The Rock noise, Franklin ordinance takes effect: 'Huge difference'

FRANKLIN, Wis. - The Milwaukee Milkmen played their first game of the season at Franklin Field on Friday – meaning it was the first time The Rock Sports Complex had to abide by a new city ordinance.

The ordinance came after years of complaints from neighbors. While things were a little louder than the new limit, one neighbor who spoke to FOX6 said she is still overjoyed.

"This is such a huge difference, I am kind of overwhelmed, actually," said Dana Gindt. "This is what we’ve been asking for all along."

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Silence is a sound Gindt had been longing to hear. For years, she and others neighbors near The Rock have been fed up with the ballpark noise.

"I was here 12 years before The Rock was even built, so it was kind of devastating," she said.

"We’ve had sound issues, debates with the neighbors for years. It’s been an ongoing sort of saga," said Mike Zimmerman, CEO of ROC Ventures, which owns the complex.

The saga was settled on Tuesday when the Franklin Common Council passed the ordinance to set a 55-decibel maximum noise level for Milkmen games.

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"We turned all the speakers in, we fine-tuned all the speakers," Zimmerman said. "We’re going to stay locked in with what the neighbors approved, and I guess we are just going to have to see what happens."

It appears the effort is working out for neighbors, like Gindt, so far.

"If it's going to be like this – we have our neighborhood back, this is so exciting," she said.

The ordinance also banned fireworks at Milkmen games, but Zimmerman told FOX6 he hopes to get those back. He also said ROC Ventures filed a petition on Thursday; meanwhile, neighbors prefer the games without the noise.