Holly Hill Neighbors Upset With Swingers

Holly hill neighbors upset with swingers

HOLLY HILL — A quaint house with slatted shutters and a sprawling front porch sits on a quiet street along the Halifax River. But what goes on behind the drawn shades is stirring up discontent throughout the neighborhood to City Hall.

One long-time neighbor, Jack Smith, said the place is destroying the quality of his life. Smith’s friend, Steve Budik, who lives a mile away said he feel’s “sorry for Mike if he ever tries to sell his house” and is “glad it’s not right by” his own house.

The reason for all the unhappiness?

A couple renting the house on Riverside Drive are operating an adult-lifestyle club there — Never Ending Bliss, a swingers club.

Local police said the club is legal and the law protects what goes on in the house between consenting adults.

A code enforcement “cease-and-desist” order issued Nov. 1, for operating a business without a license, was met with an immediate visit to the city from Never Ending Bliss’s organizer, said City Manager Joe Forte.

A Web page advertising the club “required a donation,” which might have made the operation a zoning violation — operating a business in a residential area, Forte said.

“It was brought to my attention by an e-mail to my office,” Forte said. “Code enforcement made a cease-and-desist order, and he (the organizer) came within an hour and said, ‘How do I make it right?’ “

“Within an hour they removed any requirement of paying money or paying dues, and the (Web) site has no advertising,” Forte said. “The city did what it could to investigate, but we determined there were no criminal violations.”

City Attorney Scott Simpson said the club has not been brought to his attention.

The Rev. Matt McKeown of United Brethren Church said he “disagrees with a swinger-type of lifestyle if it involves swapping partners and sex outside of marriage.” He and a group of 40 parishioners met with District 1 City Commissioner John Penny on the issue.

“Basically, people had heard the rumors, and I was just there (at the church meeting) to give them the facts, that the city has investigated it, and there is no illegal activity going on,” Penny said. “I had to tell them quite clearly that I don’t represent the city as a whole, and they should share their concerns with the city manager.”

Never Ending Bliss is described on a Web site as a “very, very clean” private, invitation-only alternative-lifestyle club that provides condoms and “clean sheets” for four private, themed rooms, such as The Locker Room, which has a shower stall and a “closet full of surprises,” or The Cellar for bondage and domination.

Matthew Early, who operates the club with his partner Nikki, said about 20 couples ranging in age from 21 to 75, meet on Friday and Saturday nights in the 3,800 square-foot place, which includes a “dance floor with a pole.”

But it is “not about the sex,” even though residents are “stuck on the thing that people get together, get naked and have orgies,” said Early, a hurricane-shutter contractor. To him and Nikki — she doesn’t use her last name to protect her children who live elsewhere — “swinging means a love of people” and “a group of friends we have acquired who are same-thinking.”

Holly Hill Police Cmdr. Mark Barker said “unless they are breaking the law, it’s not really a law-enforcement issue.”

Chief of Police Donald Shinnamon said he had not received any complaints and, unless some parking or noise ordinance is violated, he would “have a hard time using scarce resources to find out what consenting adults do behind closed doors.”

Early, 42, said he and Nikki, 34, have participated in a swingers’ lifestyle for several years, since they “found each other on the Internet.” They decided to start a club, because they were unhappy with lack of cleanliness and control of participants at other places.

Although Early would not name any places, at least three similar swingers clubs in Volusia County appear on the Internet, including The Playground and Amore in Daytona Beach and The Fantasy House in DeLand. None of those club organizers would answer questions for this story.

“We looked and looked and saw a couple of places on Ridgewood (Avenue), but we didn’t want to do a business,” Early said. “When we found this house in Holly Hill, it was secluded on the river and could accommodate the 20 couples we like to invite.”

Early said he leased the property with an option to buy. According to county records, Michael Nuzzo of Beaver, Pa., bought the property in May 2003 for $345,000. The taxable value is assessed at $517,093 and includes several outbuildings and a spa. Nuzzo did not return a phone call.

Also renting from the property owner are “three women” in one of the extra structures on the property surrounded by a wall, Early said. “They know what we do and are OK with it.” He had an encounter with one neighbor who objected at first but later “apologized” for complaining about the club.

One neighbor, Mike Gleeson, who lives several houses away and who knew about the club before the city did, said, “I talked with all the neighbors,” and “people have various degrees of unhappiness. It will detract from the neighborhood if it gets out of control.”

Smith, who learned about the club from Gleeson, said: “It bothers me that it’s in my neighborhood. It lowers my value and could bring prostitutes and crime. It might be different if they lived there, but they bring in a bunch of people — and it’s not conducive to a nice neighborhood.”

Early said he and Nikki live in the house on Fridays and Saturdays.

“Sunday is lay-around-in-your-sweat-pants, watch-football, normal, average, everyday people-winding-down-for-the- week with the same responsibilities as everyone else,” Nikki said. “This is just something we do.”

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