The Badger Herald: News: Oakcrest facing noise charges

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Oakcrest facing noise charges

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Also by Darryl Schnell:

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Tuesday, February 8, 2005 12:00 a.m.

7 Vote 0 Votes

The Madison City Council voted Monday night to wait until after the first 2005 home football game to address noise complaints at the Oakcrest Tavern, 1421 Regent St.

Residents near the tavern have complained about the noise coming from the outdoor beer garden for months. The residents called upon the council to eliminate the amplified music that comes from the bar on home football game days. An impending change in ownership caused the council to push back their decision to a later date.

“We cannot determine what’s going to happen until next fall,” Ald. Paul Van Rooy, District 18, said. “The tavern now has new ownership, and the owner has no track record. We have to wait until next football season.”

Rod Luedtke, who will take over ownership, was present at the council meeting. He is scheduled to close the deal Feb. 16. Luedtke said he was aware of the noise complaints that came from members of the community in the past.

Charles Thimmesch, a concerned citizen at the meeting, concurred with the neighbors’ complaints.

“I’ve been to the Oakcrest on game days,” Thimmesch said. “It’s so loud there that I can barely talk with the person standing next to me.”

Thimmesch asked Luedtke if he were aware of some people, especially older people frequenting the Oakcrest Tavern, who would like to be able to carry on a conversation.

Luedtke capitulated to Thimmesch’s point but said music is important to attract many of his younger customers. Luedtke said he is willing to work with the community to make sure everyone is aware and pleased with how the business will be run in the coming season.

Luedtke said he would be willing to make necessary changes to Oakcrest’s sound system to meet the bar’s conditional regulations. The regulations were put into place to restrict the decibel level of the music coming from the tavern. Previous owners reportedly did not abide by these restrictions. Luedtke said his sound system would be different.

“I was at the Oakcrest Tavern for the last two home games this season and saw how they set up their speakers then,” Luedtke said. “Instead of having the speakers 12 feet off the ground like they did, I’m going to bring the speakers down to ground-level. I think doing this will improve the sound quality for the customers and will reduce the noise going out into the neighborhood.”

Many council members were happy with Luedtke’s willingness to cooperate with Oakcrest’s neighbors and had only a few suggestions for him. Some council members said they want Luedtke to work with building inspectors to reduce the noise coming from the tavern as much as possible.

The council also said a zoning staff will visit Luedtke at his tavern during the first few home football games next season to make sure he abides by his bar’s conditional noise regulations.

The council will make a decision on the matter after hearing from the zoning staff and members of the neighborhood surrounding Oakcrest Tavern next during the next football season.

7 Comments | Leave a comment

Anonymous | February 8, 2005 9:47 AM | Reply
IP hash: 7df99636

it’s 8 weekends a year, tell the neighbors to deal with it or move!

Anonymous | February 8, 2005 10:48 AM | Reply
IP hash: ec7eaeea

What about the stench from the grills and fryers that pollutes the neighborhood?

Anonymous | February 8, 2005 12:20 PM | Reply
IP hash: 89f601a5

Amen to the first poster. Most of these idiots probably moved there long after the OCT (which I will continue to call it) had established football traditions such as the beer garden.

They make a large chunck of their income from football games, would the neighbors rather have an empty building to look at?

Anonymous | February 8, 2005 12:58 PM | Reply
IP hash: d4aed953

Sounds to me like they should have researched the neighborhood a little more before moving in. Last I time I checked you look at a house and the surrounding area BEFORE you buy it? If you don’t like it, then move.

Anonymous | February 8, 2005 5:52 PM | Reply
IP hash: ec7eaeea

Being a nuisance for 9 years does not give one a license to be a nuisance. If I were a neighbor I’d sue them.

Anonymous | February 8, 2005 6:33 PM | Reply
IP hash: db499463

The neighbors should fight fire with fire. They could set up huge speakers and blast opera at the tavern all day long, every day. The noise would almost certainly kill the business.