The Mauch Chunk Opera House and its Hill Road neighbors met on Tuesday night to address matters of noise.

After five notices from the Liquor Control Board totaling $2,000 in fines due to noise complaints from nearby residents, leaders at the opera house settled on a peaceful agreement with concerned neighbors.Operators of the opera house, JTAMS Inc., will continue to take on projects that subdue the amount of noise heard from outside the establishment, especially on the Hill Road side of the opera house where noise can be heard most clearly.About $20,000 was already spent on 10-inch thick doors, soundproof windows and new drywall.Inspectors will assess the upstairs emergency exit before approving new plans to enclose the soundproof door with another door that faces away from neighbors who have been disturbed by noise in the past.JTAMS also plans to enclose emergency exit doors on the second floor and put double panes on second- and third-floor windows.Dan Hugos, executive producer at the opera house, said, "We're doing everything we can to fix the problem."Rep. Doyle Heffley visited the Mauch Chunk Opera House on Tuesday morning, where dozens of business owners and community members came to express their concern for the establishment with hopes that it wouldn't close its doors.Marjorie Reppert, who lives on Hill Road near the opera house on Broadway in Jim Thorpe, attended both the tour on Tuesday morning and the meeting at night.She said, "I do think that there's going to be good progress, and I think that they've come up with great solutions."The date for completion of these projects is not yet determined.As for the residents on Hill Road behind the opera house, Hugos said they have agreed to no longer refer to the Pennsylvania state Liquor Control Board to enforce fines, as long as JTAMS continues to steadily progress with projects to stifle noise.Neighbors also agreed to contact JTAMS when a performance can be heard in their homes during the event.According to Hugos, another meeting will be held in September to review progress and make any necessary adjustments."We've all been neighbors for a lot of years," he said. "Nobody wants to lose that."Borough council met on Thursday night, where council member John McGuire said that it will be necessary to work with the police to determine how a new noise ordinance will be adopted.He said that he researched decibel-readers, but feels that it may make the situation more complicated because the readers include any background noise, like cars or lawn mowers.If a noise reader is considered necessary, the borough then needs to decide whether a police officer or a designated noise officer would undergo qualification to read the decibel meter.