The Town of Shawangunk will consider passing a mass gathering ordinance after a group of angry residents complained about a noisy house party that attracted 200 people into the wee hours of the morning over the Memorial Day weekend.

Rosemary Burk  was one of a handful of Wallkill residents who complained about the excessive noise and traffic caused by the party in the hamlet at the June 2 Town Board meeting. She said the party began on May 28 and spilled over into the early morning hours of the following day.

Burk posted several videos on YouTube of the large gathering coming from the 11 Main St. residence under the title “Hamlet of Wallkill - Noise.”

Loud music and shouts from the partygoers are clearly heard on the video taken from Burk’s home about 100 yards away. A Shawangunk police car can be seen driving past the house party. Burk said another big and noisy party was held at the same residence last July.

Burk called on the Town Board to do something to halt the parties, which she said attracted mostly out of town residents. She said the Town Police Department, which is comprised of part-time officers, did the best they could without having the laws needed to control the Memorial Day shindig.

“The police were super awesome,” Burk said. “I don’t have a gripe with the police. These people (the Town Board) are elected officials. They need to fix the problem.”

Burk estimated the noise level from the party registered at least 80 decibels at her home and said it probably would have been about 115 decibels at the party. Burk added that there are lots of buildings, trees and fences between her house and the party site, but those still didn’t lessen the noise to a tolerable level.

Three other residents who complained of the party declined to identify themselves to the Wallkill Valley Times because they said they feared retaliation from those who organized the party. One woman complained of trespassing on her property by partygoers that frightened her.

Town resident Andy Ghiorse suggested the town adopt a noise ordinance that prohibits amplified music or speech beyond the property line of a business or residence.

That way the police could go to the property and “tell them to turn it down or we’re going to fine you,” Ghiorse said. “It’s as simple as that.”

Supervisor John Valk said the board will be reviewing a mass gathering law to crack down on parties like the one the hamlet’s residents were complaining about. He said a mass gathering law would allow the police to shut an event down if it didn’t adhere to town regulations.

“A noise ordinance is harder to craft than a mass gathering law,” Valk said. “That (mass gathering) law we could do in two or three weeks.”

Police Chief Gerald Marlatt said the police knew about the “open invite” party a week in advance through social media postings. Marlatt sent two officers to the premises along with the town’s code enforcement officer to “advise them this was not a good idea and the potential liability they would have.”

Marlatt said the officers came away with the impression that their advice would be heeded and the party wouldn’t be held.

When the party went on anyway, Marlatt said two Shawangunk patrol cars began controlling the traffic at the site and State Police and Ulster County Sheriff’s cars also arrived. The officers were also directed to check for any DWI violations, public intoxication and trespassing.

After Shawangunk police received two or three noise complaints, an officer went and advised the organizer of the party that they had received the complaints.

“The music did get turned down at that point,” Marlatt said. “Whether it got turned back up over the course of the rest of the night, I’m sure that it did.”

Marlatt said the police patrolled the area until the party broke up. No arrests were made by his officers. He said the State Police are investigating a reported stabbing at the party.

“There’s really not much that we can do,” Marlatt said. “I understand the people here tonight were angry. We just can’t go around and round people up. We have laws and rules that we have to follow.”

In other news, the board unanimously approved a local law that would encourage more businesses to open along the Route 52 corridor between the hamlets of Walker Valley and Pine Bush.

The board also formally accepted the resignation of building inspector/code enforcement officer George Sawyer.

Robert Wallner replaced Sawyer on March 21.