City officials said they understand residents’ concerns and are open to working with them about how to improve the 35-acre area off Brandt Pike. A town hall meeting will be scheduled in October, City Manager Jim Borland said. The date has not been set for the meeting yet.
“The city is constantly looking to improve the situation,” Mayor Ron Fisher said. “A lot of it is trial and error. We sympathize with the situation, but no matter where we put it in Huber Heights, we’d hear similar type of things.”
Peggy Miedlar, who lives on Citrus Circle, addressed City Council earlier this month and said that the aquatic center music was “seldom noticeable,” but they didn’t get any relief from the noise from the children in attendance. The final attendance total for the facility was 86,914, which exceeded the city’s expectations.
She also referenced the noise coming from three recent events at the amphitheater — the Ohio State band, the Stranger concert and a church service.
“All of a sudden, we don’t feel valued as part of the city,” Miedlar said. “At this point, we are the ones made to suffer so a few other people can enjoy this area. Our peace and quiet are not important to the city anymore. We would like to enjoy our property without being penalized by being too close to the aquatic center.”
Scott Falkowski, interim assistant city manager, said the police department received a noise complaint during the concert and church service. Police Chief Robert Schommer previously said the noise level doesn’t violate any section of the city’s ordinance.
A community movie night is scheduled Friday night at the amphitheater.
“We’re still learning the process and we’re always trying to make improvements,” Falkowski said. “We’re in the process of increasing the height of those mounds along the side, which should help buffer out more of the noise. And we’re adding more landscaping to extend that buffer in that area.”
A chain link fence also was put in over the summer along the west side of the complex.
The 750-foot access road off Shull Road that was proposed in May was not constructed because the city decided it wasn’t needed based on an analysis of traffic patterns.
“It’s still a possibility,” Falkowski said. “We’ll keep an eye on the traffic patterns and see what the necessity is.”
The final portion of the walking trail will be installed in the next month, completing the ¾ of a mile, $200,000 trail system around the recreational complex.
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