Members of the Saugus Board of Selectmen discussed their frustrations with the acoustics in the Town Hall’s auditorium at a recent meeting.
Board Vice Chair Jeff Cicolini brought up the issue, saying that he often has trouble hearing what people are saying during the meeting, to the agreement of other members of the board and Town Manager Scott Crabtree.
Cicolini said that a recent investment made for Saugus Community Television to improve visual and audio quality was supposed to also address this issue, but if anything, the acoustics in the room have gotten worse.
“People at home, I’m sure they can hear fine, it comes across good in that, but in here they have to do something,” Cicolini said. “For the amount of money that was spent, it needs to be better than this.”
Crabtree said that before the repairs, Janice Jarosz, the board’s clerk, said that she has trouble hearing during the meetings, while Crabtree was able to hear them without issue at the time.
“Janice has got to put those voodoo dolls away,” Crabtree joked. “She’s got cotton in the voodoo dolls in our ears. I can’t hear a thing.”
Selectmen Chair Debra Panetta said hearing in the room is especially hard when a speaker is standing at the room’s lectern.
Crabtree said that there might have been a miscommunication with SCTV about upgrades to the acoustics and speakers in the room.
Cicolini said that he specifically asked SCTV the question when it came before the board with the proposal. He said that SCTV said it had done a study on acoustics in the room, and that the upgrades were supposed to improve it.
“That was very emphatically stated several times,” Cicolini said. “I don’t think we got our money’s worth, to be honest with you.”
Cicolini said that the video quality of the broadcasts has certainly improved.
“Makes everybody look younger, I heard,” Crabtree joked.
More seriously, Crabtree agreed with Cicolini, and said that he thinks the speakers in the room being used are the same ones as before.
Crabtree said his office would investigate and resolve the issue.
“You need an expert that’s going to look at the acoustics, and the positioning, I think, of the speakers and what type of speakers, where you’d put them,” Crabtree said.
SCTV did not respond to a request for comment.
