Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Ordinance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Select Board debates enforceability of revised noise ordinance and a $2,500–$3,500 sound‑meter purchase
Summary
Town staff presented a redraft of the noise ordinance focused on enforceability; the board discussed enforcement responsibility, technical thresholds and buying a calibrated data‑logging meter before deciding whether to place the ordinance on the town meeting warrant.
Town staff presented an updated noise‑ordinance draft intended to make the town’s rules enforceable in practice and suggested language changes (including accumulation thresholds rather than a strict continuous‑duration requirement). The presentation included a vendor price check for a data‑logging sound meter with calibrator — staff reported one model with a calibrator at about $2,500 and another at about $3,500 — and described the meter as able to log decibel readings for evidentiary use.
Board members debated who should enforce the ordinance if adopted. Some said sheriffs or contracted law enforcement should be the primary enforcers; others raised concerns about selectmen or staff performing night‑time enforcement because of safety risks. One select board member recommended waiting for a law‑enforcement contract before giving local elected officials responsibility to enforce. The staff representative said the meter is a data logger that records readings and timestamps, allowing the town to run a monitoring period and then use accumulated data to determine violations.
Members also discussed the civil practicality of different time windows (10–15 minutes were cited in examples), whether the board should add the ordinance as a town‑meeting article, and how to fund the meter (equipment line or codes budget). The board asked staff to refine language, consider enforcement pathways and provide final recommended article text and pricing for inclusion in a warrant or to hold for next year’s town meeting.
