A decibel meter system may place the power to regulate noisy house parties in the hands or ears of police.

Equipping police with such a device was discussed Thursday night at the Student Senate’s External Relations subcommittee dealing with house party noise

The subcommittee met to select a name itself and establish its goals. Members decided to name the subcommittee the Noise Control Committee.

The NCC’s goal is to regulate house party noise and find solutions to problems associated with noise from house parties.

Currently, police cannot take action on noise problems unless a complaint is called in, Charleston Mayor Dan Cougill said at the meeting.

With a decibel meter system in place, police can take a reading and ask the party to tone down the noise, rather than waiting until a complaint is called, which will result in a ticket being issued.

This action would put the police in a preventative role, Cougill said.

However, the question of what is too loud remains to be answered. When the weather warms up, the committee will break into groups to test noise levels and come up with standards.

The committee will not meet again before the field tests begin, which will be in late March or early April, and will go for two or three weekends, Cougill said.

For the testing, the city will order one decibel meter, which will cost $700, and also will need a $250 kit used for calibration, said city planner Jeff Finley.

Limited training would be needed to use the meters, Finley said.

After field tests are conducted, the committee will meet again to settle on acceptable noise levels. The NCC’s goal is to reach a decision before the close of the semester.

Cougill said he has tried to talk to other communities to see if they have had similar problems and how they have dealt with them. However, the mayor said he has not had much luck with gathering the information.

Neighborhood residents said noise has not been a big problem lately. However, External Relations Chair Mary Ruhaak said problems are less likely to occur because parties die down in the winter.