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SWOYERSVILLE &#8212; Amid concerns about noise from nearby residents, measures are underway at the American Legion Post 644 to reduce that inconvenience.In the past few weeks, residents have complained about loud noise coming from parties and events held at the legion.At two consecutive meetings of the borough council, several residents within earshot of an outdoor pavilion and horseshoe pit built outside American Legion Post 644 on Shoemaker Street petitioned members of council to intervene and put an end to the noise and live music they claim has gone above and beyond bearable.Tom Kobusky, treasurer of the legion&#8217;s Home Association, said trees have recently been planted along the post&#8217;s property to help cushion the noise.He admitted it will take time for them to fully grow to serve their purpose, so he has also met with a contractor to have a fence built around the legion&#8217;s pavilion area.Per borough code, Kobusky said the fence would be 6-feet high and about six inches inside the post&#8217;s property line. Kobusky is waiting to receive a drawing of the proposed fence from the contractor, and will then submit it to the borough&#8217;s zoning department.He anticipated the fence could be finished sometime during the pavilion&#8217;s off-season.&#8220;We have started, and obviously it&#8217;s not enough to be able to do that, so we are going to be working on that more,&#8221; he said.Noise ordinancesPreventing the noise, however, was only one of the issues Kobusky and legion officials have dealt with.Kobusky explained the post thought it had to adhere to two different noise ordinances &#8212; one from the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (LCB), and Swoyersville&#8217;s borough code.Michelle Fox, deputy chief counsel for the LCB, explained the state standard is that establishments cannot have amplified music that &#8220;extends beyond the licensee&#8217;s property line.&#8221;Fox said some municipalities can file for an exemptions that, for &#8220;economic reasons,&#8221; allows outdoor music to exceed the state standard.She added, however, that Swoyersville has not filed for an exemption of the rule.&#8220;The state standard is pretty strict,&#8221; she said.Kobusky said officials from LCB paid a visit to the post on Sept. 12 during a pig roast due to more noise complaints from residents, but added no citations were given.He admitted officials &#8220;probably weren&#8217;t as familiar&#8221; with the LCB&#8217;s regulations as they should have been, but said it is being addressed.&#8220;I&#8217;ve talked to them (LCB officials) about what the ordinances are and what the regulations (are) so we can start monitoring that more accurately,&#8217; Kobusky said.The borough&#8217;s code, according to Kobusky, mandates that &#8220;you&#8217;re allowed, up to a certain time, to be 17 decibels over whatever the residential zoning area is.&#8221;Fox, however, said the LCB&#8217;s noise ordinance takes presidence over municipal ordinances.&#8220;The state noise statute is the primary one,&#8221; she said.Along with monitoring its own noise, Kobusky said officials will begin monitoring noise of events hosted by non-legion members on the premises.Kobusky plans to do this with his own decibel meter.&#8220;That is something that is a concern of mine, and we probably do need to make sure that we have somebody here who can be able to go ahead and make sure that things like that are falling under the conformity of the rules,&#8221; Kobusky said.Making amendsAs work progresses to prevent further complaints, Kobusky hopes the matter can be resolved with residents and borough officials.Kobusky said a resident came to a meeting about a year ago with a complaint about the noise.&#8220;Unfortunately, nobody has come back to another meeting again,&#8221; Kobusky said.Kobusky hoped a conversation, along with measures the legion is taking, would help to resolve the issues.He thinks the matter can be resolved without either side entering a courtroom.&#8220;I hope so,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I believe we can.&#8221;<style>
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<div class="neCaption">Neighbors have complained about noise from the Swoyersville American Legion pavilion on Shoemaker Street. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/web1_TTL092315Legion.jpg</photo0><caption0>Neighbors have complained about noise from the Swoyersville American Legion pavilion on Shoemaker Street. </caption0><photoCredit0>Clark Van Orden | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Travis Kellartkellar@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Travis Kellar at 570-991-6389 or on Twitter @TLNews</shirttailMeta></div>

American Legion Post 644 in Swoyersville works to fix noise issues