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ARLINGTON

Stadium noise irks neighbors

Somerville field’s loudspeakers cited

By Brock Parker
Globe Correspondent / November 12, 2009

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When noise from the neighboring Dilboy Field in Somerville began to bombard her Arlington home several years ago, Susan Hoye said, she kept records about how many times she called to complain.

Hoye and her husband, Vladimir Jandejsek, who live on Sunnyside Avenue, called Somerville’s Police Department and City Hall, as well as Arlington selectmen and the state Department of Conservation and Recreation.

But three years later, the noise from Dilboy Field’s public-address speakers, which face Arlington, continues to plague residents along Sunnyside Avenue, Hoye said, and she’s stopped keeping track of her calls to complain.

“We try to do it consistently, but we’ve really given up,’’ she said.

In response to the neighborhood’s frustration with the noise, Arlington selectmen have ordered town workers to measure the decibel levels coming from Dilboy Field during the final weeks of the high school football season.

Selectwoman Clarissa Rowe said she received 10 complaints from neighbors after an event at the stadium early this month.

“I think the people in Somerville don’t get how awful it is,’’ Rowe said.

Arlington selectmen have met with Somerville officials about the noise, and Somerville Mayor Joe Curtatone said the city is trying to find a solution.

“We want to be good neighbors,’’ said Curtatone, who is also an assistant coach for the Somerville High football team. “We’re not going to ignore the complaints. We haven’t.’’

But the noise continues, Rowe said, adding, “We’ve tried everything.’’

Part of the difficulty in getting the problem resolved, she said, is that the stadium is owned by the state Department of Conservation and Recreation, which leases it to Somerville.

In 2006, the state and Somerville signed a five-year lease that makes the city responsible for managing and operating the stadium, including its sound and lighting systems, according to DCR spokeswoman Catherine Williams. But the agency is committed to doing more to alleviate the noise problem, DCR Commissioner Rick Sullivan said.

Somerville uses Dilboy Field for high school sports, but the stadium is also the home field for Suffolk University soccer teams and the Boston Militia, a women’s football team.

During some football games, Sunnyside Avenue resident Stuart Cleinman said, he can hear every play from his home.

Cleinman, who has lived on Sunnyside since 1986, said the problem began after Dilboy Field’s stadium was renovated in 2006. Since then, he said, the noise has been “fairly horrendous.’’ He has called the Somerville’s 311 call service to register complaints, and he’s called the state, but no one will accept the responsibility to fix the problem, Cleinman said.

“It’s this constant passing of the buck,’’ he said. “It’s very, very infuriating.’’

Curtatone said that Somerville gives instructions to anyone who uses the field about how to operate the PA system and how loud the volume can be.

When Dilboy was reopened after renovations, Curtatone said, there were a number of complaints about noise, but they began tapering off until some complaints were made about a recent sporting event.

Sunnyside Avenue resident Stephen Revilak said he called Somerville’s 311 service to complain about the noise recently, and was told it was a high school football game and there was nothing the city could do.

“Jurisdictionally, it’s a little challenging,’’ Revilak said. “Somerville, they are acting in their own interests.’’

State Representative Sean Garballey, an Arlington Democrat, said he met with Curtatone earlier this year to ask the mayor to look into getting the stadium speakers turned down.

But months after meeting with the mayor, Garballey said, the noise from the stadium remains “extremely loud.’’ Garballey said he is preparing a letter to send to DCR officials and Governor Deval Patrick’s office asking for help in addressing the issue.

“There’s absolutely no reason why my constituents should be forced to live under these conditions,’’ he said.

Curtatone said he will continue to work with Arlington officials to address the problem, but any improvements that would be required, such as relocating the speakers, would be the state agency’s responsibility.

Sullivan, the DCR commissioner, said the state has made some adjustments to lighting and the sound systems at Dilboy, but residents are making it clear that there is still more work to do.

Sullivan said the state can look into moving speakers to field level as a way to cut down on the sound reaching Arlington.

“We’re committed to trying to get it to work,’’ he said.