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Franklin council tables Country Rising permit after residents press for sound study and stronger enforcement
Summary
After hours of public comment about profanity, loud music and allegedly noncompliant decibel monitors at The Rock, the Common Council voted 5–1 to table a proposed Country Rising permit to March 17 while city staff pursue the contracted sound study and invite a Rock representative to discuss mitigations.
Hundreds of residents and neighboring officials pressed the Franklin Common Council on March 3 to deny or condition a proposed two‑day Country Rising concert at The Rock, raising long‑running concerns about loud music, explicit lyrics broadcast into nearby homes and the accuracy and configuration of on‑site decibel monitors.
Milwaukee County Supervisor Kathleen Vincent, speaking on behalf of Greenale residents, said noise complaints have been documented for years and that a county sound study showed levels that exceeded acceptable limits. She urged the council to "vote down the proposed country concert permit due to the proven disruption past events have caused" and asked for coordinated standards and enforcement with surrounding municipalities.
Her remarks were followed by multiple residents who described amplified profanity and vulgar lyrics reaching homes, questioned why the venue’s monitors reportedly do not record audio below about 74–75 dB, and called for stricter permit conditions or denial until mitigation measures are implemented. Joy Dennis Galis and others cited a 2024 police message that a "quick review of random sound events did not reveal events with decel levels under 74 dB," and said monitors have not been calibrated consistently.
City staff and elected officials acknowledged the complaints and described steps already under way. The administration said the city contracted JPM Acoustics in August 2025 for a comprehensive monitoring and mitigation study and that the contract value is $78,500. The director of administration said monitoring data from a prior Tacos & Tequila event has been received, but the comprehensive mitigation deliverable from JPM had not yet been provided for city acceptance and payment.
Mayor Nelson told residents the council had "found the money" to obtain the third‑party study and emphasized the goal of a "win‑win" outcome: addressing resident concerns while allowing appropriate events to proceed once mitigation is verified. He said staff expects a representative from the venue to appear at the next meeting to discuss specific changes the operator may accept.
With that context, Alderwoman Ikeman and others moved to table agenda item G6. The council voted to table the permit to the March 17 meeting by a 5–1 roll call, with one council member voting no. Members said they wanted the final JPM report and a venue representative to present proposed mitigation measures before they consider approving an extraordinary event that could allow elevated property‑line decibel limits or fireworks.
The decision preserves the council’s leverage over future permits, members said, because permit conditions remain the city’s primary tool to require containment improvements or other changes to the venue’s operations. Residents called for additional specific remedies on the record: immediate reprogramming or recalibration of monitors to record at the city’s legal limits, clearer enforcement procedures tied to permit violations, earlier notice to neighboring municipalities for extraordinary events, and limits on event frequency and fireworks timing.
What happens next: the council will revisit G6 at its March 17 meeting; staff said they aim to present the final JPM deliverable and that a representative from The Rock is expected to discuss potential mitigation commitments.
