FRANKLIN, Wis. — With a new holiday on the horizon, the Common Council in Franklin is fielding new concerns about how a Christmas event will impact residents.
“All we’re asking for is what everyone else wants,” Dale Kerner of Franklin said. “That’s tranquility in our backyard.”
It’s a fight that’s gone on for years. Event after event at the ROC’s complex are too loud according to nearby neighbors. From concerts to ballgames, neighbors say the sound exceeds an acceptable level.
Take for instance, during the Halloween season. Dana Gindt has recorded from her home, chainsaw sounds and generators going at all hours of the night, over a half mile away.
“We’re asking for restoration of quality of life,” Gindt said. “We’ve been sitting in purgatory for 10 years.”
During Tuesday Night’s Common Council meeting, the city heard from representatives of Enchant Christmas, an immersive Christmas experience where folks can travel through lighted displays and other Christmas-themed activities. It’s an event that’s been successful in other parts of the country, drawing hundreds of thousands during its month-long run. It’s an event the concerned neighbors are excited to have come to their area, but they are hoping for more silent nights than jingle bells in their backyards.
The Common Council approved a special exemption for Enchant Christmas to operate for more than four straight days. It will allow the Common Council to put off making a concrete decision on regulating ordinances around noise from the ROC until the new year while allowing Enchant Christmas to continue.
But Gindt says it feels like the city is kicking the can yet again.
“It seems like an exception to accommodate this development for this specific event,” Gindt said. “It’s for Enchant Christmas, which is fine. The problem is, they’ve been selling tickets since June. Why wasn’t the site plan and all of that submitted in June? Then, not frantically trying to circumvent the process and trying to put exceptions in and all that. It’s unnecessary.”
But Gindt says progress is being made little by little. Mayor John Nelson says Franklin Field has recently turned its speakers inward, instead of pointing outward which allowed for the sound from ballgames and ballpark events to travel out further.
“That was one thing done late last week,” Nelson said. “I was able to do a site visit of that and the current placement of sound meters.”
The sound meters are another measure of the city trying to make right by the noise nuisance. There are meters near a property line that will measure the audio levels coming from the complex.
“The goal is to have accurate data,” Nelson said. “So, when we check them, we know exactly what they are, what they will be. It’s not hearsay.”
Representatives from Enchant Christmas assured the Common Council and dozens of residents in the room, they are not a loud event. They say the music associated with the experience is meant to provide background and not be too loud. The people experiencing the event are meant to find things throughout the venue which requires them to speak to one another and Enchant Christmas does not want to interfere with that.
However, they will be running a dress rehearsal before they open up fully and they will adjust their audio levels to accommodate the neighbors.
An yuletide effort to wish a Happy Christmas to all and to all a good night at a reasonable tone.
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