'I hear every word': Residents share frustrations after more than a decade of sound complaints against Franklin sports complex

FRANKLIN, Wis. (CBS 58) -- A more than decade long saga of noise complaints in the city of Franklin is heating up again.

At Franklin’s Common Council meeting Wednesday, residents continued to make their concerns clear about what they say is unbearably loud noise consistently coming from the Rock Sports Complex.

"I hear every word of the bands every Saturday in my home," said Joy Draginis-Zinggles, a concerned resident. "In our bedrooms, two of our bedrooms with the windows closed, the air conditioning on, the TV's on, it’s disruptive.”

Multiple residents who live near the Rock Sports Complex spoke out against the venue Wednesday night and not for the first time. Those who spoke say they have had enough of the noise and are demanding what they say are overdue changes to be made.

“For noise to carry for miles, there obviously a significant issue going on here,” said Dana Gindt, a concerned resident. “The neighbors aren’t saying we want complete silence. We could hear the games even last year when they were operating at 55.”

Despite these ongoing complaints for neighboring residents asking the venue to quiet down, Michael Zimmerman, the ROC Ventures owner and CEO, asked for the decibels of some of the venue's upcoming events to be raised from 55 decibels to 65 decibels. The Common Council approved all four of Zimmerman’s event licenses.

Multiple residents taking the floor at the Common Council meeting say they feel like a broken record, saying events hosted by the Rock Sports Complex are too frequent and too loud.

Residents say when the sound at the venue is at 65 decibels, they can hear everything clearly word for word. They say it's unacceptable that for more than 10 years, nothing has been done to stop the noise. Residents at the meeting say they are infuriated that the Common Council would approve the complex to hold events even louder.

Meanwhile, Zimmerman advocated for the increased decibels, saying it’s essential to the event and venue’s success.

"These are all extraordinary events,” said Zimmerman. “The whole idea of an extraordinary event is that it's going to go outside of the general day to day operation. That’s why we do it.”

Also discussed at the Common Council meeting was the proposal of bringing in a third-party company to come take a look and assess the current sound monitors and look for possible solutions. Franklin Mayor John Nelson says he believes this is a step in the right direction and that progress is being made between the city and the complex.