Ridge Revolts Over Concert;

Promoter Moves Event

St. Mary's Liquor Board and County Pull Permits for Boatman's Concert;

Promoter Moving Event to Seaside View, County Says its News to Them.

The grass is always greener over the septic system.
Bar owner Scott Boatman says there is a different set of rules for him than for other owners of the bar he operates.  He says he has had to cancel ball games, horseshoe tournaments and people can't walk out to the ball fields.  This photo shows ample green grass despite the lack of rain.  ST. MARY'S TODAY photo

By Kenneth C. Rossignol

ST. MARY'S TODAY

LEONARDTOWN (July 16) --- After residents of Ridge produced a petition with more than 125 names on it protesting the planned concert at Boatman's South bar ball field on July 28th, the St. Mary's Liquor Board suspended the approval for the bar to have outdoor sales of alcohol for 18 months due to violations which took place on June 16th. 
The board heard from neighbors and police about noise violations last month and took action at the board's July 12th meeting.  
Scott Boatman told ST. MARY'S TODAY that he had permission from the American Legion to park cars at the legion hall and was working with St. Michaels Church to park cars.  But a Legion official told the board last week that his group had not given permission to park vehicles on their property and that they would be preventing anyone from parking there the night of the concert.
But it's all a moot point now, which ought to make Ridge happy.  Boatman says that his promoter told him that the county has been notified that they will hold the event at Seaside, which has hosted similar size events in the past.
 At issue at last week's liquor board meeting were reports that Boatman had presold more than 2500 tickets for the event, a prospect that has neighbors and officials worried that the concert will turn into a mess.  Boatman says he has only sold 500 tickets for the event and denies a published report to the contrary. 
Boatman said today that his promoter has moved the event to Seaside View, a campground and restaurant in St. Inigoes.
The county liquor board clerk said that as of this morning she didn't have any information about a change in location.
County officials now realize that they need to set up a coordinated process for applying for an outdoor concert or music festival and according to liquor board clerk Patsy Insley, they are drawing up a process.
In the 1970's a series of outdoor music festivals took place at Take it Easy Ranch with some working out fine and one of them resulting in a murder.
The Goddard family puts on their outdoor concert every year without any problems and several events are held during the year at the county fair grounds. 
But it appears that the close proximity of Boatman's bar and ball field to their neighbors is at the crux of the matter in this event. 
Neighbors of Boatman's told the board that foul and obscene lyrics to the loud music were broadcast to the neighborhood causing them great concern for their families.
Playing that night in June was a band that was reported at the meeting as going by the name of "Outreach"
Commissioner Dan Raley (D. Great Mills), who testified as a private citizen last week at the liquor board, said today that the county would carefully approach how to set up a permitting process so as to not endanger activities such as the Jazz Festival at Colton's Point, Goddard's festival or the River Concert Series at St. Mary's City.  "Too often government responds to a problem with a solution that is far overdone," said Raley. 
Boatman said that he couldn't believe the health department was pulling his concert permit when they have allowed a constant problem with the septic system to exist at the property he rents for Boatman's in Ridge.  The former Southridge, the property consists of numerous efficiency apartments as well as two ball fields.  Boatman said that he is prevented from using the ball fields and the horseshoe pit due to overflowing sewage from the septic system and is frustrated in getting his landlord to fix it. 
An inspection of the system, today, following several weeks of drought, shows foot high grass which is very green near the septic tank covers and a large area blocked off with construction fence, which indicates that the system is overflowing.  Boatman said that the landlord pumped it out recently.
Boatman pointed out that there have been 11 restaurant owners at his place in the past ten years and he is disappointed to learn that the electricity for the rental units is wired to his meter and hopes that he will get relief from his landlord, who he said had snuck in an unlicensed electrician to rewire around his panel box.
Boatman said that he wonders why the long-term problems with the septic have never been addressed prior to his booking a concert for the ball fields.
"They had fireworks here and bands playing all night a few years ago on the 4th of July, but this concert is a problem?"
Boatman said that he has learned his lesson and will only hold future concerts at a larger place which is geared to handle them, such as the fairgrounds.

Reader Feedback:
Not From Here? We Don't Want You
Well, well, well, The County’s true colors are coming out now. If you’re not from here, don’t live here, we don’t want you. The Colton's Point Jazz Festival, the Goddard's Festival, and even the Calvert Marine Museum Concert shall be jeopardized now, with the idiosyncrasies of the Good Ole boys of the County Commission.  They can say what ever they want but now I see no way for them to come out clean. The old Southridge has failed over and over because they don’t like outsiders, just ask the last three owners. Now let Mr. Raley and Co. own it, turn it into a hick bar for the local hicks and bingo, you got a money maker, of course it helps when you can issue yourself your own permits. This is going to affect the County growth far more than the local hicks realize and they don’t even know it. Look around, houses are starting to foreclose, local Gov Contractors are looking for other duties elsewhere including yours truly. The site were I presently work has lost over 30% of its work force because their tired of it. I fought with the USMC and the USAF, and still serve my country to this day, but what I’m seeing here is exactly what I fought against. I shall blog this across the entire country, because I want people to know just what is here in this county. Oh by the way tell Molly Hatchet, that Gator country, Reunion, and the rest of their songs contain foul language, I bet you’ll have a law suit on your hands. Its time for local business’s to take another look at your local Gov.  Is this what you want?
MICHAEL SCHOFIELD