A preacher at a local church who has heard neighbors’ complaints about noisy and prolonged music at his facility, told the Forest Acres City Council on March 17 that the church is working on a solution to the problem.

P.F. Chambers of the Victory Praise and Worship Center on Covenant Road said he is trying to resolve the issues with the neighbors by keeping the volume of the music down to an acceptable level. He also disputed claims made at last month’s meeting by Summer Place resident Leon Jackson, who said the music generated three to five nights a week at the worship center sometimes lasts for five or more hours.

“They said in the paper,” Chambers said, waving The Columbia Star, “that my preaching keeps them there for hours. If I could do that, I’d have a whole lot more than I have now.”

Chambers said he has attempted to “lock it (the volume) in” at one acceptable level and that the church has not had a complaint from the neighbors in the past month. However, he warned, “What they may call noise, we call worship.”

“The one time I worshipped with you,” said council member Charles Fetner, “I have to say that you all have a very good time.”

Although Chambers was the only one who spoke, about 25 members of the church were in attendance at the meeting. They left soon after the council heard the preacher’s remarks.

In other business, the council:

• agreed to accept a four–home minimum for the upcoming Parade of Homes, tentatively scheduled for October 9–24 in the Old Park Subdivision on Willingham Road. Earl McLeod of the Columbia Home Builders’ Association said financing for speculative loans is difficult to get, and therefore has limited the number of builders able to commit to the project. The group voted 3–1, with Shell Suber casting the dissenting vote, to allow the project to go forward with four houses, instead of the six that developers originally envisioned. The group agreed any less than four would mean the project’s demise. McLeod said the deadline for completing the homes is “getting pretty tight.”

“But with everyone’s help, and the help of the building inspector, we can pull this off,” McLeod said.

• allocated $10,000 to advertise Forest Acres’ first farmer’s market that will set up in the Forest Acres’ Midtown at Forest Acres Mall on April 28 and operate every Tuesday until October 27. The market will be open from 3–7 pm. Most farmers’ markets are open on Saturdays, according to city administrator Mark Williams, who added there are now 22 such operations in the Columbia area.

• appropriated about $37,500 to set up a special communication system at the Midtown at Forest Acres mall. According to officials, police, fire, and other emergency service personnel have had a long history of not being able to establish communications while in or around the mall. Previous quotes on improving the system topped more than $100,000, city officials said.

In attendance at the meeting were council members Charles W. Fetner, Ginger Dukes, Curtis Rye Jr., Shell Suber, and Mayor Frank J. Brunson.