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Council to send formal letter on noise complaint; deputies lack decibel meters
Summary
After reviewing other cities' noise codes and consulting legal counsel and the sheriff's office, council approved sending a formal letter to document a noise complaint; the sheriff's office confirmed patrol cars do not carry decibel meters to quantify a violation on scene.
Council revisited a formal noise complaint that had been tabled from the Oct. 28 meeting. Staff summarized code comparisons (Hiawatha and Marion have fuller noise-control chapters; smaller towns had brief or vague language) and council questioned whether the city can practically enforce numeric decibel limits. The Mayor summarized legal counsel’s advice: send a letter documenting the city’s current ordinance so there is a record before taking further action.
An agency official (Sheriff's office) told the council deputies typically do not carry a sound-level meter in each patrol car, limiting the sheriff's ability to enforce decibel thresholds in the field. "Specifically, in each individual car, no," the Agency official (Sheriff's office) said. Given enforcement limits and the need to document complaints, the council voted to send a letter to the complainant explaining existing ordinance language and documenting the complaint; no numeric-decibel enforcement standard was adopted at this meeting.
