Health club board to discuss music ban

By KRISTI ALBERTSON

Proponents of religious music in Wave class hope to address issue

The Daily Inter Lake

After months of phone calls to board members, letters to the editor and e-mails to the governor's office, a group of Wave members upset by the health club's ban on religious music will get to address the board of directors at next month's meeting.

The board outlawed religious music after receiving complaints about contemporary Christian music played in an early morning spinning class. The Wave's policy of inclusiveness means it tries to eliminate any music people might find offensive, board president Dan Weinberg told the Daily Inter Lake in July.

But the people who attended the class say the policy isn't applied across the board; there are other classes with music they find offensive. Furthermore, the class's Christian music is why they attended the class. Once instructor Bob Bouillon stopped playing the religious music, people stopped attending.

After the ban went into effect, a group of Wave members and Whitefish citizens, organized by Joe Coco Jr., asked to address the board of directors. Their request has been repeatedly denied until now.

"I think this is a real gesture of good will on the part of The Wave," Coco said.

On Sept. 20, he, Bouillon and attorney Jim Ramlow will make their case before the board. Since they have just 30 minutes, Coco hopes board members will share specific concerns with him in advance so he may address those specifically.

The people he represents genuinely want to understand the board's point of view, he said. If board members don't share their concerns, Coco and his partners will try to anticipate what the issues might be.

"We'll say, 'If we were The Wave and they were taking on this, what seems like really strange policy, why might they be doing it?'" he said. "Our goal at this meeting is we want to work with them, not against them."

Weinberg would not offer much comment. Coco's group has hinted at litigation, Weinberg said, and now "every word is measured."

Coco says the people he is speaking for want to solve the issue at "the lowest level possible," and that he is not suing anyone.

"That's not what we're doing," he said. "What we're doing is trying to work with Dan."

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or by e-mail at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com.