Let there be music!

Legion volunteers and community strike back at county noise bylaw

By Casandra Turnbull

Sometimes you just can’t win. You can provide financial support to community groups, organizations and nonprofits, provide a safe house for people to gather and enjoy the camaraderie of fellow veterans, neighbours and friends and host a variety of communitybased events like summer BBQs to help support your initiatives. It all sounds quite positive, doesn’t it?

If you haven’t guessed by now, I’m referring to the Paris Legion Branch 29 located at 70 William Street in Paris. The longstanding, historic building – one of the very few thriving legions today – is nestled in the flats of Paris. Every year the legion is supported by a strong group of volunteers who are dedicated to keeping it alive and well in the community. They host raffles, meat draws and community events to fundraise for their own operating costs, but also to be able to donate to Paris ringette, Paris hockey, Crime Stoppers, Veterans lunch, Paris Dover Band, Ayr Paris band, Salvation Army, the Cancer society, Paris Youth softball, and Girl Guides, to name a few.

Jeff Dawdy plays during an August 2023 BBQ on the Paris Legion patio. This past summer the county bylaw department put a stop to all outdoor music at the legion due to complaints from an area resident (s?). Two Paris Councillors are now working with legion members to get around the bylaw and allow music on the patio in 2025.

The secret to some of their success in being self-sufficient and supporting the community is their summer BBQs where residents can enjoy a beautiful Saturday afternoon outside, listen to live music and enjoy a deliciously grilled meal – really the epitome of a summer day, right?

It is a tremendous effort in getting enough volunteers to host the BBQs. Let me say that again –volunteers. Not paid staff, but volunteers who put forth their time for the love of the legion, its members and the community.

They were able to host the BBQs thanks in part to a recent renovation at the legion that saw the kitchen receive a huge upgrade to be able to support these types of events. The live musicians not only gained valuable exposure in their hometown, but also provided some light music to enjoy. We’re not talking about blaring, heavy metal, electric guitar type of music. Just simple one musician playing some acoustic guitar, setting just the right ambiance.

This past June, Bylaw Enforcement Department for the County of Brant received some complaints about the noise on the patio. The ‘noise’ from the afternoon BBQs, is always held during respectable hours of 1 pm to 4 pm Due to these complaints, the legion was told they were in violation of the county noise bylaw and would need to stop all outdoor music. And if not, the legion could lose their outdoor patio license.

Legion executive and volunteers hosted a public meeting this past week to address this issue and provide some insight to area residents on how important these outdoor BBQs are to their finances, which in turn supports community initiatives. After a summer of BBQs, sans the music, the legion reported that profits were way down In fact, when music is playing during these events, profits increase 500% -600%!

This public meeting was very well attended and the support for the legion grew tenfold when the news hit social media the following day The message is loud and clear –take a long look at your noise bylaw, County of Brant.

This is my opinion, for what it’s worth, but it’s disgusting that bylaw will pigeon hold a nonprofit agency who supports the very community they are trying to grow yet allows noise bylaw exemptions for larger FOR-PROFIT events – without naming names, events held at Lions Park or the Syl Apps Community Centre Bylaws are enforced, so they say, for the good of the community. But where in the world does common sense come into play? Give your head a shake and take this issue back to council to figure out a solution that works. I scoured the social media posts this week. I could not find one negative thing about these BBQs. Many of the residents who live by the legion support it With so much support it’s hard to imagine who complained and I am left wondering if the complaint wasn’t widely supported. Come on, we are talking about music for three hours in the middle of a weekend day, not late night, rowdy events.

Paris Councillors Lukas Oakley and Steve Howes attended the public meeting at the Legion, calling it a very informative night. They say they are dedicated to working through this issue with the Legion to bring music back to the patio in 2025, and I was happy to see their full fledge support This is what elected officials should do. Listen to the public and intervene when possible. It’s understandable there are some concerns, which are brought to council, that can’t be easily resolved due to complicated municipal and provincial governance– such as growing development as an example – but this is not an earth shattering, press stopping, groundbreaking concern. It’s a bylaw where exemptions are granted every year. Figure it out, County of Brant.

In the meantime, we’re heading into winter soon, so there’s plenty of time for Council to hash this out with county staff. I cannot wait to see how this plays out over the coming months I certainly hope to hear some music on the patio next summer. And for those in the area so disturbed by the noise, there’s lots of time to find ways to welcome the music for three short hours a week, it’s not a big ask. After all, the Legion was part of the flats of Paris long before anyone who lives there now

This is just my opinion. What is yours? Please share your thoughts as a letter to the editor by emailing managingeditor@theparisindepe ndent.com