Nearly two weeks after Hollister officials measured noise levels
from San Benito Foods’ downtown canning operations, city officials
plan to disclose the decibel readings to the company today.
Cannery management has said it will use the readings as a basis
for lessening the noise by next year’s tomato canning season, which
generally runs from mid-July until early October, according to city
officials.
Nearly two weeks after Hollister officials measured noise levels from San Benito Foods’ downtown canning operations, city officials plan to disclose the decibel readings to the company today.
Cannery management has said it will use the readings as a basis for lessening the noise by next year’s tomato canning season, which generally runs from mid-July until early October, according to city officials.
City Attorney Elaine Cass has declined public release of the decibel readings because, she said, “We’re trying to investigate it.”
Cass and other officials, however, said the figures will be made public this week, possibly today.
“We will disclose the information to San Benito Foods, at which point we will disclose them as public record,” she said.
San Benito Foods Plant Manager Larry Pitts did not return phone calls Monday.
After a longtime Hollister resident complained in late-July about the cannery’s noise that persists during the 10- to 12-week canning season, Code Enforcement Officer Tim Burns measured decibel levels Aug. 14 from several area locations at three separate times.
Burns said the readings were “considerably over” levels allowed by the city’s noise ordinance, but has not released the measurements. According to the city ordinance, noise levels should be further examined if they surpass 50 decibels during daylight hours and 55 decibels after sunset.
Burns and Cass met with cannery management Aug. 18, and San Benito Foods agreed to monitor and reduce the noise levels produced from its steamers and cookers.
“As a result of our conversation, it is my understanding that San Benito Foods will begin to monitor the noise level generated by the cannery,” according to a letter sent from Burns to Pitts on Friday, “and prior to the beginning of the 2004 canning season will implement changes and modifications to reduce the noise generated to an acceptable level.”
Burns said the agreement did not finalize deliberations between the cannery and city officials. It was just the beginning of a long process, he said.
“It lays a foundation,” he said. “The city recognizes there is a problem and the cannery has acknowledged a problem. It lays the foundation and gives them the impetus to move forward to try and improve the situation.”
The last remaining cannery has been operating in Hollister since 1915. San Benito Foods, a division of Neil Jones Food Companies, has owned the plant since 1977 and cans more than 100 tomato-related products. During the peak season, it operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
City Manager Dale Shaddox said Cass became involved with the issue because it has the potential for future litigation. She is also serving as a advisor to the situation, “because lawyers are great at diplomacy,” Shaddox said.
In June, Shaddox discovered a $1.6 million debt owed by San Benito Foods to Hollister for sewer operations during the past three seasons.
San Benito Foods has been using the city’s industrial wastewater plant during its canning season since 1972. Hollister bills the company each year for the added operations.
City officials have been working to recover the debt from cannery management since mid-July. Most recently, the city reviewed previous invoices and reduced the owed amount to $1.3 million. If the cannery does not pay, Hollister may pursue litigation against the company.
“They (the cannery) need to be responsible,” said Hollister City Councilman Tony Bruscia. “They need to be held accountable.”
