Ongoing neighborly concerns over what they claim to be an increasing disturbance caused by weekly concerts held throughout the summer in Warren has prompted some guidance by the Warren Town Council as the musical events gear up to be held from July 9 to Aug. 27.

The calling for the toning down of the concert series started during last month’s Council meeting, after resident Steve Thompson (who lives in close proximity to Burr’s Hill Park, where the series is held) submitted a letter stating that the volume had created such a noisy environment that he was unable to enjoy Sundays during the summer when the concerts are being performed. A few other residents echoed his complaints.

During the recent meeting, members of the council deliberated on how to best address those concerns. Councilwoman Keri Cronin mentioned how the amplification coming from the bandshell possibly worsened the problem even for neighbors located many blocks north of the park.

“Because the amplification is coming from under the band shell, which is another level of amplification, and it’s directed exactly this way, people who live downtown experience it in different ways and react to it in different ways,” she said. “So I think the notion of asking that the amplifiers be placed outside of the band shell to reduce the amount of additional amplification that happens, as well as having them turned down, and, yes, taking a read after that first concert to see what peoples’ experiences are.”

Council Vice President Steve Calenda, who had initially expressed skepticism of the problem at the April meeting, came around to searching for a solution at the May meeting, asking that they provide specific instructions to the concert planner and sound engineer assigned to the series.

“We need to give them some type of guidance on exactly where we want them to land, and that guidance has to be reasonable for everyone,” he said.

Throughout the discussion, the town’s sound ordinance was brought up multiple times, which forbids music or other sounds eclipsing 75 decibels. However, some were concerned that the actual decibel level doesn’t necessarily correlate to peoples’ experiences with the noise created.

“I think the thing that’s frustrating about this to me is that I think we all know this noise ordinance is difficult to apply here…I don’t think it serves a purpose,” said the aforementioned Steve Thompson, who played an audio recording from the street near his house (close to the former St. Mark’s Church) during the series last year to help illustrate his point about the loudness. “This is a property rights issue. I am a resident of this town and I want to enjoy my property. I don’t want to have to listen to a concert that is five blocks away come and inundate my property. I don’t think that’s unreasonable. I think the two can coexist.”

Ultimately, the council agreed with the notion that the sound engineer and concert organizer should monitor sound from multiple places throughout the park during the first concert on July 9 and make adjustments as needed.

“I think this is a straightforward, simple request for the music to be turned down. I think we’re completely within our rights to say we want the volume down,” said Councilman Joe DePasquale. “This isn’t about the legality of the decibels at 75…If you can make it sound good at 50, great.”

Parks and Recreation Director Tara Thibaudeau said she was happy to oblige and try to make adjustments needed to satisfy the concerns of neighbors.

“Anything is doable,” she said, saying she would make a “good faith” effort to bring down the volume even if it falls below the noise ordinance levels.