BETHEL — During the Bethel Town Board meeting August 13, several residents complained about what they say is a lack of enforcement of the safety of boat operation as well as noise levels on White Lake.

Concerns included “banana boats” with children riding on them and jumping in the water, as well as continual amplified music on the water late at night, the residents said.

Bethel resident Paul Hantman cited a boat out on the lake during a lightning storm. He also observed children being pulled by a boat while “holding onto a rope two to three feet from the propeller”. He asked whether boat rental companies count the number of people on a boat at one time, and stated that it doesn’t seems wise that New York State doesn’t require a boat operating license to drivers of boat rentals. There is a one-hour training requirement, but it doesn’t seem to cover all applicable hazards and safety measures of boat operation. “If people start drowning in the lake, it’s not good for anyone,” he said.

White Lake resident Steve Altman said there are boom boxes on boats and that loud music is heard late at night. “We came here to relax…This is a circus,” he stated.

Resident Henne Altman said that loud music on the lake woke her up at 2 a.m. in the morning and that it was heard by a distant neighbor as well.

Smallwood resident Jonathan Hyman stipulated “our code doesn’t say music has to stop at 11 p.m”. He requested that the town code “clean up” its definition of what constitutes noise and the times of day that it is allowed. “It’s poorly explained in the code,” he said.

Bethel Town Supervisor Dan Sturm said that he understands that people who move here “want a certain quality of life” and “the town takes the noise problem very seriously.”

He clarified that before the noise code was rewritten 13 or 14 years ago, loud noise was defined at specific decibel levels for different types of noise. In practice, it became difficult to use a decibel meter to apply to each instance. Therefore, the law was changed and now utilizes an “unreasonable standard” of noise as a violation of the code.

The code states as unlawful: “Any sound created or caused to be created by any person, animal, machine, or instrument or items owned or operated by or under any such persons’ control that either annoys, disturbs, injures, or endangers the comfort, repose, health, peace, or safety of the public which causes injury or damage to property or business”.

Sturm said that essentially, if a person is indoors with the windows shut, and noise can be heard 75 feet away, it is too loud. He asserted that complaints should be called to 911 at any time of day or night, and that an officer will be available to investigate and issue a ticket.

Afterwards, the Building Department will inspect the circumstances and issue a violation, punishable by a $50-$300 fine that requires a court appearance before a judge, Sturm said.

The specific types of noise addressed in the Bethel noise code include noise emanating from construction equipment, which is legally allowed on weekdays 7 a.m.-6 p.m.; Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays 10 a.m.-4 p.m. An “unreasonable standard” is applied to noise emanating from outside speakers, amplifiers, and musical instruments, as well as from loud boats, automobiles, trucks, and motorcycles. According to this definition, a violation is defined as “any unreasonable noise which would annoy or disturb a reasonable person with normal sensitivities at any time”.