Update: Nancy Avery writes,
"So folks, now that my secret is out concerning my past behavior in local bars I want you to know that I have met today with Steve Bitonti at The Boat. It was very cordial and I have high hopes for a solution. The issue isn't as simple as some people think but with co-operation and a sense of fairness, I believe it can be solved."
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Two local residents presented before City Council Tuesday, asking for help.
They claim the music emanating from waterfront nightclub The Boat is too loud, and they want something done about it. By their count, until the restaurant and bar cease operations at Thanksgiving, they face 43 sleepless nights if the nuisance is not addressed.
Getting to sleep has been an issue on nights when the popular summer spot operates between 11 p.m. and 2 a.m., and as Nancy Avery told councillors she has been awakened by the "thump, thump, thump," of the bass countless times during the summer operating season over the years. "It drives you nuts," she added.
Martha Gould, who lives a few blocks over from Avery's Main Street West location, approximately one kilometre from The Boat, said she has called the police several times about the late-night noise, and while "they are invariably polite, they say there is not much they can do about it." She has also started a petition in her neighbourhood and says every time she has sought the support of her neighbours, she meets someone else who has had the same issue with the noise.
Any noise exceeding set limits past prescribed times requires an exemption from the by-law. Avery and Gould say that the music from The Boat begins at 11 p.m. and then continues non-stop until the 2 a.m. closing time.
Avery indicated that she met with Mayor Al McDonald and by-law enforcement officer Ron Melnyk to express her concerns. The City officials spoke to the operators of The Boat and all seemed settled until this past Saturday when the music could be heard by residents once again.
Avery and Gould are clear that they do not want The Boat to be shut down, but they say enough is enough. "I've been to a few bars in my lifetime," said Avery, adding that the difference is those clubs had walls and a roof to mute the sounds coming from them.
Avery also wondered how guests at the new Homewood Suites on Oak Street West would enjoy their stays on nights when the nightclub had the music going late on the shore of Lake Nipissing? According to Avery, conversations with Melnyk have led her to believe that because some retirement communities situated near the waterfront are not zoned as residential, therefore noise complaints from their residents cannot be addressed.
Furthermore, Avery also stated that Melnyk informed her that both the current operators of the bar, as well as the former owners, had been ticketed for noise violations in the past, paid their fines, and continued to operate.
Efforts to obtain comment from ownership of The Boat went unreturned before publication time.
It is a problem that may not be so easily rectified. Does city council back a thriving local business or show favour to taxpayers who say the very operations that bring money to that waterfront business are affecting their sleep patterns? Surely, a compromise can be reached.
Headline gotcha hummin'? Enjoy Meghan Trainor's official music video for 'All About That Bass'.
