Published: July 15, 2008 11:37 pm      

Revloc church, residents reach deal on noise

EBENSBURG — Peace is being made between a church in the village of Revloc and its neighbors who complained about noise.

The issue first came before Cambria Township supervisors last month, when residents complained that the Believers Fellowship Family Church held services that were too late and lasted too long.

The Rev. Brian Tunstall and members of the congregation responded that their neighbor disrupted their services with his loud outdoor music.

Supervisors asked both sides to seek a solution, and on Monday that was presented.

The church released a statement of apology to Revloc residents, mailing a copy to all 328 post office box holders in Revloc, Tunstall reported by letter to supervisors.

“We received many positive phone calls and e-mails from the citizens of Revloc informing us there was no need for apology,” he wrote.

Supervisors had suggested that air conditioning might help to keep the noise and music inside the church building, and parishioners took up an offering to buy window units.

“We are currently a week away from the project being finished,” the pastor reported.

In the meantime, the windows on the side of complaining neighbor Joe Vermeulin have been kept closed, and other neighbors said there has been less noise, Tunstall wrote.

The congregation also bought a decibel meter. It found that within the building the noise was between 70 and 80 decibels, while outside it is 30 to 40 decibels.

“Both these readings are in reasonable levels,” Tunstall wrote.

Neighbors critical of the church noise presented a petition with 45 signatures of those who said “excessive noise occurs up to four times per week and on any given day of the week.

“The excessive noise starts as early as 10 a.m. and on many occasions has continued as late as midnight,” the petitioners said.

Both sides spoke at Monday’s meeting and talked with each other afterward, supervisors said.

“Believers Fellowship Family Church has a heart for the people of Revloc and Cambria Township,” the pastor said in his letter.

“Our intentions, as always, are to aid the town of Revloc with actions that promote the common good.”

Supervisors said they consider the matter resolved.