A typical Logger Bar congregation.

When it comes to vibrancy and joy, none of Humboldt’s smaller communities overachieve with the consistency of Blue Lake, lake or no lake. And the sweaty, beer-drenched heart of said human cluster is the Logger Bar. The end. 

But is the Logger Bar a smidge too joyous?

As first reported at Wildberries.com, some Blue Lake residents are tightly crossing their arms in the direction of the bar and its propensity for offering live, amplified fun on the weekends. Sound-fed up, the noise-afflicted have taken their beef to the city council. As a result, acceptable hours and decibel levels for music at small town bars will be discussed at Tuesday’s meeting. Oh boy. 

“They want all live music to end by 10 p.m.,” Logger Bar owner Kate Martin told Wildberries.com. “This would make it fiscally impossible to keep our doors open. Live music is what floats our boat.”

A perusal of tonight’s council meeting agenda, available on the city’s website, includes a letter signed by a handful of Blue Lake residents originally delivered to Martin in March 2014. In it, the bar neighbors complain of being subjected to “unnecessarily loud” music — “a completely controllable nuisance” — as well as the constant “ramblings” of bar patrons outside. “Perhaps acoustic music would be better suited for this community?” the letter goes on to suggest. Full text below: 

[Dated March 2014]

We write this letter to address some problems we have been experiencing since the Logger Bar has reopened. We are your neighbors, we live near your bar and ALL of us have been here before you turned the bar into a live music venue. We have chosen to call Blue Lake home due to the quiet lifestyle it offers and we are tired of allowing the bar to drastically alter the quality of life we all desire.

Since the bar’s reopening, our neighborhood has been subjected to loud electric music 2-4 nights a week. We have also witnessed or heard ramblings of patrons on the patio and sidewalk. We realize only so much can be done to control the actions of patrons outside the bar, however, the live music from the bar is a completely controllable nuisance.

Having amplified music multiple times a week well into the early morning hours is considerably harming our ability to sleep. The volume seems to be unnecessarily loud for a small venue, especially one with neighbors in such close proximity. The low end of the bass carries through walls into houses that are in the vicinity. This occurs with your doors and our windows closed. The noise is even worse in the summer when we cannot have our windows open on nights when there is music at the Logger Bar. Perhaps acoustic music would be better suited for this community? Maybe ending earlier and/or severely limiting the decibel level of electric acts could resolve this issue?

In closing, with this correspondence we seek to inform you of the situation (maybe you were not aware of the number of citizens and families who are experiencing this problem). We can no consider you and the bar fully aware of the situation. And the that awareness we hope you can now remedy this problem and give your neighbors the respect and peace they deserve.

Thank you.

With the Logger Bar’s rowdy spirit threatened, “nuisance” fans have rallied to its defense on social media. At least two Facebook event pages, here and here, ask for support in the form of community presence at tonight’s meeting. Nearly 200 people have indicated they are “going,” to use Facebook verbiage. Additionally, Martin passed along to LoCO the letter she submitted to the council addressing noise concerns (she won’t be able to attend Tuesday’s meeting as she’s helping her daughter get settled at college back east). Martin’s letter below:  

Blue Lake City Council Members and concerned citizens:

As you meet tonight to discuss citizen complaints about noise related to the Logger Bar, consider the following: 

The major source of complaints about noise appears to arise from residents of Vance Lake Lane, a newer housing development directly behind the bar, and centrally located in the established commercial district of downtown and adjacent to the Mad River Grange parking lot. The Logger Bar was unaware that customers of the bar were using the Grange parking lot, not only to park their cars but also to hang out in after the bar closed.  In conjunction with the Grange, we are happy and willing to devise a solution to this problem, as it is a major contributor to after hours noise issues.

Other sources of noise in the streets is from passersby, not from Bar customers. There is a lot of foot traffic between the Shamrock and other downtown residences. That said, I also know that voices can be elevated as people head home after a night at the Bar. This I cannot control. It is a part of community life that will continue whether or not there is weekend music at the Bar  

Chumayo Spa, whose upstairs accommodation operates above 80% occupancy and is located directly across the street from the bar, has not received any complaints about noise in the 2+ years since I purchased the bar.  

The protocols that have been in place since I purchased the bar to mitigate noise levels, and newer ones put in place since receiving a petition for noise reduction in March 2014 include:

Since opening in 2012 The Logger Bar has limited its hours of operation from noon to midnight, Sunday to Wednesday, despite being legally permitted to operate until 2 a.m., seven nights per week. From Thursday through Saturday, hours of operation are noon to 2 a.m.; music ends at 12:30 a.m.

Live music/DJs are limited to weekend evenings, and not all weekend evenings have music. We hire only bands that “fit” with the environment, i.e., bluegrass vs. heavy metal. Bands are given strict guidelines regarding volume control. Bands that are too loud and disregard our request to decrease their volume are asked to stop playing and are not invited back.

When bands play, the windows and doors remain closed, opening only on band breaks. When a larger than normal crowd is expected, we hire a door guy whose function is to check identifications, count people/maintain capacity, and ensure that no one drinks outside.

Our bartenders are highly experienced and continuously trained in state/local laws, Logger Bar protocol, and crowd management. We have very low staff turnover. We support seven employees, five of whom are Blue Lake residents.

The Logger Bar is a community hub. In addition to live music and our famous 25-cent pool table, we offer a weekly potluck dinner, cribbage tournaments, ping pong nights, and a trivia night. The Logger is a regular gathering place for local community-based groups like the Mad River Old Crows and the Lolas. Blue Lake Elementary School teachers gather occasionally after work on a Friday afternoon and the Annie and Mary Rail Trail board members hold their quarterly meetings at the bar.

In the past year the Logger Bar has contributed $7,500 to local community organizations, including Dell’Arte, Blue Lake/Fieldbrook Little League, the Blue Lake Volunteer Fire Department, the Annie & Mary Rail Trail, Blue Lake Parks and Recreation, Blue Lake School’s 8th Grade Class Trip, The Blue Lake Educational Fund, Arcata High School sports teams, The Humboldt Crabs, Humboldt Folklife Society, Food for People, and the Mad River Grange.

We also support local businesses, serving many local products including Mad River Brewery, Lost Coast Brewery, and other local beers; we have an excellent partnership with Stardoughs, where customers can order from their menu and have food delivered to the bar; we sell spirits from local micro-distilleries; we use locally grown produce in our cocktails; we promote the Chumayo Spa and their services; we coordinate events with Dell’Arte and the Mad River Grange; and I purchased a truck from R&B Autos.

The Logger Bar is a historic landmark, being the oldest bar in Humboldt County and one of the oldest continuously running bars in California. Before I purchased the bar, it was a blight in downtown. Over 100 local residents helped to restore the bar, and it has taken a herculean effort to reestablish a viable business. Live music is an integral part of the economic health of the Logger Bar. Bands draw people from in and out of town and provide the financial stability necessary to keep the doors open. With the Mad River Tap Room’s live music ending at 9 p.m., many customers don’t arrive at the Logger Bar until the Tap Room closes at 10 p.m. 

Thanks for your consideration and continued support.

Kate Martin

If you are somehow invested in the Logger Bar scene and/or small town tranquility and would like to attend tonight’s disagreement, the Blue Lake City Council meets tonight at 7 p.m. in the Skinner Store (next to Blue Lake’s City Hall). Rock on (or don’t).