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Residents urge independent sound testing as council spends on amphitheater lighting
Summary
Several residents told the Town Council that independent sound testing is needed after FOIA requests for concert sound measurements were denied; callers also raised concerns about the town's low financial reserves and questioned spending priorities.
Residents raised repeated concerns about noise from concerts at the town amphitheater and urged the council to fund independent sound testing and mitigation.
"Various sound measurements were taken at each concert. I recently was informed that a freedom of information request that requested these measurements was denied…as such information was considered to be privileged," said Philip Burwright, 120 East Labonte Condominiums, at the citizen-comment portion. Burwright asked the council to hire an independent sound engineer and meet with affected homeowners to mediate ongoing complaints about concert volume.
Online commenter Carrie Dawn Solner reiterated the request and questioned spending priorities, saying the town has "roughly 3 months of reserves" while "the town has spent nearly a $500,000 on a new lighting system for the amphitheater" and has not funded independent sound testing. Solner urged council to pursue industry-standard mitigation that would allow concerts and neighborhood livability to coexist.
Council members acknowledged the concern and scheduled a future work session to discuss amphitheater sound, with staff directed to consult special counsel about whether certain sound-related documents are protected by attorney–client privilege. The council did not make a policy decision at the meeting; staff said this subject may be discussed further in an executive session.
