Advertisement Group submits complaints about chimed hymns Church has lowered volume on sound system Share Shares Copy Link Copy

Carillon bells that play at Christ the King church in Burlington are causing some neighbors to sound off.On the WPTZ app? Tap here for the video."It ranges from 'I'm OK with the bells not the hymns' to 'I'm OK with bells and hymns sometimes' to 'I don't want to hear them at all," said Larry Miller. "My basic belief is that an entity should not have the right to just install a sound system on top of its roof and start broadcasting sounds in the neighborhood."The system plays three times a day. First at noon, then when school gets out and again at 6 p.m. Pastor Rich O'Donnell, who spoke to WPTZ on the phone says he began getting complaints about the chimed hymns about a month after the system was installed in July."I can hear them play with my windows closed," said Linda Van Cooper.O'Donnell says he has lowered the volume to "help out the neighbors who don't like hearing the music.""It doesn't feel very neighborly because we're not even able to talk to them about it to try to work something out or get them to understand our position," said Van Cooper.About two dozen people in the neighborhood have chimed into the conversation about the sound system on the church's roof. Just recently a group reached out to the city attorney's office to get a better understanding of the noise ordinance."A number of people have tried to get in touch with the church without any response and that's forced us to go to code enforcement, the police, the mayor's office," said Miller.The church pastor says he's silenced half of the scheduled hymns and doesn't know what else to do. He says the sounds do not violate the city's noise ordinance.In the meantime, his neighbors are working with Champlain College's mediation program to see if they can get a face-to-face meeting with church officials to make sure they are getting heard.