At the start of the Dec. 10 meeting, two residents used the general public comment period to press the Parks and Recreation Commission on noise and neighbor impacts.

Jack Dehana, who identified himself as a Sandpoint resident, said the HVAC unit behind a nearby building "is running a lot, almost all the time" and that he can hear it as early as 5:30 a.m., limiting his ability to work in his yard and enjoy his property. "I'm hoping Sandpoint will also consider people like myself who bought a house," Dehana said.

Bill Sprand (1917 Aspen Court) described studies and field tests about impact noise from aluminum bats, citing examples and papers he said found impact sounds up to 106 dB (and a study citation that in the record was read as up to 124 dB for certain conditions). He argued the proposed or relocated batting cages could produce disruptive impacts for nearby houses, especially if automated pitching were introduced.

Staff response and investigation: Parks staff reported a multi‑week decibel monitoring effort around the HVAC unit. The highest reading taken near the equipment was about 64 decibels at the source, and peak readings at a neighbor property line were about 48–50 decibels. Staff noted Sandpoint municipal code language cited during public comment addressed sound reproduction devices (amplified systems) and that the code does not plainly regulate ordinary HVAC noise the same way; staff recommended the commission take the matter to council if it wants to allocate resources for mitigation and suggested inviting the officer who led the investigation to report findings.

Next procedural steps: Commissioners supported placing the HVAC/noise concern high on the agenda for a future meeting (January was discussed) and recommended inviting the police sergeant who handled the noise measurements to present his findings. On the batting cages, staff said piers/sleeves were recently poured, nets/fencing and turf have been procured, and installation is planned for spring; the master plan had previously called for relocating the cages slightly north, not to the center of the park.

Because the noise code language discussed addresses amplified sound devices, staff said mitigation of HVAC noise would require council direction and possible budget allocation before city crews could deploy barriers or other measures.