TETONIA, Idaho — After a lapse in temporary event permits, Tetonia Club goes before the City of Tetonia’s Planning and Zoning Commission for hosting outdoor live music.
Father and son Scott and Skyler Kauf went before the City of Tetonia on Monday, Aug. 26, to talk about their business, the Tetonia Club’s future armed with nearly 300 signatures from Tetonia and Teton Valley residents.
Residents commented on the unique setting, the venue it provides for the local music community, the value of having a gathering place and its capacity to bring people into the downtown Tetonia business district.
The historic building is known for being Teton Valley’s first bar and in the last few years the north end watering hole has established itself as a locals’ hideout with rotating chefs preparing dinner and with regular music on Friday and Saturday nights throughout the summer season, seeing on average 100 attendees for outdoor BBQ setting with a tiny wooden stage under string lights and adorned with various Idaho memorabilia on the surrounding fencing.
The club has been an evolving process for the father and son, building out a kitchen, improving the backyard and booking more than just local musicians with an expanded talent budget this year.
Not all of the neighbors are thrilled about the weekend traffic in the backyard, though.
“I was mistakenly under the impression,” Scott Kauf said on the phone Tuesday morning, “that as a business in the downtown district of Tetonia that there was an ordinance allowing live music.”
Kauf said when he first began hosting concerts at The Tetonia Club, he filed for a temporary use permit but no one ever said anything for several summers about filing for the permit again–which became a red flag when a neighbor filed a noise complaint this summer.
“We were able to resubmit a temporary permit at Monday’s meeting but we left with conditional approval for music only through Sept. 7,” Skyler Kauf explained.
The City gave its conditional approval as long as the club can meet the provisions of a 10 p.m. curfew on Friday and Saturday, with a 9 p.m. curfew on weeknights, no outdoor music on Sundays, a maximum of two nights per week for outdoor concerts and for sound levels not to exceed 70 decibels outside of the property.
Skyler Kauf said he’s downloaded an app to track decibels from around the property and he will present his findings when the committee reconvenes on Sept. 9 to consider extending the approval for a temporary use permit through Nov. 1. During the winter, all of the Club’s events and business hours operate indoors except for the occasional fire pit. The Kaufs said they also need to research options for sound mitigation around their stage.
Neighbor, resident and downtown business owner Michele Walters said she was very impressed with how the City of Tetonia conducted the meeting.
“No one is saying no, but they want to make sure everybody is comfortable,” the Tribe Artist Collective owner told Buckrail .
“I thought that their conclusion was very reasonable,” Walters said. “They asked Scott to investigate, some kind of soundproofing, maybe somehow putting some kind of sound barrier around the back side of the stage or some research on ways to mitigate it.” She then added that the business, much like her own home and business across the street, is located on a highway.
“This is a highway and it’s what I signed up for, and you know the farming equipment can keep you up just as much, so can the motorcycle burnouts and the couples arguing on the street after Dave’s closes,” she said.
Walters said she can overlook all of that because she’s committed to making Tetonia a successful, though very small, Main Street area, just like the Kaufs have.
“Growth is scary but it’s going to happen regardless, and when downtown commerce is successful for one business, it’s successful for all the businesses,” she added.
Skyler and Scott Kauf know they have a good thing going and aside from one complaint from one individual, they’ve heard feedback that The Tetonia Club is a valuable venue for the community.
“People obviously love live music and support us doing that. But it’s also [the fact that] the club is a gathering place,” Skyler Kauf said. “It is one of the few operational businesses on Main Street. It’s the oldest building in Tetonia and it still functions with its intended purpose, as a place for people to gather.”
Tetonia City Clerk Jacque Beard said there was a great turnout for the August meeting.
“It’s great seeing people get involved at City meetings,” she emailed Buckrail. “Every single City, big or small, has its own unique traits and direction when it comes to growth. I’m grateful to have people within the City who are willing to think out of the box to get creative solutions. The goal at the end of the day is to keep Tetonia a place where residents and visitors alike, love to be.”
