After nearly a full calendar year, the proposed Bethlehem noise law still has a little ways to go before being drafted.
Commissioned in September 2007, the Noise Ordinance Task Force, headed by Councilman Sam Messina, recommended to the Town Board that Bethlehem go forward and create a new local noise law.
During a well-attended public hearing earlier in the year, the majority of residents spoke overwhelmingly in favor of the noise ordinance. A vocal minority did speak out, saying a noise law would be overly regulative and could be used to harass neighbors if not drafted properly.
Messina also pointed out that out of 40 e-mails the town received about a possible noise law, only two were against the ordinance.
Almost all of those were supportive of the noise ordinance, Messina said at the task force’s last public meeting. `My feeling is that there is nothing left to do but to recommend this to the Town Board.`
The Noise Ordinance Task Force ultimately decided to recommend to the Town Board that Bethlehem was in need of a new noise law.
`We conducted eight meetings; the meetings were very well attended,` Messina told residents and the board. `This whole process could have been done in one swipe, the Town Board could have said go forth and draft an ordinance.`
Instead, Messina said, the task force had been diligent and comprehensive in its research and the public has been involved in the process every step of the way.
However, after Democratic councilmen Kyle Kotary and Mark Hennessey began asking for copies of compiled information, such as the e-mails, and sought more specific information as to noise exemptions and what similar municipalities had in place, it became increasingly apparent the board was not going to vote on the recommendation that evening.
Messina said he would share all of the findings and e-mails with the board but did not have hard copies for board members that evening, which amounted to a very large stack of documents, he said.
Councilwoman Joann Dawson thanked Messina and the task force for their work, and although she was ready to vote on the recommendation that evening, Dawson said she, too, would like to review more documents from the task force’s findings on a possible noise ordinance.
Town Code Enforcer Gil Boucher told Spotlight Newspapers at an earlier meeting that the actual drafting of the noise law would take several months to complete. Kotary asked Messina if there could be some kind of timeline attached to project and suggested a possible goal of next spring for having the ordinance drafted.
`I’m going to put forth a suggestion that we continue with fine review, expand the committee to maybe nine people, bringing on a few more people perhaps,` Kotary said. `Maybe another person from the board or from another department and at least two or three more residents.`
Messina said he would implement the board’s suggestions and would continuing working with the task force. Following the meeting, Messina said he hoped that too much bureaucracy or red tape wouldn’t bog down the task force.
The Noise Ordinance Task Force also includes community representatives Jennifer DeFranco and Robert Jasinski; Bethlehem Deputy Police Chief Tim Beebe; and Boucher.“