Attendance
was down at Monday’s BOS meeting. Could be due to the weather or that nasty bug
going around.
Discussion
on the permit for Crow Hill Motorsports took awhile. BOH has concerns about the
plans for the concession stand wastewater (cleaning the equipment). After some
discussion, the septic/grease trap plan will be at the BOH by March 1st
for review. Other issues regarding Crow Hill concerned noise complaints. The
police department submitted numerous (19?) logs of noise complaints. The BOH
will be able to ensure the noise meter will be functioning. Crow Hill will have
a permit for 9 race dates, but doesn’t expect to use all of them. I have agreed
to try to arrange a meeting with some of people who have lodged noise complaints
to visit the track to check things out for themselves. Wish me luck!
The
BOS took three votes regarding the CDBG for FY 13. The FY13 grant, if awarded
will be Phase VI (Memorial St) to complete the Back Bay project and funding for
a COA outreach worker. The BOS also voted to accept the updated Community
Development Strategy List as well as voting up to $125,000 in Chapter 90 funds
if Phase VI is awarded.
The
date for the Special Town Meeting has been set and the warrant is open. Clear
your calendars for March 7, 2013. The STM warrant closes on February 19th
high noon. This should be a brief STM. The town needs to rectify a few votes
taken at the annual town meeting last May and possibly an article from the
November STM. The elementary school building committee may have an article as
well for a land swap in order to build a school.
The
warrant is also open for the Annual Town meeting in May (May 14th).
The ATM warrant will close on April 24th for the both the ATM and
the STM within the ATM.
Town
Coordinator, Jeff Ritter, gave an update on the process to sell 252
Baldwinville Rd. The town must follow 30B rules and regulations including an
appraisal for the property. One would think an appraisal was done before the
town entered into an agreement to purchase the property, but that is not the
case. Once the appraisal is complete ($100?? Really? Apparently, that’s what an
appraisal would cost) we can seek invitations to bid (sealed) the whole process
will take about 60-90 days. Here’s hoping we can recoup some of the money spent
on this project.
The
chairman of the Advisory Board, Will Spring , delivered a thorough presentation
and explanation of the former Conservation Agent’s pay increases/decreases/
increases. In this blog, Advisory
Board Presentation there is a link to the PowerPoint presentation from the
BOS meeting. The BOS did not act on the advisory board’s recommendations.
A
few items were discussed under old business –
The
Policies and Procedures of the BOS will be reviewed for accuracy before it is
placed on the BOS website. There were a few versions of this before BOS final
approval. We would like to ensure that the correct version is posted to the
webpage….soon.
New
Business – The installation of the broadband equipment was completed in East
Templeton Elementary School.
Chairman,
Chris Stewart presented a plaque to members of the Rec. commission and Alan
Mayo. The plaque was recognition by the National Softball Association for
Gilman Waite field. The plaque will be on display at 690 Patriots Rd until it can be placed at
Gilman Waite.
MMA
update – I presented a brief update of the information gathered at the MMA
conference held on January 25th and 26th.
Julie
Farrell (working on uploading the meeting video next)
Thank you Julie, for the update on the recent BOS Meeting. I found it interesting that the Crow Hill track had been open for eight years, and our Board of Health Agent had not acted on issues down there a lot sooner. I understand a tight tank was installed. This should have been done by following the State Sanitary Code, and installed by someone with the licence to do so. It is hard to imagine the BOH allowing grey water to be dumped on the ground, or into a pile of rocks. I doubt they would let any other group, or club get away with this. As I said at the meeting, this could cause problems for the people attending any event down there, especially when we had West Nile problems in our area this past spring and summer. I hope our Board of Health did not look the "other way" because it was the Lions Club selling food down there. Oh, what is wrong with me, they would not do that! LOL. As for the noise issue, Years ago they had a go cart track in Hubbardston. They ran with no mufflers. We could hear the noise from my dad's house, and it had to be at least five miles away, by road, but not as the crow flies. The noise level is effected by the way the wind is blowing, and if the leaves are on the trees or not. I understand how the people feel if they are forced to listen to the sound coming from the track, on a beautiful summers day, when they are used to peace and quiet. A noise meter is only as good as the person using it. Why would anyone stand on the side of the state road, and expect to get a correct reading?? I guess there is not much that can be done about some of these things, but I feel it us up to the owners to invest the money that is needed to do things right. Every other club and business in this town has to follow the local and state laws, so should they. On a positive note, good job to Alan and the people who have worked so hard to make G.Waite field first class. It is good for the youth in our community. I think there are kids from town that use the track, at crow hill. These are all so important, and the add to our community by giving the kids something to do. All I ask is that everyone be treated fairly, and that they follow the same rules. Bev.
