Power outages are a concern, but so is noise.
The Springfield Township Board last week told the Davisburg-Dixie Market to find a quieter emergency generator, even if it is insufficient to maintain the market’s full service during a power outage.
The ‘request for deviation? was motivated by ‘an earnest desire to help the community in the event other power outages occur,? according to Paul Baranowski, a sales representative for Oscar W. Larson Co., with whom the market is contracting for a standby generator.
The allusion was to last August’s major power outage, and the request was for a generator which would exceed the township’s noise limit by 7 decibels. Measurements for the natural gas-powered generator would also slightly exceed the space documented in the original site plan, and some voiced concern about screening of the unit.
‘In the event there is a power outage, approving this request will provide a place you can see and a place that can provide cold dairy products as well as other goods and merchandise for the community,? Baranowski wrote to the board. ‘If there is an outage again, our general assumption is the noise will not be the priority of concern but rather a sound of welcome confidence.?
Baranowski also said the proposed placement was necessary to provide for emergency access.
‘If the unit can’t be serviced in time of need, Murphy’s Law usually prevails.? he said.
The board’s consensus was negative. Trustee Dean Baker said decibels follow a ‘logarithmic? formula, and the numbers alone can be misleading. Increasing the decibel level from 70 to 80, for example, is actually a bigger increase than one-seventh.
‘It creates a perception of doubling the noise level to the person listening,? Baker said, also offering a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency limit of 70 decibels over a 24-hour period. He cited concern for future nearby development as well. ‘There are other options here.?
Others used comparisons of sound levels of items such as tractors and snowmobiles.
‘It’s not going to be as loud as a tractor, and it’s not going to be on all the time,? Baranowski said, noting the ability to program the biweekly, 20-minute tests as times less disturbing to neighbors. ‘It’s an emergency backup generator.?
‘Eighty-one decibels is not quiet,? Clerk Nancy Strole said. ‘Eighty-one decibels is loud.?
While trustees suggested a more limited power outage strategy, Baranowski said the store needs a higher capacity generator to run store computers and other equipment.
‘We have a good generator that produces utility-quality power,? he said.
Maybe it’s not critical in a power outage to have all the lights on and the soda fountain running,? Supervisor Collin Walls said. ‘Can you reduce the size of the generator in that space??
‘We’ll research it,? Baranowski replied, and the board tabled the request.