WORTH TWP — A sound system ordinance failed to pass committee at Monday's board meeting due to the absence of one of the supervisors and another recusing himself.

Supervisors have been working toward installing the sound ordinance since the Resonance Music Festival in September, hosted at Cooper's Lake Campground, drew complaints from residents that the volume and duration of music being played was excessive.

Supervisor Gene Reeher was absent for a planned vacation, leaving Chairman Fred Brezel and Vice Chairman Brian McMurdy to bring the ordinance before the public.

“I do think that if Gene was here tonight, it would have passed,” said Brezel.

After some discussion between residents and the attending supervisors, McMurdy made a motion to approve the ordinance as it was presented at Monday's meeting.

Brezel told the public he would not second the motion because he planned to recuse himself from the vote on the ordinance.

“(McMurdy) couldn't have voted anyway,” Brezel said. “It just wouldn't pass. So, I just didn't second the motion.”

The supervisors said the ordinance would be up for a vote again at their next regularly scheduled meeting April 7, and they believed Reeher would be at the meeting.

Brezel said he plans to recuse himself from the vote because of some concerns raised by residents about his relationship with Cooper's Lake Campground.

Brezel is employed at the campground and is the father of James Brezel, who is president of the campground.

Both father and son have said on multiple occasions that Fred Brezel does not have a stake in the company and the decision.

“Some of the residents feel that I have bias in my opinion about the ordinance,” Fred Brezel said. “I'm not. My concern is to the residents.”

While Brezel intends to recuse himself, he still gave his opinion on the ordinance.

He said he still took issue with the inclusion of homes and enclosed spaces being included in the ordinance, rather than exempt, which was the case in the original draft.

“I feel that some of the ordinance puts undue burden on the residents,” he said. “The people here tonight didn't feel that.”

Township resident Rob Rathbun said he understands that no ordinance is perfect, but it shouldn't matter whether the excessive noise comes from inside or outside a structure.

“Once that sound leaves the boundary of your property, and it reaches someone two miles down the road, that's pretty loud,” said Rathbun.

McMurdy said his initial concerns with the ordinance involved enforceability, but he is optimistic following conversations with former supervisors and the magistrate's office regarding enforcement.

The supervisors appointed themselves at last month's meeting to enforce violations if the ordinance passes.

“We're almost done,” McMurdy said. “I hope we can come up with a good thing for the township. I feel people should be able to go to sleep at night and get a good's night sleep tonight.”