After Trail Ride Draws Thousands More Than Expected, County Considering Mass Gathering Permitting Process

The Fayette County Commissioners Court are formulating a process for issuing mass gathering permits after hearing from several neighbors who live near the property where a massive trail ride took place last month.

At a Commissioners Court meeting last Thursday, the residents complained of loud noise, litter and a huge amount of traffic that blocked their driveways over the weekend that the trail ride took place.

Fayette County Sheriff Keith Korenek reported that organizers of the event initially expected about 2,000 to 3,000 people to attend the trail ride. He said that number soared to nearly 10,000 over the course of the weekend.

“They parked in front of our house,” said one of the residents, Lorie Lehmann. “They stayed there for two hours. I don’t know if they were waiting for the rest of the line to catch up. But it was horrendous. They had loud music on every trailer … The music they were playing was abhorrent. I would never want anybody to listen to the stuff that was being played.”

Another neighbor, Robert Rabalais, said the County needs to enforce the state’s laws concerning health and safety, nuisances, and mass gatherings.

“This isn’t a rule that is optional,” Rabalais said. “It’s a mandatory rule to protect the lives of the people who attend. You’ve all heard of events where people are trampled, stampeded by uncontrolled masses, stage collapses, people who died from asphyxiation.”

Maria Hortin, who also lives nearby, said the traffic from the trail ride blocked her driveway.

“If we had to leave to go somewhere in an emergency, we wouldn’t have been able to,” Hortin said. “You wouldn’t have been able to get an ambulance to us if we needed it. Or even if we wanted to go to H-E-B in that time, I wouldn’t have been able to. That’s infringing on my rights.”

“This thing encompassed many miles,” said Marlene Aungier, another resident who spoke at the meeting. “It had a great impact on people, land.

“I resent the heck out of this thing occurring,” she added. “The notion that it’s being contemplated for next year is a tragedy.”

Larry Pietsch, who also lives nearby, said the music was so loud that he couldn’t hear the television inside his house.

“It was that loud, and I’m hard of hearing,” he said. “It was disrespectful to everyone on this side of the county.”

Pat Aungier, another neighbor, said the Fayette County Fairgrounds would have been a better location for the trail ride.

“An event this size has no place out in somebody’s pasture,” said Dennis Kieschnick, whose property neighbors the location of the trail ride.

County Judge Dan Mueller said the County does not currently have a process for issuing mass gathering permits. But it’s something he said the County is looking into.

“We think you have some legitimate concerns,” Mueller said. “The County Judge’s office has had some conversations with the Sheriff. The Sheriff is also here today, and he is aware of the magnitude of this event. So has Director (Josh) Vandever of the EMS. So has the County Attorney’s office.”

Sheriff Korenek said the trail ride organizers consulted with his office before the event. He said they hired approximately 50 private security and off-duty law enforcement officers.

“The security company they hired did a bang-up job,” Korenek said.

He said the security officers prevented weapons from entering the premises. In one case, he said, the security officers located a felon in possession of a firearm who tried entering the property. That individual was handed over to the Sheriff’s Office and arrested. One other person was arrested for fighting on Saturday night, he said.

“All in all, it went fairly well other than the music that was too loud,” Korenek said.

Assistant County Attorney Blake Watson said his office has already drafted some guidelines for mass gatherings that will be presented to Commissioners Court at a future meeting. The policy would require organizers to consult with County officials about security, health safety, cleanup and other concerns.

“There are some complexities involved,” Mueller said. “When you talk about mass gatherings and social events, you have to consider church picnics and all that.”

Fayette County Emergency Management Coordinator Angela Hahn said the periodic antiques shows in northern Fayette County also pose some complications to the rule making process.

“It’s something we have to take in consideration,” Hahn said. “It has to be fair.”

Mueller thanked everyone for their comments and suggestions. Commissioners took no immediate action at the meeting. Mueller said the Court will consider a policy for mass gatherings at a future date.

Earlier in the meeting, Nechanitz area resident Abraham Pace addressed the Commissioners during the public comment period about several concerns.

“A burn ban last year got out in place for 120 days, but you didn’t take any action after it expired,” Pace said. “They were running around writing tickets. I wish you would have put another burn ban in place rather than letting it expire and pretend it kept going. That’s confusing to the people.”

Pace also addressed the recent conflict over the company that wanted to bring a wind turbine farm to Fayette County. Pace said he understood the opposition to wind turbines, but he questioned the Court’s appeal to the State Legislature for regulatory authority over wind turbines.

“If I put a chicken house up (on my property) and a neighbor complains, are y’all going to say I can’t put a chicken house up because of the bird flu?” Pace asked. “Y’all are encroaching on the rights of individuals, I think.”

Pace also questioned the County’s decision to place an EMS station in Round Top.

“I’d think you’d go somewhere where the call volume is at,” he said. “It seems kind of ridiculous to me. Now that the hospital is shut down, it doesn’t need to be there. It’s going to be driving back and forth to La Grange all the time.”

Pace raised a concern about concrete mailboxes on the side of county roads. Texas Department of Transportation does not allow such mailboxes along state highways due to the hazard they pose in vehicle accidents.

“If y’all want to harass people about trail rides or wind turbines, I suggest y’all do the important things first,” Pace said.