In response to Ms. M's note above: As I stated during our conversation (I spoke with Ms. M on the phone Friday night during the event) we (staff, parents and youth volunteers) will do everything we possibly can to respect the neighborhood and all those folks who live in the Midtown area in proximity to “The Refuge”. Below are a few perspectives I want to illuminate regarding "The Refuge". We (the leadership of St. John's) have not forgotten about our neighbors! In fact in the last year we at St. John's instituted a policy of no more homeless or transient individuals on our steps and surrounding areas because we took seriously the request to contribute to a safer and more comfortable Midtown area. Our neighbors spoke, we listened, and we took action! We never forget that we are part of the Midtown community. St. John's has been in the same location and proudly part of this community since 1912. Now if I may state our motivation for "The Refuge". It's important to keep in mind that we started "The Refuge" events for one reason and one reason only, “To give teens a safe place to spend time and listen to music.” If you ask teens what is important to them and what they spend their time doing you’ll find that quite often it involves music. Teens love music and they will spend their time finding bands that play the music they like and will travel to watch those bands play live. We simply provide the place for teens who listen to music to connect with those who play music. This is part of my job as Director of Youth Ministries at St. John’s and I love my job! Also, I can think of a lot more unsavory activities our youth could be participating in and watching live music at "The Refuge" is not one of them. The sound engineer and I also set up the order of bands to reflect the fact that our sound gets lower between the 10 - 11 p.m. time slot. We have the loudest band playing between the 9 - 9:45 p.m. time slot. This was planned because we wanted to be mindful of our neighbors. When I received your call our front door was open and the level of sound was louder than the ambient noise level coming from the street corner a 18th and L streets. When I shut the front door the level was lower than the ambient noise level at the corner. Regarding your statement: “Unfortunately, the City's efforts to "bring people downtown" by over-saturating residential neighborhoods with alcohol, noise and mayhem magnets, is defeating the proposed "Most Livable City" concept.” I must politely disagree with your statement being descriptive of "The Refuge" and point out that we DO NOT serve alcohol and are vigilant about checking to make sure our kids and adults are not indulging in adult beverages during the evening. We have over 20 youth and adult volunteers who are present in the room and out in front during the event. This may seem like an ‘over-kill’ of volunteers. From my view it’s nothing but due diligence on our part. I can’t give my promise to parents that their child will be safe spending time at “The Refuge” for the evening if I don’t first trust that our volunteers and staff are maintaining a safe place through constant monitoring and contact with our kids. I am indeed confident in my volunteers. There will be NO mayhem magnets carousing in or about "The Refuge" I assure you. Bottom line: I’m sorry if our event disturbed you in any way. We will be compliant with the law regarding sound ordinances in the Midtown area and hope you’ll give “The Refuge” a chance to be a safe place for our youth in Sacramento. After all, these youth are our future leaders and may someday grow to be a City Council Person, Mayor, or business owner. Sincerely, Darren Zinzer Director of Youth Ministry St. John’s Lutheran Church As a side note I noticed two things as I was driving away from the “The Refuge” that night: First, the bar on the corner of 17th & Capitol was still playing loud music. The time was 11:54 p.m. Secondly, a group of about 15 very loud and inebriated twenty-somethings were making their way down Capitol coming from the higher numbered streets. I believe those two instances are in the realm of "mayhem magnets"? Another side NOTE: I agree that True Love Coffee House is a great venue to see live music in!