Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
NORTH WEBSTER - It wasn't a revival, although "Praise God" was spoken by several.
It wasn't a trial, although conflicting viewpoints were presented by two attorneys and a letter was presented from a third.
It was the monthly meeting of the North Webster Town Council, where more than six months of debate ended with passage of the county's sexually oriented business ordinance - the amended version. Light applause among some of the 20 or so in attendance at Wednesday's meeting accompanied the passage.
The town's attorney, Mike Armey, summed up the matter saying, "This is not the last time the county or the town will visit this issue."
Helen Hoy, an outspoken proponent of the ordinance, was satisfied with the town's decision: "I think it is a good (ordinance) for our town. I think the changes they have made are good for us."
Wording in the original ordinance banned sexually oriented businesses from locating or operating within 1,000 feet of churches, schools or residential areas. The amended ordinance changes that distance to 500 feet from churches or schools and 50 feet from residential areas within incorporated areas.
Council president Myron Clark said that it was previously stated that the ordinance was not a religious or moral issue ... "however, it is a legal matter. We said that if it is something that won't fly, we don't want anything to do with it. ... Our attorney says that he will stand behind (this version)."
Town officials were hesitant to rush into passage of such an ordinance because of 1995 litigation over a community standards ordinance which resulted in the town paying $15,000 in attorney fees to the Indiana Civil Liberties Union and barring enforcement of the ordinance. The lawsuit was filed after Sam Stimmel, owner of Stimmelators (formerly Cruiser's Night Club), challenged the constitutionality of the ordinance.
Stimmel was not satisfied with the changes in the ordinance, nor with its passage. Before the vote, he told the council, "It's gone on this many years, I don't think another month is gonna kill us." He presented a letter from attorney David R. Hoffman, who reviewed the amended ordinance on Stimmel's behalf and noted that wording still remains unclear and that the "specified sexual activities" listed are "vague and overbroad."
North Webster resident Jay Rigdon, who represents the town of Milford (which hasn't yet acted on the ordinance) said that he compared the language of this ordinance to other cases, searching both state and federal courts to see how the issues were dealt with. Some of the courts, he said, upheld the law, while others rejected it. All, he said, treated it as a First Amendment issue.
"We need to determine to what extent we want the government to have to decide what people can read or what people can rent," Rigdon said, referring to the wording regarding book and video stores. "I'm against any restrictions on bookstores and video stores," he said.
Armey said that the ordinance would make a First Amendment case only in limited circumstances and "only if someone's looking for that fight."
A fight may well be what the town gets from Stimmel and his constituents.
Chuck Zimmerman, who was with Stimmel at the meeting, said that he has been a longtime member of the Civil Liberties Union and believes the town is trying to infringe on the federal rights of "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." He also muttered, "That just cost you a bundle," when the council passed the ordinance by unanimous vote.
Council members discussed making slight changes in the ordinance before passing it, but Armey said that it was an all-or-nothing deal.
"You've got to accept it as is," he said. "You can't amend it, but it can later be fine-tuned by the county," with the effects trickling down to the town level.
The ordinance was passed in Syracuse and Claypool on Tuesday.
