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City Council adopts noise ordinance amendments
Tuesday, 07 February 2012 by Matthew Girard
The Belton City Council made revisions to the city's noise ordinance and honored three members of the Belton Police Department Tuesday night at the Harris Community Center.
The city council voted to amend the current city noise ordinance to better accommodate the growing live music scene in Belton and to protect residents from excessive outdoor concert noise
"Live music is becoming very popular in Belton," BPD Chief Gene Ellis said. "We've had some concern about the noise encroaching into our residential neighborhoods, so we are proposing some amendments to the city ordinance."
Ellis said the amendments were needed because the original ordinance didn't specifically address noise decibel limits.
"We set some limits and most of the limits are related to time and sound limits," Ellis said.
The council approved the amendments unanimously, which included an 85 db limit from 9 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and from 9 a.m. to midnight Fridays and Saturdays. From 10:30 p.m. to 9 a.m. Sunday through Thursday, no amplified outdoor music is allowed and from midnight to 9 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays no amplified outdoor music is allowed.
Ellis, council members and those in attendance also honored the BPD Officer of the Quarter, Officer of the Year and Police Chief's Award recipients Tuesday night.
Sgt. Kimberley Hamilton was awarded the Officer of the Quarter after Hamilton helped save the life of a one and a half-year-old child after its airway was blocked on Nov. 5. Hamilton was also awarded the department's Lifesaving Medal for her actions.
Det. Patrick Mullins was awarded the Officer of the Year for his dedication and diligence in the investigation and capture of a suspect wanted in connection with a 22-year-old homicide case.
Public Service Operator Sharon Lewis and CID Secretary Ann Forrest were awarded the Police Chief's Award for 2011. Lewis and Forrest accepted the challenge of finding homes for abandoned and lost animals after the BPD took on the task of pet adoptions following the closing of the private shelter that had been handling adoptions.
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