More on Ford Amphitheater

Congratulations to Brennen Kauffman for his well written article referencing the Dudek Engineering Peer Review of the Ford Amphitheater.

With respect to the VENU representative’s comments regarding Dudek Engineering, “making up new rules”, the question arises, “ Who made the rules?”

In the PUD and the 2025 Compliance Agreement, the only “rules” provided were those written by VENU to suit VENU’s purposes; there is little to no record of the city engaging any independent noise control professional to either ascertain the veracity of the residential estimate and sound barrier mitigation claims or the appropriateness of monitoring methodology selected by VENU.

One example of current inappropriate methodology, the time of measurement of community background levels, is mentioned in the article and defended by the VENU spokesperson.

Dudek Engineering’s opinion on this matter reflects industry standards which are codified in the background measurement methodology section of the Denver noise control ordinance, Sec. 36-3, which states:

“measurements to determine the background sound level may be taken at another location in the vicinity or at another time or both; provided that the conditions at the alternative location or alternative time or both are similar to the conditions at the receptor premises at the time of the noise measurement.”

Late afternoon pre – event measurement (5:45 -6:45 pm) does not provide similar conditions which the community will experience 3-4 hours later in the late evening at the time of event noise measurement, therefore, community background level measurement necessitates measuring during a similar time window as an event but on a non-event night.

Furthermore, Dudek Engineering’s opinion is echoed by the city’s independent sound consultant, Mike Hankard of Hankard Environmental Acoustical Consultants, in his 5/15/25 email with the city (obtained by CORA search) in which he states:

“I totally understand that, per the agreement, the ambient is supposed to be taken before the show. That is advantage Venu, because as the resident correctly pointed out, it is busier and louder at 6pm than it is at 8pm, 10pm, and so on. …. The whole valley has more going on at 6pm (returning commuters) than it does as the evening moves on. Something to consider for next year.”

The VENU representative’s comment regarding measuring community background levels earlier in the day when the Polaris Point commercial area is noisy is simply not supported by the written opinions of Dudek & Hankard and the methodology of the Denver ordinance.

The Dudek report represents the possibility of a course correction from current non-industry standard practices to compliance with state law, existing Colorado Springs noise code, and appropriate industry standard best practices in terms of data measurement and reporting methodology.

The opinion of the Dudek report’s author, Ms. Lodico, who is the current vice – president and incoming president of the Institute of Noise Control Engineers ( INCE), supersedes the opinion of VENU’s spokesman, just as the Supreme Court Hobb’s opinion supersedes the city’s authority to disregard the state noise statute.

Murray Relf, M.D.

Colorado Springs

The public deserves transparency

On July 15, Representatives Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna filed a discharge petition (H. Res. 581) to compel the Department of Justice to release records related to Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. The resolution was just one vote short of the threshold needed to move forward.

Now, with the election of Rep. Adelita Grijalva (D-Arizona), the resolution has enough support to force a floor vote. Yet Speaker Mike Johnson has delayed swearing her in—choosing instead to risk a government shutdown. This maneuver appears aimed at preventing the release of potentially explosive information tied to the Epstein case.

The public deserves transparency. Shielding these files from scrutiny undermines justice and raises serious questions about who benefits from keeping them hidden. A shutdown that blocks access to truth is not leadership—it’s obstruction.

Deana Kamm

Colorado Springs

Before the curtain falls

Our President Donald Trump, the great showman, staged another performance today. One of his clowns, Secretary of Defense (not War), Pete Hegseth was the headliner. from the looks on the faces of the crowd he flopped.

This was an unprecedented event. Summoning top military personnel from all over the world to meet in one place to basically be lectured by a former Fox and Friends weekend host must’ve been excruciating to the qualified and experienced members of our armed forces. Of course The Don made an appearance and as usual threatened anybody who wanted to walk out would be fired. I was hoping they would all walk out and so was Vladimir Putin. There will be repercussions from this failed play and I can only hope bad things don’t happen before the curtain finally falls.

Billy Greer

Colorado Springs