Noise ordinance discussion resumes at council meeting

11:30 p.m. outdoor concert cutoff time voted down

Two weeks after Marshalltown Police Chief Mike Tupper first approached the city council about cutting off music and alcohol sales for outdoor events at 11:30 p.m., citing noise complaints, the discussion continued near the end of Monday night's meeting.

As he approached the podium, Tupper indicated hesitation about taking the lead on the matter but said he would try his best before laying out the main changes he was requesting on the noise ordinance. One of the changes, which no one seemed to have much of an objection to, would allow the MPD to address loud noises created by squealing tires, an authority the department had until the city went through recodification.

"We lost it somehow, so we'd love to get that back in there because that's a helpful code section for our patrol staff," Tupper said. "We do receive quite a few complaints about loud vehicles, loud noises from vehicles. So that would be helpful."

The other, more controversial item was the recommendation that outdoor concerts be cut off at 11:30 p.m., and Tupper noted that Oktemberfest always wraps up by that time and it wasn't a number he had "just pulled out of a hat."

"It seems to work, and I think that's a reasonable number for other events in the community. Some of these events are held near residential areas, and 11:30 seems to be a reasonable standard," he said. "But I'm open to discussion. What I would like to get away from is the 2 a.m. stuff because the longer that some of these events go with alcohol, the more difficult it becomes for our law enforcement staff. It's dangerous, quite frankly, for us, and it becomes dangerous for the public. People are having too much of a good time sometimes."

Tupper then joked that he was happy to answer questions or "have people throw shoes at me," and Councilor Mike Ladehoff was the first to speak up by saying he wasn't sure if he agreed with the idea.

"We're trying to attract bigger and bigger things to Marshalltown, and I'm not sure if it would be a hindrance to bringing bigger things to town," he said. "I think the 11:30 time is a little -- I like even numbers, 12:00. Everybody understands that... I've gotta think about this."

Fellow councilor Gary Thompson said he had no issue with the squealing tire modifications but wanted to see the outdoor event cutoff stay at 2 a.m. because that's how late bars are allowed to stay open, noting that at least one downtown establishment has an open air courtyard with entertainment running that late.

"Knowing that 90 percent of these are gonna take place at the fairgrounds, I guess my feeling is leave it at 2 a.m. on the concerts. Again, I like even numbers too, but I like two better than 12," Thompson said.

Councilor Jeff Schneider had no qualms with the 11:30 cutoff, citing the old adage that "nothing good happens after midnight," and fellow Councilor Barry Kell said the restriction "seems reasonable." Thompson then added that he wished those who are in charge of booking acts for the concerts were at the meeting to tell their side of the story.

"I know that we get a lot of entertainers that are coming through on the way to somewhere else. They can't be here early enough to get set up and run a show," Thompson said. "I think some of our promoters are gonna lose out on some acts, so I think we need to be cautious and probably talk to some people that book the acts to find out what cutoff time is gonna hinder us more than help us."

The lone public comment came from Doris Kinnick, and she contended that Midnight Gardens Owner Luisa Ortega, who attended the previous meeting to request a temporary liquor license for an outdoor rodeo at the Central Iowa Fairgrounds, should have been on hand to speak.

"You have to realize that these concerts are only gonna go on in the summer. They're not gonna go on in the winter, so it isn't something that's a year-round type of thing," Kinnick said. "But I would definitely go along with what Mike (Ladehoff) said. You've gotta think about this and, again, talk to the people who are the ones doing the booking of these shows."

Schneider made a motion to direct staff as outlined in the memo, which would impose the 11:30 cutoff time for outdoor events, but it failed with only two affirmative votes from Schneider and Al Hoop and Kell, Ladehoff, Thompson and Dex Walker opposing. Gabe Isom, who had been participating in the meeting via Zoom, had dropped off by that point.

Ladehoff then made a subsequent motion to table the issue to allow for further investigation and the opportunity to bring more of the involved parties in for discussion. That motion carried 5-1 with Hoop opposing.

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Contact Robert Maharry

at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or

rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.