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Largo Medical Center's neighbors have long complained of loud noise at the hospital. The city's wall plan could be the solution.
By ERIC STIRGUS
© St. Petersburg Times, published September 7, 2001
LARGO -- The city is proposing to build a wall between a row of homes and Largo Medical Center, hoping to quiet the ongoing complaints by many residents about noise from the hospital.
The wall would be built as part of the long-anticipated drainage improvements to McKay Creek, which separates the hospital from 13 homes along Patlin Circle East, city officials said.
In July, the hospital offered to pay each homeowner $500 to construct buffers of their choice to deflect the noise. In return, homeowners would absolve the hospital and the city of any future liability.
Although most homeowners agreed to the deal, some dismissed the settlement offer as "hush money." City Manager Steven Stanton also said he was uncomfortable with the proposal and asked his staff to come up with another solution.
"My concern is the proposal would not satisfactorily affect the problem," Stanton said Thursday. "Simply paying people for a temporary state of happiness is not a long-term solution."
Although city officials were unsure about the size, cost or precise location of the proposed wall, some residents were nonetheless thrilled with the possibility of the city's plans.
"I think a wall is a step in the right direction," said resident Sheila Jaquist.
City officials, who first mentioned the idea of a wall at a commission meeting Tuesday night, cautioned Thursday that plans for a wall are far from completed. Engineers would have to determine whether the wall could be built in that area. The idea would also need the approval of residents.
"I think it will go a long way to resolving some of the issues there," said Ric Goss, the city's community development director.
Residents along Patlin Circle East, many of whom moved to the block before the hospital was built in 1978, have been complaining about noise from the hospital and the nearby Diagnostic Clinic for years.
Residents say huge delivery trucks constantly roll into Largo Medical Center, causing the windows of some homes to vibrate. There also has been griping about the banging of Dumpster lids, and one resident complained that the noise from the hospital's generators and air conditioning has interrupted backyard cookouts.
Largo Medical Center officials say they have tried to address those concerns. They have asked vendors not to come at night. When they discovered one company was ignoring their request, hospital officials ordered staffers to refuse the delivery. On an evening during their construction when they knew the work would be loud, the hospital gave residents free passes to dinner and a movie.
Stanton said the city has an obligation to do what it can to provide quality living conditions for residents.
"In these situations, this is where government can help," he said.