ReplyDeleteBev Im pretty sure that the benchmark reading of the noise meter must be taken at the property line . Then at the area of the complaint to determine if the noise is excesive . The property owner owns all the way out to the street Rt.202 . that is why the test starts there .
DeleteKirk - maybe that's the problem. According to AMA rules, the reading is taken 20 inches from the exhaust pipe with the engine at an RPM that is calculated based on stroke. The regulation is that the output be no more than 96 dB.
DeleteAs my home is 7000 feet away, I should never hear any noise if they follow the AMA rules. The fact that I do hear loud noise shows that they are not being good neighbors.
Link to AMA rule change: http://www.dirtbikemagazine.com/ME2/dirmod.asp?sid=&nm=&type=news&mod=News&mid=9A02E3B96F2A415ABC72CB5F516B4C10&tier=3&nid=D93180C019DF447E8B26DEFD972F9E4E
Link to sound level distance calculator:
http://www.sengpielaudio.com/calculator-distance.htm
Enter 1.66 in the box "ref. distance r1" and 96 in sound level at ref distance r1. Go down to the next line and enter the ref. distance r2. This is the distance away from the noise source. My house is around 7000 feet from the center of the track, as measured on google maps. Hit calculate, it will return 23.5 - this is the sound level from a 96 dB source at a distance of 7000 feet.
It's proof that the motorcycles are too loud if you can hear any noise on my deck. 23.5 is dead quiet.
I would be happy to meet with Julie.
Actually, the noise meter is very easy to use. But the noise measurement must be taken with the engine reved to an RPM which is determined by the specifics of the vehicle being measured.
ReplyDeleteMy house is 7000 feet away. If they were following the rules they said they would, and that were posted on their website, I would hear nothing at my house. But I get dB readings as high as 70 dB on my deck.
3 db is twice the sound pressure. There's no such thing as "just a few dB". If they had 96 dB at the park, the level would be like 27 dB at my house.
NIMBY, Crow Hill is a good run organization, and is in the most perfect out of the way location, they are not hurting anyone, Some people just cannot be pleased no matter what.
ReplyDeleteIf crow hill are paying Templeton taxes put up with the noise, because there a lot
ReplyDeleteOf noise on lots of others that aren't paying. Enjoy the area and be safe.
Bev, you are so dumb, why are you always thinking of the past? Is this your new job? You never make any sense. You must have been the Gomer Pyale of your class.
ReplyDeleteHey stupid 1/31 11:19 PM want to see dumb just watch stewart, ginny and scappy at the selectmens meetings or the l&w meetings and watch Dana, driscoll and stewart.
DeleteAnyone that would take the time to write such a rude comment like that obviously has such a low self esteem that they have to put others down to feel better about themselves. A-11:19pm let me set you straight so Bev doesn't have to stoop down to your level...Bev is a wonderful woman who cares about her town and her friends, family, and neighbors. She only comments on issues because she wants to town to be treated fairly. She may not get the facts right 100% of the time or people may not agree with her opinion 100% of the time. But at least she shares her thoughts with us. And she always sates that it is her opinion. If you see her at a meeting, go talk to her. She is very friendly and is always welcoming to anyone who is willing to take the time to care about their town enough to understand all sides of the politics. You can certainly express your opinion here on town issues as well--even if they don't jive with others' opinions. Making comments like you just did only makes YOU look really childish and does not accomplish what ever it is you are here to do. So, please try to raise your level of thinking and engage in a healthy, constructive debate.
DeleteListen to the lions roar
ReplyDeleteI have heard that the Lions club is somehow involved with this motorsports park.
DeleteThe fact is, the motorcycles could be quieter and then nobody would be upset because they can't sit on their deck without hearing loud motorcycles at Crow Hill.
