Nevada Daily Mail

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Several weeks ago a local citizen came to a city council meeting to complain about loud car stereo systems and to request that the city do something about it.

Tuesday night the city council gave preliminary approval to an ordinance giving police a tool to quiet the problem.

The ordinance states that if a car stereo or radio can be heard more than 25 feet from the vehicle at any time of the day it is in violation of this new ordinance. First offenders of this ordinance will be issued a warning and prosecutions will be "limited to cases involving loud and unnecessary noise on streets, intersections and public places within the community" where the noise interferes with the prevailing level of quiet of a locality or could provide an unreasonable distraction to motorists in the area.

Bill McCaffree, city attorney, told the council that this type of ordinance is frequently ruled invalid under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

The beauty of this ordinance is that on the first offense it provides for a warning so the officer still has a way to suggest that the volume should be turned down and it is keyed to areas of town where it will interfere with safety and other activities, McCaffree told the council.

"Usually the kids will go through every major intersection, so if they are only stopped there it will provide an avenue for officers to talk to them and issue a warning," he told the council.

McCaffree said that if this does not work the city would have look at other measures.

"This is a good Band-Aid for a blowout," McCaffree said.

However, at some point the city will probably have to look at getting equipment to measure the sound level of stereos to have a successful prosecution, McCaffree said.

"First Amendment cases on excessive noise are very strict," he said.

In other business the council:

* Passed on second reading a special ordinance correcting the starting date to file for the 2005 city council election. Filing for the two open city council seats will start at 8 a.m. November 16 and will end at 5 p.m., December 21. The general election is April 5, 2005, and if more than four candidates file for the two seats a primary will be March 8.

* Approved the appointment of Mike Saathoff to fill an uexpired term on the airport board.

* Rejected, on the advice of the city manager, the submitted bids for a two-door Freightliner M2, extended cab, medium duty rescue truck for the fire department. The city manager said that the city will update the specifications for the truck and then again request bids.

* Approved the purchase of a 1991 Chevrolet bucket truck from F. L. Enterprises, for $7,000.

* Passed on second reading a general ordinance approving a development agreement with Bill G. and Janet F. Erwin, for a housing development on south Spring Street.

* Gave final approval to a general ordinance approving the sale of the Ozark Building to Cypress Grove Apartments, L.P., which will in turn assign its right, title and interest to Ash Place Historic Developers, L.P., Kansas City. The agreement is dependent on the approval of financing and receiving state and federal historic preservation tax credits.

* Passed on first reading a general ordinance amending Section 23-27 of the city code so that it complies with the states‚ concealed weapons law.

* Adjourned a public hearing, until the Nov.16 council meeting, concerning the Ashland Estates Plat 1 Neighborhood Improvement District after several citizens voiced concerns about how the city proposed running sewer service to the project.

* Postponed consideration of an ordinance authorizing the Ashland Estates Plat 1 NID.

* Passed on first reading a general ordinance correcting the wording in the city's sewer ordinances so the city can qualify for state grants..

* Passed on first reading a general ordinance removing parking from the south side of Douglas Street adjacent to the heliopad for the Nevada Regional Medical Center for safety reasons.

* Passed on first reading a general ordinance setting the procedures the IMPACT Tourism board must follow to issue their annual grants from the city's guest tax receipts.

* Passed on first reading a general ordinance approving an agreement with Consolidated Public Water Supply District No. 1 to make it possible for the city to provide sewer service to housing developments that are inside the Nevada city limits and receive their water from PWSD No. 1.

The agreement provides a method for the city to have the water district shut off the water to customers who do not pay their monthly sewer tax bill from the city.