NOISE. And more NOISE.

The construction of a new school building across the street from my bedroom window and also right next to the school I work in (not the same school... wouldn't *that* be convenient?!?!) assures that I am hearing construction noises from the time I get up in the morning until I get off work in the evening.

I can live with that. Really. The schools are desperately needed, the ones being replaced are falling apart. They're not up to any sort of codes... earthquakes, accessibility, safety. They're too small for the number of children they're required to accommodate and they're musty, moldy and decrepit.

And although I know there is an incredible amount of waste* in the system, I voted in favor of the bond measure that is making the new schools a reality.

*I consider a great deal of the whole system a waste... which you know already if you've been with me for very long, but it's what we have. I can't change it or fix it or do anything to make the system different. And I want kids to be safe, cared for, cared about. So I voted for it, even though I have a fundamental disagreement with what I view as warehousing kids.

Annnnd back to the topic at hand. Someone needs to rein me in when I start to digress. When I do that, I always think of Megan, the little girl I had in my Girl Scout troop from the time she was a seven year old. She chattered all the time. If she stopped talking long enough for someone else to start, she interrupted them as soon as she could catch a breath and do so. A constant stream-of-consciousness monologue. She was funny and cute and had a lot of interesting things to say, but couldn't stick to a topic.

We were on our way to OMSI one evening and she was doing her usual.
Lyssa marveled aloud, "Wow. You even interrupt yourself."

I guess that's what I'm doing, too.

OMG, there I go again!!

Okay. So the construction company doesn't seem to understand the meaning of noise ordinance.
From our city's municipal code, public information for anyone smart enough to look it up...

A. Construction. Construction work involving excavation, erection, demolition, alteration or repair of any building or structure shall be lawfully permitted only between the following hours except as permitted by legal variance:

Monday through Friday:    7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m

Saturday:    8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Sunday:    10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

I have contacted the city by phone three different times during this construction process. The first time I talked to the guy, he told me that the construction company had asked for (and received) a variance for the super early hour(s) of noise.

But one of the mornings there was a cement truck parked outside my bedroom window at FIVE.
Mr. City agreed with me that five was 'a little ridiculous'.

I called him three times. One of the other times was because they were out there at 6 AM on a Saturday.

FUCKING NO.

So Mr. City tried to tell me that the construction guys were 'behind' schedule.

I laughed at him.

"Um, no. That's a bullshit excuse. If they're behind schedule, then they should not be leaving at two or three in the afternoon. There's still four or five hours of daylight every day that they're just ignoring. I'm not buying that one from you and you shouldn't be buying it from them. You're not, are you?"

He said something about them 'obtaining a variance' for "some" of the infractions.

I laughed at that one, too.
Asked him how a piece of paper or permit helps me sleep on the weekend.

So last weekend, October 28th, those happy motherfuckers were out there at 7. Backing up their trucks and slamming around. They started hammering at 7:10.

I was fuckin' pissed.

So *this* time I emailed Mr. City.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hi Mr. City,

We've spoken on the phone more than once about the rules regarding noise and early morning construction projects, specifically the new school.

They were out there at 7 on Saturday morning, October 28th. BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP. Close your eyes and imagine. I'll wait. CRASH! SLAM!! Yell and more BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP.

While you're at it, imagine this.
Working people who get out of bed at 5 AM the whole damn week hoping to get a little extra sleep on their day off.
People who are helping to pay for the new school.
Imagine how pissed off they are at this point.

DO NOT tell me that they're 'behind schedule' because if they were, they would not have gone home (or wherever the hell they went) at noon on Saturday!

The truth is that they don't give a rat's ass about who they're disturbing or what kind of mess they're making.

So what's the point of a noise ordinance if they don't have to follow it?

This is going to be my last contact with you regarding the issue, so I wanted it in writing.

Last time we talked, I thought you had it handled.
I may be a lowly wage slave/taxpayer, but at this point you can add grumpy to the front of that.
I will be making calls and pitching a fit to anyone who will listen after this.

It's completely unacceptable for Skanska to disregard the law.
Please let me know what you've done about this latest infraction after you do... something. Anything.
I'd really love to have this crap stop.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I did receive a response, which included his phone number, 'in case you'd like to call.'
Um, Dude. I have your number already.
That's why I called you THREE DAMN TIMES. You're getting an email because I wanted it in writing this time.

So I emailed him back.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you for the reply.

When we talked before about the noise ordinance, you said that not only were they required to obtain a variance, they were to communicate with the people who would be affected by the noise.

I still haven't heard anything from them.
Wait, bad choice of words.
I've heard from them so much that I'm pretty much done listening.

What I *meant* was, there has been no communication from Skanska or anyone else regarding the disruption of my more or less peaceful home life with construction noise outside the legal hours.

I don't let you know every time it happens, you'd be hearing from me daily. They never wait until 7 AM during the week, it's always at 6:15 or so. They might wait to start hammering until as late as 6:45 but they start moving their beeeeeeeeeeeeeping equipment much earlier. Believe me, that's just as loud as the other things they're doing.

Since I have to go to work early, it's not as ridiculous as the weekend attacks.
Still just as illegal, but not as ridiculous.

I realized though that the cumulative effect is really starting to aggravate me.

And that since they're getting away with starting early every weekday, they really don't see a difference in being jerks on the weekends, too.
Construction guys can be sort of... limited.
Bless their hearts.

I understand that the new school is desperately needed.
I work in the district.

But I don't believe that the relatively short duration of the construction means that my family and the other families in proximity to the project deserve to be treated disrespectfully. It's way past time for someone to fix this problem.

Obviously the construction company doesn't care. And since they're getting away with it, and have been doing so since it started, why should they?

I'll be interested in hearing what gets done about this,

Susan
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Susan,
We’ve contacted Skanska, DAY CPM, and the School District about the noise issue. All parties involved (above and beyond Skanska) aware that there is a problem and that construction activity can only take place during permitted hours.

I’ve also sent a formal warning letter to the School District as the property owner, and Skanska as the contractor. With the formal warning in place, the City can take further action if a repeat violation occurs.

Thank you and please contact me if you have any questions or concerns,

Mr. City
I figured that the issue was over. Hopeful that they'd stop with the ridiculous shit, mostly on weekends. Hell, I get up at 5 during the week, that isn't upsetting me. The repeated incidents (DAILY) of them starting an hour ahead of the ordinance haven't really concerned me because I am gone around that time during the week. But it is still outside the law. And I goddamn want to sleep on the weekends!!!!

So when I came home from work on Wednesday, my husband was waiting to tell me that the construction company had stopped by. He walked into the momcave and came back out with a gigantic gift basket.

There was a nice handwritten card from the construction company boss. Included were business cards from the site manager with their contact information and an invitation to call 'any time'.

Eric said they tried bullshitting him with things like being 'behind' and that he laughed at them. Told them that he's been in the business for more than 30 years and when you're behind, you don't go home at noon.

The guy also wanted to act like just because he 'applied for a variance' it was okay. And Eric told him the same thing I said up there... a variance doesn't help the neighbors sleep on the weekends.

Anyway, the basket is full of stuff that I don't like and won't use. I will probably give it away here and there.

Haha, my Christmas shopping is done.

Anyway, I'm hopeful that I can sleep in on the weekends.
That's really what I cared about in the first place.

And I found it hysterically funny that they stopped by while I was working... as usual about an hour and a half ahead of where they should be. :-D