We can coexist, it only takes a little courtesy. Enjoy your sport of motocross, but don't make your pipes so loud to show everyone how cool you are.
you are correct Mark the lions club runs the snack bar. isn't it iteresting that 2 former selectmen (bubba and obrien)work at that snack bar with total disregard for the septic and board of health food handling laws.
ReplyDelete11:19PM, Gee I thought I heard Dana call my name! At any rate, the way I look at things is, I may not always be right, but I try my best to be fair to everyone else. If I am wrong, I will admit it. Like it or not, it is not fair for anyone to have to deal with constant noise,that disrupts their life. I don't care how many taxes they pay. The issues at the track,(water and sewer) should have been taken care of along time ago, but at least they will be tended to this year. If the park gets the bikes to be quieter, then all of their problems will be solved. Bev.
DeleteBev why don't you give it a rest
DeleteI'm glad Bev is taking her time to be vocal & try to solve things. More than I can say for a lot of people in this town who just complain & do nothing beneficial for the rest of the area. I, for one, hope she does not give it a rest. Thanks for your hard work & due diligence, Bev. Appreciate all you do to try to make this town better.
Deleteok, here goes, the noise regulation for massachusetts is 310 CMR 7.10 and it says the noise level shall be measured at the property line or the nearest inhabited building. it does not specify who's property line or whos inhabatied building but it also states sporting events are not covered by this regulation, so it just may come down to the local licensing authority and I mean too many noise complaints, suspend the license until a solution is found to satisfy both parties. In nascar there are a few races with restricter plates to I believe slow the cars down so why not have all racers install better expansion chamber pipes or some kind of muffler to get the noise levels down to a reasonable level fair to all. If the race park is in violation of health laws suspend it immediately until all items are fixed. Tax dollars are needed and appreciated and we want business in Templeton. Also democracy involves a majority rule but I also do not want to tell some residents to basically screw off, there has to be a solution so everyone is as happy as possible. and no, everyone will not always be 100 percent satisfied with decesions made, but that is why they pay us the big bucks....wait, I forgot, I do this for public service, not for personal gain. So I wish a few of the selectmen would realize who they are suppose to work for and fix this as best as possible. To Mr. Mark Barrieu, this may be a good reason to run for selectmen.
ReplyDeleteHi Jeff - In this case, Crow Hill has agreed to a different regulation. When they came before the town, way back, they said they would adhere to the AMA rules. The web site stated this in August 2012.
DeleteQuote "No loud pipes. Stock pipes only. Must meet AMA requirements."
AMA requirements state that they will measure the sound level at a distance 20 inches from the exhaust. The engine shall be reved to a specified RPM, based on the stroke in mm (306000 divided by the stroke in mm). The result must be no greater than 96 dB. This typically works out to be 4500 - 5500 RPM.
I attended the selectmen meeting way back. I remember that they said they would not allow loud pipes and would comply with AMA regulations. Their own website states just that (as of a check moments ago, under "Rules". If they did comply with the AMA regs, I would not hear them from my deck, 7000 feet away. It's physics (see the link above to calculate the sound pressure level of a 96 dB measurement taken 20 inches (1.67 feet). By the time it traveled 7000 feet, it would measure 26.5. The human ear would not detect it above ambient noise at that distance. At least not my human ear.
Just a reminder Jeff, we live in a Constitutional Republic not a democracy. A democracy is where the vote of two idiots is trumped by the vote of one individual who is well informed, as is often the case at town meeting. There are rules already in place regarding noise levels so these should be checked first. If these rules are not adequate they need to be addressed.
DeleteI am not prepared to call anyone attending town meeting an idiot. Trying too hard to get more people to attend. That almost sounds like the old elitist as in only the well off and those of the higher learning crowd. As in back when most things were done in latin as that was the language of the highly elite and those with the supposedly advance education. Take a look at some legal documents sometime, still a hold over from those days. Thank you Mark as always.
ReplyDeleteThe comment was meant to remind everyone that we do not live in a democracy but a Constitutional Republic it is why we are fighting in Afghanistan, isn't it? not for the old ruling elitist. As the oath goes; "to protect the constitution against all enemies from within and without." Has the oath been changed?
ReplyDelete