Protesters turn up the volume; casino says it’s a good neighbor
July 21, 2010
By Laura Geggel
As musician Peter Frampton twanged on his guitar at Snoqualmie Casino, about 2,000 fans cheered at the casino’s outdoor Mountain View Plaza, about 10 protestors picketed outside the casino’s entrance and people across Snoqualmie Valley either opened or closed their windows, so they could either hear or block the music wafting from the concert July 15.
Some Snoqualmie residents said they are unhappy with the noise from the casino’s outdoor concerts, calling the noise disruptive. Casino staff said they had voluntarily implemented a sound curfew and decibel limit, and might make changes to the venue next summer.
Snoqualmie Casino Marketing Director Dana Nelson (left) and Mike Gallagher, vice-president of marketing, take a decibel level reading in a parking lot in downtown Snoqualmie during the July 15 show. By Laura Geggel
When the casino opened in 2008, it had two concert venues: the Snoqualmie Ballroom, seating 1,000 people, and Sno Lounge, seating 250 people. Last year, casino staff found they could transform the performers’ parking lot into a concert venue they named Mountain View Plaza, seating about 2,000 people.
“Once we started outdoor shows, we knew that sound was going to travel,” said Snoqualmie Casino Vice President of Marketing Matt Gallagher, explaining why the casino has a 10 p.m. curfew, the same as the city of Snoqualmie’s noise ordinance, and a 95 decibel limit.
Snoqualmie Tribe Administrator Matt Mattson said the tribe supported the decisions.
“The tribe, generally speaking, defers to our own management experts,” Mattson said.
“The management thought that the outdoor concerts would be an added amenity that would drive traffic through the casino, and the tribe deferred to that and thought it was a good recommendation.”
Last summer, the casino held seven outdoor concerts at the plaza. This summer, the casino has 31 shows, holding between one and four concerts per week June 17 – Sept. 2.
The city offered the nearby Snoqualmie Point Park, seating 5,000, as another possible venue for the outdoor concerts, but Mattson said it wasn’t feasible for the casino to hold concerts there because of infrastructure and parking needs.
Two sides to the story
Ron Sorenson, who has lived in Snoqualmie for 40 years, said he and his wife can hear the concerts from their home in downtown Snoqualmie.
“It’s like somebody is playing loud music in their backyard, loudly amplified. You can’t hear every word,” Sorenson said. “It just blares, because it’s going out in this huge, vast sound blast.”
He said the music affected people and children who go to sleep before 10 p.m. and others who don’t like the noise.
“You have to look at that to decide what your schedule is going to be,” he said. “Would you want to have a barbecue? Could your children sleep?”
“It’s affected my well being,” Mike Askers, who lives on Indian Hill, said. “Owning a small business, I go to bed early and it’s affected me.”
A number of people have contacted local representatives, including King County Councilwoman Kathy Lambert, State Reps. Glenn Anderson and Jay Rodne, U.S. Congressman Dave Reichert, Snoqualmie Mayor Matt Larson and the state Governor’s Office of Indian Affairs.
Not everyone minds the music, however.
During the performance July 15, Bruce and Kathy Stevenson sat on their front steps with their two dogs and a couple of beers listening to Yes play up above them.
“It’s wonderful. We love it. It’s like having a stereo in my yard,” Bruce Stevenson said.
Some have asked the casino to reverse the plaza’s configuration, so the speakers would face away from the Valley, but the casino has no plans to do so, Gallagher said.
The stage’s placement allows it to be near the loading dock and the dressing rooms; if it were reversed, the main entrance would be behind the stage, making the flow of foot traffic in and out difficult. And the noise from the back of the stage could be potentially worse than the music from the front of the stage, Gallagher said.
Just how loud is the music?
The casino contracts with sound engineers to enforce its decibel policy. The plaza has a limit of 95 decibels. To put that in perspective, breathing is 10 decibels, a conversation in a restaurant is 60 decibels, a food blender is 90 decibels and a chainsaw is 110 decibels, according to the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry.
Listeners could get ear damage if they listened to 90-decibel noises for about eight hours and could get serious ear damage if they listened to 100-decibel noises for the same amount of time, according to the OMSI.
If a band’s sound engineers go above 95 decibels, Carlson Audio Systems Chief Engineer Allan Bagley said he asks them to turn it down.
During every show, casino Marketing Director Dana Nelson said he drives through Snoqualmie, taking measurements with a decibel reader. Background noise from cars and airplanes registers on the reader, along with noise from the concert.
On top of Indian Hill and later near the Snoqualmie Valley School District office in downtown Snoqualmie July 15, the decibel reader gave a measurement of about 40, some of it from ambient noise.
