Midway owners outline neighborhood outreach and sound-monitoring steps after New Year complaints

The Entertainment Commission discussed a compliance plan from the Midway (Just Add Music, JAM125) after numerous complaints tied to weekend New Year's events.

Deputy Director Azevedo summarized staff recommendations for the Midway: sending acknowledgement letters to complainants, publishing a real‑time phone number and email for neighbors to reach the venue during events, assigning a staff member to take sound measurements every 30 minutes and document them, and installing a limiter only if other measures cannot maintain compliance. Azevedo said the Midway had been issued a citation following the New Year's events and staff wanted to see concrete mitigation steps.

Owners representing the venue (who identified themselves as Pete, Jordan, Andrea and Caitlin) described neighborhood outreach—posting contact details, forwarding a phone line to staff during shows, and placing a dB meter on site—and said they had purchased a second dB meter to make checks more consistent. They said neighborhood responses on Nextdoor were roughly split "about 50/50," and that a dozen nearby residents engaged in the discussion when staff solicited feedback.

Commissioners asked for stronger documentation linking complaints to measured dB readings and recommended that the venue keep a spreadsheet of readings and outreach attempts. Venue representatives agreed to provide logs, explore a permanently mounted microphone on a nearby building for continuous monitoring, and to install visible dB readouts so performers can see levels in real time.

Deputy Director Azevedo and commissioners noted the discussion was intended to review improved practices, not to recondition the permit tonight; staff will continue to monitor complaints and may request further steps if documented readings show recurring noncompliance.