Downtown biz hit with noise violation citation

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December 4, 2012

Downtown biz hit with noise violation citation

Full band and open patio doors result in $500 ticket

Anonymous Mineral Wells Index The Mineral Wells Index Tue Dec 04, 2012, 08:28 AM CST

By CHRIS AGEE

Fuzzy’s Taco Shop, criticized by several neighboring residents in recent months for reportedly excessive noise, was cited for violating the city’s noise ordinance Saturday evening.

According to Mineral Wells police reports, officers arrived at the restaurant, in the 300 block of North Oak Drive, shortly after 10 p.m. in response to a complaint.

Officers reportedly used certified decibel meters to measure the noise and received a reading of 90 dbA – 10 decibels higher than the maximum for mixed-use districts during that time period and five more than the state maximum.

Reports indicate officers attained the reading and issued a $500 citation to the manager on duty.

Fuzzy’s manager Mary Devitt said she was not working Saturday night but came in during the evening and noticed louder-than-usual music coming from the bar area.

She said The Riders were performing with a full band instead of Fuzzy’s usual acoustic entertainment.

“We’ve tried in the past with two or three other bands to have a whole setup instead of an acoustic show,” Devitt said, explaining previous performances did not cause any disruption outside of the business.

Saturday night, though, the patio doors were open and the loud music escaped to nearby residences.

“They played for about an hour,” she said. “I came up here and asked our employees to close the doors. I noticed it was probably louder than it was supposed to be.”

Though she said Fuzzy’s takes responsibility for violating the ordinance and is diligent in preventing similar complaints in the future, Devitt said she wishes officers had allowed employees to correct the issue before issuing a citation.

“The police officer that was in there the previous time said [officers] will stay and do another reading,” she said. “That’s not what happened Saturday.”

As for members of The Riders, Devitt said they were extremely apologetic and shut down their show early out of respect for neighbors.

“We don’t close until one in the morning,” she said, explaining the band packed up before 11 p.m., prompting many patrons to leave shortly thereafter.

She said the band is booked to return for another performance, though she explained staff will be sure to close the patio doors before that and any other full band show.