By DONNA KENNY KIRWAN

PAWTUCKET — A City Council decision to limit the time that bands or amplified music can be played at outdoor events struck a sour note with some local church groups and cultural organizations that hold summer feasts and festivals.

A group of about 50 protesters filled council chambers Wednesday night, and three individuals submitted letters to the council asking them to readdress the issue.
Responding to complaints from neighbors who live near several of the churches and facilities that host the annual events, the City Council approved an amendment to its noise ordinance in January.
According to the new language, the operation of sound-amplifying equipment at outdoor feasts and festivals on Fridays, Saturdays and the day before a legal holiday shall only occur between the hours of 10 a.m. and 10 p.m. On Sundays, sound-amplifying equipment can be heard outdoors only between the hours of 10 a.m. and 9 p.m.
Previously, music at such venues was allowed to continue until midnight.
At the time the ordinance was being discussed, councilor said they considered this a compromise, acknowledging that the feasts and festivals are important community events, but that those who live nearby should not be unreasonably disturbed by the amplified music.
However, with the season approaching for entertainment license applications, several event sponsors claim to have been caught off guard by the new hours, and say the 10 p.m. limit on Fridays and Saturdays is too early.
Victor Santos, director of the Community Center Grupo Amigos da Terceira, said that the noise ordinance “drastically affects our traditional outdoor festival in September”and asked that a “compromise” be reached on the issue.
Santos noted that the organization represents approximately 800 members, 400 of whom are Pawtucket residents. He then said the three-day festival held at the group’s Memorial Drive headquarters is a “demonstration of our ethnic heritage and our customs and traditions.” He also said the festival provides a significant revenue source for the center as well as local charities, and that it also provides tax revenue for the state.
Santos sees an 11 p.m. limit on amplified music for Fridays and Saturdays as a reasonable compromise. He noted that many people don’t attend the festival until later in the night, and that the 10 p.m. ending time would cut down significantly on the amount of food and beverages that would be sold.
“To pay a band to end at 10 p.m. ... that’s the heart of the evening,” Santos said. He also noted that, given the size of the bands and the amount of equipment used, it is not realistic to expect the musicians to break everything down and move it inside for a couple more hours.
Santos acknowledged having had discussions with various city councilors about the festival, including Henry Kinch. However, he claimed that he and other feast and festival sponsors were not given notice last January prior to the ordinance being passed. “We thought that was a slap,” he stated.
David J. Andrade, president of the Portuguese American Citizens Committee of Rhode Island, addressed the council on behalf of the Portuguese community as well as the Portuguese Social Club, Amigos de Terceira and St. Anthony’s Church. He, too, requested a reconsideration of the noise ordinance.
Andrade spoke of Pawtucket’s campaign to foster an “arts and culture” movement, saying that the various feasts and festivals are an important part of those efforts. He too suggested an 11 p.m. compromise, saying the organizations would likely agree to other concessions such as visiting neighbors beforehand to explain the festival and cleaning up trash resulting from the event.
Andrade asked if the new ordinance would apply to such McCoy Stadium events such as night baseball and firewworks displays, and to the Slater Park concert series. Referring to outdoor music emanating from a tent in March at the Galway Irish Pub, Andrade feels the Portuguese community and some other ethnic groups are being treated unfairly.
In a letter to City Council President Mary Bray, the Rev. John O’Brien, pastor of St. Anthony’s Church on Lawn Avenue, also called for an extra hour in the ordinance’s time limit. He further suggested that the council consider “individual merit” and the event’s past history when evaluating each request for an entertainment license.
However, after the council meeting, Kinch said he is adamant about keeping the ordinance as is and sees no need to revisit the matter. Both he and Council President Mary Bray acknowledged having received numerous calls from constituents complaining about the music and noise coming from various feasts and festivals, and said they think the amended ordinance represents a reasonable compromise.
Kinch, who proposed the amendment, said it was co-sponsored by Bray and councilors John Barry and Paul Wildenhain. He said the ordinance simply requires that the outdoor music end at 10 p.m., and that nothing prohibits a band, disc jockey or sound system from moving indoors for the remainder of the evening. He added that the ordinance specifically pertains to outdoor feasts and festivals, and not a large venue such as McCoy Stadium.
Concerning his own district, Kinch said the three-day festival usually features 10 hours of music on Fridays and Saturdays. “Those people over there have a right to sleep after 10 p.m.,” he said. He also said that last year, a double-decker bus that had been hired to pick up festival participants sat on Memorial Drive with its engine idling for about a half an hour when the festival ended, further angering neighbors.
Kinch disagreed with the statement that the earlier music cut-off is going to significantly reduce revenue for the event sponsors, noting that they can continue to sell food, liquor or cultural wares outside. “We’re just saying be prepared to move the music inside after 10 p.m.,” Kinch said.
Kinch also disputed Santos’ statement that Grupo Amigos da Terceira did not have proper notification about the ordinance change. He said he had met with the sponsors on several occasions and “they were very, very aware a year ago about the change to 10 p.m.”
Councilor Paul Wildenhain, whose district includes the Sacred Heart parish that has sponsored feasts in the past, said he also thinks the ordinance should stay as is. He said in past years, there would be frequent complaints about the noise, especially from the elderly and residents of Burns Manor, and the sponsors had refused to turn the music down.
Wildenhain also said he disagreed with the comments made by Andrade about McCoy Stadium, saying that is an entirely different matter.
He said he knows that Bray, Barry and Kinch have also been “bombarded with complaints” in the past about various feasts and festivals held in their districts. He said that Barry, in particular, has had to deal with calls about the annual outdoor festival held at the Portuguese Social Club on School Street and that he personally has been able to hear the music from this event even though he lives two and a half miles away. “I’m content to leave it as is,” he said of the ordinance.