District 65 Seeks Further Input Before Acting on Noisy Chillers

 Board of Education is awaiting further input from an industrial noise company in Aurora before taking any action on trying to quiet the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning compressors behind

At Tuesday night’s Committee of the Whole meeting, said he was waiting to talk with Mark Rubino from Industrial Noise Control in Aurora. Rubino visited the middle school last week to listen to the noise level, though Martindale noted that only one compressor was running at the time.

“He looked at the wall and has been given all the details, and he said he was comfortable right now in making recommendations,” Martindale said.

The board is attempting to find a solution to a noise issue that has plagued the Lake Bluff neighborhoods directly behind the middle school for the past three summers. At the July 26 regular school board meeting, Bob Clifford and his wife, Kristan, spoke during public comment representing more than 70 of their neighbors who had formed the Middle School Noise Abatement committee.

The Cliffords' house sits directly behind the middle school on Circle Drive, and the couple have spoken to the board several times on their own about the noise from the chillers.

At the July 26 meeting, Bob Clifford, acting as Middle School Noise Abatement’s spokesman, contended that since the demolition of East School, the noise level has actually increased. They asked the board to enlist the help of companies that specialized in industrial noise.

Martindale since has contacted Rubino and also Dr. Paul Schomer of the University of Illinois. According to an online document, Schomer has expertise in the “areas of environmental noise and its assessment, human and community response to noise ...”

However, Martindale wanted to gain more input from Rubino before the district pursued Schomer, who has asked for a fee upfront to assess the noise issue.

“He’s very well-respected in the area of noise control,” Martindale said. "His fee is based on completely analyzing the situation, perhaps gathering more data and consulting with the architect.”

Board member Eric Waggoner noted Schomer may offer a more objective perspective since he doesn’t own a company and doesn’t have a product to push.

Martindale said Robino could present his findings at the next regular school board meeting on Aug. 23.