“We’re definitely not saying you can’t hear it three and a half miles away at Indian Hill,” Gallagher said. “It’s audible. It’s consistent with a radio being put on at its lowest level in a car.”
At those decibel readings, it is unlikely anyone’s hearing would be damaged, though it could be irritating, said University of Washington Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences Professor and Chair Richard Folsom.
“It doesn’t take an expert in hearing to say some sounds are annoying, and if I lived in a house nearby, I would be annoyed if I couldn’t fall asleep at night,” he said.
The casino and the community
The concert noise is not the first time the casino’s neighbors have complained. Some people were uneasy when the casino built its employee parking lot near their houses, Gallagher said. In response, the casino planted trees to shield the houses from the parking lot’s lights and put up a fence to address safety concerns.
Since then, the casino has not heard any complaints from those neighbors, he said.
The evening of July 15, Gallagher said the casino had received three calls asking it to increase the sound during the sound check and one call complaining about the noise.
Since the 2010 outdoor summer concerts began, he said the casino had received noise complaints from 25 people, one anonymous caller and three anonymous e-mailers.
In fact, the publicity from the outdoor concert noise disagreement has increased the casino’s ticket sales by 50 percent, Gallagher said.
After the concert season ends, he said the casino would evaluate the plaza from a business perspective. For example, many concerts were held in the rain in June. Next year, the casino might not schedule concerts in mid-June to avoid potential bad weather, Gallagher said.
KZOK FM radio personality Bob Rivers, who lives in North Bend and has participated in several charity casino shows, said the culture and jobs the casino brought to the Valley were a good tradeoff for any inconveniences that came with it.
“I know these guys are doing everything they can to mitigate the noise,” Rivers said. “I do feel for you if you feel inconvenienced,” but he said Interstate 90 was noisy too, and he didn’t see anyone protesting it.
Craig Bill, director of the state Office of Indian Affairs, said the office would help resolve the issue only if the tribe asked.
“If requested, we’ll try to help get the right people in the room,” Bill said. “We respect the tribe’s sovereignty of the issue and its jurisdiction.”
Although they don’t like the noise from many of the concerts, Sorenson said he and his wife paid $75 apiece for tickets to The Beach Boys at the plaza, but left because it was too loud. He said he wanted to find a peaceful solution with the casino, and soon.
“They’re using us to promote their casino,” he said. “Our views, our mountains. They’re polluting it.”
Laura Geggel: 392-6434, ext. 221, lgeggel@snovalleystar.com. Comment at www.snovalleystar.com.
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4 Responses to “Protesters turn up the volume; casino says it’s a good neighbor”
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Excuse me?? Is someone asking if the Casino cares what these cry babies want?? Well…My Momma always taught me….you CAN’T please everyone!!! And she always told me….You can please some of the people some of the time…But you CANNOT please all the people, all of the time!!! Sorry Charlie!! The CONCERTS MUST GO ON!!!
It will take some getting used to….give it time!! If you can’t get used to it then maybe they should think of moving to a different area…not so close to the Casino. It would be like moving to the city and not liking the loud sirens of ambulances and fire engines. Are they going to turn the sirens down the sound is annoying or cuz people and children are sleeping? NOT!!! Be For Real!!
The last quote of the article CRACKS ME UP!!! And I quote…..”They’re using us to promote their casino,” he said. “Our views, our mountains. They’re polluting it.” Excuse me again??? Using you?? YOUR Mountains?? We’re polluting??? How ironic is that statement. If anything….we learned it from the United State’s Government!! You can sure dish it out!!! But dont wanna take what’s dished out to you!!! Sorry but i have no sympathy!! The Casino stays…the concerts stay!! You know where the door is!!!
Believe me the Snoqualmie City Council will never publicly take issue with the Tribe about anything. It’s all about money.
Before a tribe can open a casino the State Gambling Commission requires all tribes sign a Tribal State Compact. There is an article in it establishing a set aside, a percentage of income to pay impact fees. In 2007 one local tribe awarded hundreds of thousands of dollars to pay local governments annual impact fees. The Snoqualmie City Council is counting on fees to being paid to them for city services.
Complaints from the City will upset tribal decision makers and guess what no impact fees this year! The City of North Bend and local charities are also able to apply for these same funds. Do you believe the City of Snoqualmie really cares about your noise complaints?
Tribes are sovereign governments and do not recognize City, County, or State regulations, only Federal law. Being a good neighbor is hogwash used for news headlines it means nothing.
would love to move- the casino has lowered values at least 20- 40 percent and it will get worse as people disclose the noise levels – knew the casino was there but thought they would not pullute the valley with noise- foolish of me to trust the white fathers leading their tribal members- maybe the tribes values will change and all will be well- not likely though-