Council Grants Noise Waiver For Brick's Marching Bands

The sound of music will be filling the air again this summer and fall at Brick Memorial High School, and town officials are hoping this time time around there will be no sour notes.
The Township Council on Tuesday night passed a resolution granting a limited waiver of the township’s noise ordinance, allowing the marching bands at Brick Memorial and Brick Township high schools to practice and perform during football and band competition season.

The resolution is an attempt to head off any conflict over the noise from rehearsals, which led to a firestorm on social media late last summer after a resident whose home backs up to school property on the north side of Brick Memorial called police, who enforced the noise ordinance on a summer evening.

The council passed a similar resolution last September in an attempt to quell the conflict, but a miscommunication on dates led to another conflict on the day the Mustangs band was set to leave for a national competition in Hershey, Pa.

“Hopefully we have all the dates added,” Council President Paul Mummolo said as he introduced the resolution.

One resident questioned whether the dates allowed, particularly in September and October, were too too generous to the bands. There are 27 practice dates in October for Brick Memorial. Business administrator Joanne Bergin said the resident who had been in conflict with the band had been kept informed of the dates.

“The resident appreciated the dialogue,” Bergin said. “This schedule is not different from years past. This is what they have been scheduling and practicing for many years.”

“September and October are the prime times for preparing for competitions and football games,” Council Vice President Heather deJong said.

There is a noteworthy difference, however: The suspension of the noise ordinance is for much more restrictive times for Brick Memorial than it is for Brick Township’s band.

The Mustangs’ practice times are limited to a four-hour window in the evenings, with most dates falling on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Only during the band’s two-week band camp in August are the Mustangs permitted to rehearse for a longer period, with a noon-9:30 p.m. practice window.

Across town, where there have been no complaints, the ordinance is suspended from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. for the Marching Dragons to practice.

“This is an elite band,” deJong said of Brick Memorial’s marching band. “This is what they do -- practice every day.”