10:21 p.m. Wednesday update: Franklin Mayor John R. Nelson has scheduled an emergency meeting with representatives of ROC Ventures and Franklin's District 6 Alderman Jason Craig to address resident concerns held at The Rock. The mayor's announcement did not state when the meeting would be held.
Watch our AM reporting below:
Michael Zimmerman, owner & CEO of ROC Ventures, issued the following statement to TMJ4 News on Thursday:
“We take the concerns of our neighbors and our local officials seriously. We have been cautious about making changes to the Franklin Field sound system until the study conducted by Resource Systems Group Inc. had concluded. Now that RSG has reported their findings, we have a better understanding of their analysis and recommendations and are ready to sit down with local community leaders to decide which of those recommendations will both address their concerns and provide the best experience for our visitors.
Over the course of approximately 10 years, ROC Ventures has made several changes to our operations to meet the requirements of a pre-agreed upon sound ordinance with the City of Franklin, the Village of Greendale, and Milwaukee County. Examples of those changes include ending concert series at the Umbrella Bar at 10:30 p.m. as opposed to midnight, removing the speakers from the Milky Way Drive-In Theater, and offering to pay for a third-party sound study. In addition, we have adjusted the sound footprint, event time and dates of many of our events including post-game fireworks and The Hill Has Eyes Milwaukee Haunted Houses, which we changed from a 22-day event to 10 days.
The goal of our team is to live up to our promise to the city to provide entertainment for the community and bring new businesses and economic development to the area. So far this year, we have welcomed hundreds of thousands of visitors to Ballpark Commons. We will continue to make improvements and we welcome the opportunity to work side-by-side with our local officials and our neighbors to ensure that The Rock continues to drive growth and engagement to our region.”
_____
Milwaukee County Supervisor Patti Logsdon is working on a draft resolution to urge the County to take action against the Rock Sports Complex over noise complaints.
"I've lived in the neighborhood for 37 years," said Logsdon, who represents part of Franklin. "A lot of these constituents are my friends. And they reach out to me. Every weekend, I get phone calls: 'Supervisor, will you come by our house and listen to what we listen to.'"
Logsdon said The Rock has failed to comply with noise requirements for years. She said her resolution calls for the County to take noise abatement action. And, if that fails, seeks damages.
Last week, a noise study from a private firm on the Rock Sports Complex was presented to Milwaukee County. At times, events held at The Rock exceed both Greendale and Franklin's sound limits, according to the study.
"All they have to do is turn the monitors into the [baseball] stadium. All they have to do is turn the speakers down. And they reuse to do it," said Logsdon.
Franklin Mayor John Nelson told TMJ4 News that he'll be holding an emergency meeting later this week with The Rock ownership and others to, as he put it, "fix this thing."
Nelson said he's been speaking with ROC Ventures CEO Mike Zimmerman about concerns. TMJ4 News reached out to ROC Ventures but has not heard back.
According to the company's website, ROC Ventures manages a number of brands, including the Milwaukee Wave, the Milwaukee Milkmen, The Milky Way Drive-In, and The Rock Sports Complex, which includes the on-site hilltop Umbrella Bar.
"The Umbrella Bar. The bass sound comes through every single room of my second-story house. Even taking a shower, you can't escape it," said Naomi Knoll, whose backyard abuts the sports complex.
Knoll said she's lived in the same spot for 50 years, long before The Rock broke ground.
"I have these different levels of sound in my mind. It's background, loud, very loud, blaring, or blasting. And most of the time [Milkmen announcer] is blasting," said Knoll.
Neighbor Donella McAdams said after years of making complaints, she isn't optimistic yet about any changes.
"Well, I'll tell you. We've been dealing with this simple request for so long. Until I actually see action, I really don't have any hope," said McAdams.
It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.
Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.
