The State College Borough Council amended a noise waiver request Friday that would allow for six events that would use amplified sound on HUB lawn.

Borough Manager Tom Fountaine said he hoped there would be only one more discussion on the topic before a vote at tonight's council meeting.

Council changed the location at which decibel levels will be monitored, from Locust Lane and Beaver Avenue to Locust Lane and Foster Avenue, Fountaine said.

Members agreed that Locust Lane and Foster Avenue would be a better location for monitoring sound coming from the specified events because additional noise from the downtown area would not interfere as much on Foster Avenue.

The requested waiver comes in response to a student plan to build a permanent stage on the HUB lawn that would likely face downtown.

According to the waiver, if noise levels exceed 70 decibels at the monitoring location, the university would be notified and the noise level would then be reduced.

Fountaine added that sound would also be monitored near the Municipal Building, 243 S. Allen St., and other locations that produce complaints of high noise levels.

"As a management process we will routinely monitor at other locations," Fountaine said.

Council member Richard McCarl suggested raising the acceptable decibel level because he believed 70 decibels, which he said was about the amount of sound in a noisy restaurant, is very little noise. Council did not raise the level, though, because the waiver can change when it is up for renewal, which occurs annually and includes all events.

If all goes as planned, council will vote on the noise waiver, which was tweaked to include measures that will assure residents that if the noise levels get too high the volume can be turned down, council member Jeff Kern said.

According to the proposed changes, Kern said that Director of Union and Student Activities Stan Latta would monitor the events throughout the performances and turn down the sound if it exceeds 70 decibels.

He would meet with police within 15 minutes at the corner of Locust and Beaver to monitor sound levels if complaints arise. If Latta cannot be reached at the time of a complaint, he said borough police would work with campus police to decide what to do.

Council members showed concern for the noise of the six events bleeding into the surrounding neighborhoods, but also said the ability to monitor this on a year to year basis was comforting.

"Why not see what this is like for a year and then go from there?" council member Cathy Dauler said.

The noise waiver would need to be renewed every year by council specifically for these six events, which do not include AfterFest, Fountaine said. He added that AfterFest required its own annual approval.

Fountaine said there is nothing that prevents council from coming back after the first or second event and modifying the waiver.

The university worked with the borough to establish one document detailing what would be voted on.

Some members also pointed out that events such as those included in the waiver could not be avoided.

"Part of living in this community, near the university, is that six nights a year you may hear this," council member Jim Meyer said.

Council member Craig Humphrey said he agreed.

"People have to realize that they live in a university town and this town depends on the university," Humphrey said.

Kern said he is annoyed in the mornings by cars and trucks audible from I-99.

"It bothers me, but I am not going to try to banish I-99," Kern said. "If this doesn't work, we will tweak it next year."