October 7, 2005

EVC addresses event noise problems

By Angelo Lanham
Times Intern

Who could complain about the merry festivities of 7,000 or so community members celebrating their traditions, eating good food and uniting local neighborhoods?

A number of residents in the Estates neighborhood and in The Villages could. As it turns out, 7,000 merry people amplified by a private sound system can cause quite a racket.

Such was the case with Evergreen Valley College’s second-round hosting Vaisakhi Mela, the Sikh Harvest Festival.
While the sense of togetherness shown by the unprecedented turnout is inspiring, the stark contrast of the neighbors who resorted to calling police about the noise level cannot be ignored.

“In that concern, we will have people look into this problem, try to correct it. I think the issue may be that some people have overdone it,” said Bob Gill, the spokesperson for the Sikh Temple.

Equipment
The type of amplification was a large factor. Members of the Sikh community responsible for putting on the show provided the equipment, which had a few large and very loud speakers.

EVC has consulted with Charles M. Salter Associates Inc., who suggested a number of solutions. First, provide more speakers at lower volumes to improve sound distribution, and second, place them strategically to properly direct the sound and avoid hitting the residential areas so hard.

The company has agreed to set up a test with the new, improved equipment and methods, with decibel meters planted in some neighbors’ yards.

A tentative date for the test in July never panned out, so it was rescheduled for early October, according to Robert Dias, director of facilities and the district’s contact for Charles M. Salter.

Dias said the test will happen from three locations on campus and from one of the neighborhoods.
Number attending

Another aspect of maintaining neighborly peace concerns the turnout. The basic rule of thumb is that the more merry people there are, the more noise they will produce.

The Sikh community estimated a crowd of about 5,000, a number that made EVC administrators fidget in their seats.

“The Sikh community got the support of City Council,” said EVC Finance Director Paul Lam, “who stood behind their estimate of 5,000, so we agreed. But more came.”

Indeed, at least 2,000 more showed up than originally anticipated, more than doubling the crowd size EVC is comfortable with.

As a result, EVC is now limiting crowds to 3,000 people, a figure that in the past had been a far-off number which was never in anyone’s wildest dream tested.

The new 3,000-body limit means that EVC will have to be stricter when groups set forth large crowd estimates.

According to Lam, when groups fill out all the paperwork to rent land for events, closer attention will be paid to crowd estimates, which are embedded in the forms.

Gill said he was happy to see so many gathered at the festival. “I was happy to see people coming together like that. I’ve lived here 30 years; this place is home to me. I think it’s good for the school, they get money (from rent) off the land, and get the culture.”

The flip-side is that the festival already proved itself too big for EVC’s capacity, and for it to grow any more would be to completely outsize the campus as a venue.

So will EVC host the festival again? Both Lam and Gill agree that they will need talk.

“We will have to discuss things, limit crowds, improve equipment,” Lam said.

“I want what’s best for the community. (I like) that at EVC, the students can participate. But maybe we’ll have to go somewhere else,” Gill said.

Gill proceeded to invite anyone who took issue with the noise or any other festival matter to have lunch with him at the Sikh temple, so he could hear his or her side of the story.

Steps have been taken to correct the issue, and it seems a complete solution is on the horizon.

As soon as EVC secures the new equipment, which is better for sound distribution and thus more neighbor friendly, it will be required to use this equipment, thus eliminating the risk of outside equipment bombarding the neighborhoods.

Now that a date has finally been set for the equipment test, perhaps everything can come together by next May, in time to host Vaisakhi Mela again, while surrounding neighbors breathe a sigh of relief from within their quiet homes as the food and merriment goes on without a hitch.