Resident Tish Hanlon (right) of Jackson presented petition signed by 82 residents to selectmen (from left) Bob Thompson, chair Barbara Campbell and Frank DiFruscio at the June 10 selectmen's meeting asking for selectmen to address what they perceive to be excessive noise concerns at Black Mountain Ski Area. (TOM EASTMAN PHOTO)
JACKSON — Addressing neighbors’ concerns about what they perceive as excessive music noise at Black Mountain, Jackson selectmen last Tuesday — after meeting with ski area representatives and townspeople — agreed to hold a public hearing with the planning board to work on how to regulate future special events in town.
New Black Mountain owner/general manager Erik Mogensen and his attorney, Ken Cargill of Cooper Cargill Chant of North Conway, said they had not received any formal complaints other than from their direct neighbors, farmer Dean Davis, who was concerned about the fireworks the ski area had on May 3 for its 90th birthday.
Appearing with Cargill and Black’s assistant general manager Alex Lahood, Mogensen said the ski area over the past year saw skier visits rise to 38,000, which he said is far more than the resort has ever seen in its existence. Cargill contended that fireworks and music are considered as accessory uses at ski resorts.
Selectmen Barbara Campbell (chair), Bob Thompson and Frank DiFruscio listened to input from Black officials and citizens after receiving a petition from resident Tish Hanlon that was signed by 82 voters that asked selectmen to address the issue.
Reading from the petition, Hanlon — a longtime resident of Doublehead Drive and married to local builder Steven Weeder — said: “As citizens of Jackson, we hereby request that you, our elected officials, address the excessive noise issue at Black Mountain Ski Area.
“We would like the owners and operators … to acknowledge that they are located in a rural residential community and the consistent loud music and noise is a disturbance to the people of this community. We respectfully ask you require them to accommodate our right to a peaceful existence,” she said.
Hanlon added that “many of us have lived alongside Black Mountain for decades and have not experienced this disturbance in the past.”
“We feel it is unnecessary to play music at the high volume it is played, and also to play the music at the higher elevation, and what sounds like a blasting horn or whistle,” Hanlon added, still reading from the petition. “In addition to the music, the fireworks are disturbing our animals, including dogs, cows and horses.”
She said many residents have been reluctant to speak out because they are “pleased and excited that Black is experiencing a revival, but we feel this noise and disturbance should not occur at the expense of our peaceful enjoyment of our property.”
DiFruscio questioned the need for playing music during ski hours, saying the beauty of the sunny slopes and communing with nature ought to satisfy most skiers and riders.
Among those attending the June 10 selectmen's meeting in Jackson were (from left) Black Mountain's assistant general manager Alex Lahood, general manager/owner Erik Mogensen and attorney Ken Cargill of Cooper Cargill Chant. Police Chief Chris Perley can be seen in the background left. (TOM EASTMAN PHOTO)
Thompson said he felt a compromise solution could be reached. He said in 2017 when faced with complaints from neighbors of wedding venues throughout town, selectmen came up with an extended liquor license process addressing outdoor music being housed in a tent with drop-down sides. That process also sets a decibel noise level of 90 and stipulates that the music must end at 10:30 p.m.
“Letters were sent out to the wedding venues, and that sort of took care of it,” said Thompson, who rejoined the board a few years ago.
He said that Black officials obtained an extended liquor license from the town shortly prior to the May 3 celebration but the focus was on the fireworks and not those stipulations.
Police Chief Chris Perley outlined a process in which people can call police if they have a noise complaint.
Asked after the meeting about her comments regarding the need for a public hearing, Campbell said: “It will be a platform for folks to come forward and participate. (In Jackson) we don’t have a special events permit. The discussion could be about the need for that or of housekeeping updates of the the existing ordinance.”
In a follow-up interview, Mogensen told the Sun he plans to make calls to petition signers to try and address their concerns.
He said his employees followed the stipulations of the extended liquor license granted by the town and they moved the outdoor music inside the base lodge by 10 p.m. for the ski area’s May 9 birthday celebration.
As for being good neighbors, he said they hosted two community meetings last fall to outline their plans for ushering in a new era at Black, which is the state’s longest operating lift-serviced area in the state.
“We want to work with the people of the town,” said Mogensen. “We are intent on saving a community ski area — and the key word there is community. But there are a lot of stakeholders invested in this project, and we refuse to let the squeaky wheel get the grease (in terms of those complaining about the noise).”