live next door to it, you can’t imagine the hell."
Because of the noise, and being unable to sleep, Kennedy said she’s missed a day of work. She also stated not all residents were informed of the concerts ahead of time.
"I don’t appreciate the thought of another concert being held there," she said.
If the event is moved, she said it should not be into another residential area.
At that point Mayor Mike Broomhead made a few clarifications to what was stated.
He said that a no time has council said that either the Beer Store or the LCBO could not open on Sundays. "If they want to, all they need to do is put an open sign on the door."
The issue in that case is that before either business will open, it wants a letter of support from council and council is unwilling to provide a letter supporting Sunday openings.
He added valid points were also raised concerning the noise bylaw. However, as for concerns the concerts were held in a residential area, he stated the parking lot is located in the downtown commercial area, even though he agreed there are a number of people living in that area.
Payne wanted to know if another concert is being planned this summer. "If so, I will leave town that weekend. This year it was totally intolerable."
Broomhead said the issue will go back to the township property committee for further discussion.
Teddiman said that traditionally, for each person taking the time to write in or come to council, there are another 200 concerned residents. "Whether or not the property is zoned residential is immaterial,” he said The noise levels were too high."
He asked if an exemption form was ever filled out by Sharpe.
Clerk Lori Heinbuch stated when council granted permission for the concerts as a community event, the form was not required.
Teddiman disagreed.
Bowden also asked if the concert is being considered a community event, “Where is the money going? How can it be classed as a community event, when it disrupts the community more?”
Councillor John Matusinec confirmed he had supported the original permit, but after hearing residents that night, he said he would not do so again without a number of changes. He said that the last time the concerts happened, the feedback received by council was that there was little concern.
Paraphrasing Teddiman, Matusinec quipped that if one person at council that night “represented 100 pissed off people, I’m glad I’m not in that ward [as representative].”
Councillor Bob Mason had also originally supported the concerts.
“Perhaps we were led down the garden path on some issues,” Mason said.
“We were told it was not going to be a rock concert.”
He also noted that while some businesses did very well as a result of the concert, there are a lot of very upset people.
“Unless the next [concert][ involves a 50-page contract, there’s no way I can support it,” he said.
When the turn to comment came to councillor Ross Chaulk, who also chairs the property committee, his response was blunt.
“I don’t know what to say. I voted against this in the first place.”
He said the reason he originally voted against it was concerns over potential noise in a small town. He added that council approved two events – each of which would encompass five days from set up to take down.
Chaulk said if the weekend concerts are labelled as a single event, there could well be another concert this summer.
“And I still won’t support it.”
Mason said it is debatable if this would be considered one or two events.
Broomhead, however, stated it does not matter if one voted in favour of the event because councillors still live with that decision.
“We had an event, and it is unfortunate how it turned out [for some].”
He also said a number of businesses responded that the concert had a positive effect for them.
“Council is between a rock and a hard place.”
He agreed council may need to look at another possible location.
Chaulk took exception at the suggestion that, after a recorded vote, “councillors are being told to fall in line.”
“We are not the Liberals or the NDP; we were elected as independent voice.”
