Fed up Bayshore Drive residents won a small victory last week when the Oak Harbor City Council agreed to look at a rule that would force a nightclub owner to hire off-duty police officers.
No formal vote was taken and it’s unclear how the requirement would work or whether it’s even feasible as several council members and the city police chief voiced concerns about the legality of the proposed rule.
However, nearly everyone at the June 28 council meeting agreed that past attempts by the city to curb late noise at the Element nightclub on Bayshore Drive have been unsuccessful. Some also felt that the owner wasn’t doing his part and that forcing him to hire cops would show how serious they are.
“I think we need to get his attention,” City Councilman Bob Severns said.
Club owner Mike Kummerfeldt was not in attendance. He could not be reached for comment by press time.
Controversy about the nightclub, particularly concerning noise generated by patrons after closing time, has persisted for years. The council has attempted to mitigate the situation by attaching a range of conditions to the club’s license.
According to Oak Harbor Police Chief Rick Wallace, Kummerfeldt has adhered to them all, from hiring additional security to meeting with him and other police detectives on a regular basis. Kummerfeldt even redesigned a room in the building to better insulate it from noise.
But despite all the measures taken, neighbors that live across the street were once again before the council complaining that noise was as bad as ever. Most said it was so bad that they couldn’t sleep, even after investing in noise-cancellations machines.
“We really, truly are being afflicted by noise, loud noise,” Billy Cook said.
Several said it seemed police weren’t doing anything about it, even when they were present. Wallace said the problem isn’t from noise inside the club, but from patrons in the parking lot. And most of the time, it’s coming from large crowds, which makes citing individuals very difficult.
“This is a very complicated issue … We can’t just say the group was loud and cite just this person,” Wallace said. “It’s our obligation to have evidence.”
Wallace said the problem is frustrating for police too, but that he doesn’t feel he can justifiably punish Kummerfeldt for noise from customers who have already left his business.
It would be “unreasonable” to hold individuals responsible for crowd noise and probably “unconstitutional” to pass an ordinance that would hold Kummerfeldt liable for their actions.
Council members were equally stumped, with several saying they were at a loss of how they can legally fix the situation.
The proposal to require Kummerfeldt to hire off-duty officers was pitched by City Councilman Rick Almberg. He said he was in the club once and noticed the impact uniformed officers can have.
“Maybe our ordinance should require that they (club owners) have so many uniformed police officers at their expense on the premise,” Almberg said.
Wallace said the requirement could present some logistical problems for the department, ranging from issues of pay to leaving the city shorthanded for officers. City Councilman Jim Campbell also voiced concern, wondering if the law would have to apply to all nightclubs in order to be legal.
Ultimately, the council did agree that Wallace and the city’s attorneys should look into the matter further and come back with more information. Although nothing conclusive was decided, Bayshore residents said they felt it was big step in the right direction.
