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Frustrated homeowners and apartment dwellers closest to the railway line wanted the city council to pursue a quiet zone by meeting standards set by the Federal Railroad Administration.
But others in town indifferent to the train noises, many of them lifelong residents who grew up hearing trains, questioned why the city council was willing to get into a potential legal squabble over a quiet zone.
They were even more opposed, along with most of the council members, to spending unknown sums of money to achieve a quiet zone if it meant hassling over legal definitions and future maintenance at crossings.
“I’ve dealt with this issue for 20 years, and the people I’ve talked with said it was a waste of taxpayer money,” said former Alma mayor and alderman Bob Oium.
Most of the whistle noise complaints come from newcomers to Alma who aren’t accustomed to them, he said.
Although the frequency of freight trains has dramatically increased over the years — and some claim new train horns carry louder decibel ranges — there wasn’t an outpouring of opinion for or against the proposal at previous public hearings.
“People that have lived here for years get used to the sound and ignore it,” Oium said. And there are a number of people who actually like hearing and observing the trains, he said.
Alma’s new mayor, Corey Hanson, a former alderman before taking office in April, is against the quiet zone proposal.
He called on the city council to finally make a decision. “We’re either going to do it, full steam ahead, or drop it,” he said.
After hearing several sides of the issue again from the city’s attorney, Jon Seifert, and quiet zone advocate, Jim Malecki of Cape Canaveral, Fla., who is a seasonal resident and retail shop owner in Alma, Wis., the council voted to drop pursuit of a quiet zone.
