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Sarasota News Leader November 23, 2012 Siesta Seen MORE NEWS ON NOISE During the Nov. 6 SKVA meeting, President Russell Matthes told members he and SKA Vice President — and Terrace East delegate to the SKVA — Peter van Roekens had met recently with Kevin Burns, the Sarasota Coun- ty Code Enforcement officer who is working after hours in the Village to handle noise com- plaints. The meeting had been scheduled after anoth- er burst of emails had gone to county commis- sioners about businesses exceeding decibel levels. "We just talked it out," Matthes said. In late August, the County Commission ap- proved an expense of $21,060 for Burns to work 10 to 15 hours per week of overtime, because so many complaints about Village noise come in after normal employee hours for the Code Enforcement staff. While recent complaints focused on Blasé Café, Matthes said, "It's not just Rahmi [Neh- mi, the co-owner of the restaurant]. It's every- body in the Village as a whole." Matthes added of the situation, "It was pretty loud on Hallow- een." Nehmi had been "really good about stopping [his live mu- sic] before 10 p.m.," Mat- thes said, referring to the curfew for most businesses in the Village. However, Matthes noted, some of the com- plaints are coming in before 10 p.m. Matthes pointed out that because of the con- crete structure of Beach Terrace and Terrace East at the western end of the Village, sound carries. "You can hear people talking [from condo balconies] when you're walking down the sidewalks," he said. "It's a challenging situ- ation. It's not a new situation. Everybody who has live music or stereos deals with it. It's just the way it is." Nehmi said he had been told some people have downloaded an app to their smartphones that enables them to check decibel levels. A couple of months ago, a deputy arrived at the restaurant and checked the decibel level after a complaint, Nehmi added, but the depu- ty told him the music was "way below the lev- el" allowed. The deputy also pointed out that the app readings could vary from the noise meter readings Sheriff's officers and Burns take. On another occasion after complaints had been aired about Blasé Café, Nehmi said, Burns pointed out to him that wind had been the culprit, elevat- ing the normal sound levels. "I really would like … that Code Enforcement should be the one to enforce the code," Nehmi added. "It will help us not to jump to con- clusions." % Page 80