NEWRY — The Board of Selectmen on Tuesday asked Code Enforcement Officer David Bonney to investigate noise ordinances and other such regulations, after hearing Randall Baker’s complaints of loud music and exploding fireworks from a wedding venue next to his home.
In 2013, Baker and his father sold their former farmhouse at 761 Sunday River Road to Julie and Frank Stevens, who turned it into a wedding venue, Mountain House on Sunday River. Baker said the title exchange was “less than amicable,” and because of that, he cannot have a constructive dialogue with the owners.
He said almost every weekend, a large number of guests, live bands and intoxicated individuals disturb the “overall feel of peacefulness represented in the valley.”
Baker said he has trouble sleeping at night because the loud music continues into the early hours of the morning and occasionally fireworks explode over his home.
“I am not against what they’re doing at my family’s farm; this is not a personal issue,” he said. “Things change, things move on, life happens. I, in fact, had my wedding reception at my father’s home. It’s a very happy time for people, I understand that. I want them to enjoy themselves. But I want them to shut it down at 9 p.m. I don’t think that’s too much to ask.”
The board will ask Bonney to provide information on laws regulating noise.
Also Tuesday, selectmen held a public hearing on the Nov. 8 referendum asking voters whether to terminate the town’s agreement with Oxford County Regional Recycling Corp. If it passes, the deal will end July 1, 2017.
“Since we switched to single-stream recycling, OCRR no longer has anything to pick up,” Selectman Jim Largess said. Casella (Waste Systems) picks everything up and brings it right to their facility.”
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