St. Joseph City Commissioners have given the green light to the Sandbar and Grille on Lakeshore Drive to continue offering outdoor music later at night than would normally be allowed this summer.
Last month, commissioners agreed to let Sandbar owner Tom Jennings schedule bands to play until 11 p.m. on weekends throughout the month of July. It was a test run to see if police would see big jump in noise complaints. At this week’s meeting of the city commission, Jennings was back to request that the outdoor music be allowed to continue beyond this month.
“And so we are now ready to continue for the rest of the year,” Jennings said. “I’ve got entertainment lined up until September 14, which will be our last day. It’s a Saturday. Having the extra time has been very beneficial. It makes it more worthwhile to do it.”
Jennings also asked that the shows be allowed to go as late as 11:30.
Questioned by city commissioners, St. Joseph Public Safety Director Steve Neubecker said he’s gotten two noise complaints about the weekend shows this month. One of them involved the band playing for a few minutes later than 11 p.m. Jennings said that was because the act started to do an encore, but then he stopped them.
Commissioners agreed to let the shows continue to 11 p.m. through September 14, turning down the request for an extension to 11:30. They also advised Jennings to continue being vigilant about when the music stops.
The normal city rules would only allow for outdoor music until 10 p.m.
