St. Ambrose wins $125 noise ticket dismissal; case had spurred multiple lawsuits

Dec. 15—BEULAH — A judge heard testimony from a bride, a beekeeper and a county undersheriff before dismissing a $125 noise ordinance ticket which, records show, spurred lawsuits, appeals and counter-suits and has cost a small township nearly $100,000 in legal fees.

"The court is not satisfied that the music was at a level to negatively affect a reasonable person," 85th District Court Judge John Mead said Tuesday, at the close of a hearing in a case brought by Homestead Township against Kirk Jones, a local winery owner and beekeeper.

Homestead Township's controversial noise ordinance, which attorneys from a downstate law firm argued was an entirely appropriate way to control noise, prohibits sound which annoys a reasonable person of normal sensitivities.

The judge did not strike down the ordinance — that wasn't argued — he simply decided there was no merit to the complaint that precipitated the ticket.

"It's a relief to have it behind us," Jones said. "I just want to be a good neighbor and move on."

Jones estimated he spent about $20,000 defending his business from the lawsuit, challenging the ticket and filing a counter-suit accusing the township of violating the Freedom of Information Act.

In the FOIA lawsuit, Jones was previously awarded $14,000 in an out-of-court settlement, he said.

Responses from the township to FOIA requests filed by Jones and the Record-Eagle show the township, population 2,357, spent about $90,000 in legal fees as of July.

A representative with the Michigan Townships Association previously said municipal insurance policies generally cover legal fees when a government body is being sued, though do no when the government is the aggressor.

The judge made his ruling on the noise ordinance ticket after citing evidence, including videos, decibel readings and the cold, rainy weather in Homestead Township on Oct. 13, 2019, the night the ticket was issued.

"What is important about that?" the judge asked rhetorically. "It means all of the doors to that barn, the doors and windows, were shut that night."

Inside the barn, owned by St. Ambrose Cellars, a winery on Pioneer Road, the defense's first witness, Karine Pierson, was getting married that night. Then enjoying a reception with family and friends when officers showed up to investigate a noise complaint.

"I think it was at the end of the night when someone said, 'There's a cop here,' and I was like, 'What? Why?' It was kinda laughable," Pierson said.

The complaint was made by Karen Kamp, who lives behind St. Ambrose on Leya Lane, records show. In court testimony, the judge learned Kamp has made repeated complaints about the winery, some regarding live music and others about the facility's disc golf course or the honeybees Jones brings in seasonally to make the honey he sells and uses to brew mead.

That's where the undersheriff came in.

"On April 3 of 2020 I responded to the residence of Miss Kamp," said Benzie County Undersheriff Greg Hubers. "She had a complaint about the bees. Her complaint was she'd been stung several times. And she had some five-gallon buckets in her front and back yard filled with water and I observed maybe 20 or 25 dead bees in each of those buckets. She wanted to make a complaint against Mr. Jones about the bees being in her yard."

Frederik Stig-Nielsen of the Jesse Williams Law & Advocacy Center, who represents Jones, asked the undersheriff what action he took, if any.

"I advised her that I certainly didn't think that the bees or Mr. Jones had any ill intent," Hubers said. "And that she could certainly take action as far as a private beekeeper or an exterminator as far as the bees were concerned."

Kamp did not testify Tuesday and a call to her home went unreturned.

For the first time in more than two years, there are no active lawsuits between the township and Jones or St. Ambrose Cellars, court records show.

However Mead advised Stig-Nielsen to retain all video evidence in the event the township appeals his decision.

Township Supervisor Tia Kurina-Cooley said she was aware of the decision and did not see a reason to appeal, though that was a decision for the full board.

"I'm ready to take what we've learned, use it to move forward and make any adjustments necessary to the noise ordinance," Cooley said. "I hope this means we're moving in a positive direction."