By Jennifer Edwards
The Cincinnati Enquirer

MARIEMONT - The head of a national trucking and transportation carrier pledged Tuesday to resolve a noise dispute with neighbors and the Village Council in this eastern Hamilton County suburb.

Albert Bingham, president of Bulkmatic Transport Co., said he thought the problem was settled long ago. But if it has re-ignited, Bulkmatic will deal with it, he said.

"We are trying to work with them," Bingham said. "Nobody wants to be a bad neighbor. There must be a solution."

Bulkmatic's Columbia Township location bordering Mariemont is rattling nerves of residents, who complain they are jarred awake in the night by machinery at the rail-yard transfer station.

The noise is produced when trucks hook up to the rail cars and use a vacuum to transfer plastic pellets and flour into their tankers.

"When people can't get a good night's sleep in their own homes, that is a major problem," Scott Degerberg, 45, said.

Mariemont's attorney, Edward McTigue, said Tuesday that Bulkmatic officials have indicated they might buy additional equipment to muffle the noise.

On Nov. 11, McTigue sent Bingham a letter giving the company "one final opportunity" to come into compliance with Hamilton County noise regulations. But on Tuesday, McTigue said he thinks Bulkmatic is trying to fix the problem.

Mayor Dan Policastro, however, isn't appeased, saying that the company hasn't responded to recent complaints. He is hiring a noise expert to assist the village.

"It's just terrible what they are doing," he said. "All we are getting is lip service."

E-mail jedwards@enquirer.com.