BOYNE CITY, MI -- A Northern Michigan business that recently opened is creating a stir in a Charlevoix County city.

Boyne City residents tell us the manufacturing of wood pellets is loud and they're hoping the company finds a solution to cut down on some of the sound.

"That humming, and that squeaking, and mechanical noises," points out homeowner Al Aown.

Al Aown lives in Boyne Hills, directly across from the Boyne City Air Industrial Park where the new Kirtland Products wood pellet plant just fired up in the last month.

“We understand it's a town, and everybody has needs, and we have needs to, and I don't think anybody can expect that to be normal, or right, but who knows," says Aown.

The business manufactures home heating wood pellets, and with it, has created 15 jobs.  But ask some neighbors, they say it has been more of a headache.

"We’re new, we're just getting started, and didn't expect we were going to have complaints on the noise, and now that we have, we're trying to address them and see if we can't come to some type of solution that would be acceptable," said Tom Monley, Kirtland Products co-owner.

The company has apologized publicly about the process, sending out this letter to local newspapers.

“Our message to our neighbors and visitors is simple.  We are sorry."  It goes on to say, "I assure you the resolution of this issue is a high priority at Kirtland.  We will not stop until it is reduced to acceptable levels."

Residents say the job creation at the plant is a fantastic thing, just that hum that they hear when it's up and running needs to go because, they tell me, it's affecting their lifestyle.

Monday, homeowners took their concerns about the sound, and industrial look, to city leaders.

Horrendous noise, very unpeaceful.  Before, it was quiet," said one concerned citizen.

“I don't think it represents Boyne City as this quant, beautiful town," said another resident.

“At this point, I think they're sincere in their efforts to try to resolve these issues, I guess time will tell to identify exactly what their problems are," explained Boyne City City Manager Mike Cain to the Economic Development Board.

Kirtland has worked with city leaders and residents to try to pinpoint exactly what is causing the hum.

“We've identified a couple pieces of equipment that we're working on solutions to try to get that noise level down so we can live harmoniously with the rest of the community," says Monley.  “I think once people realize what it is we have here, people will be proud of it, yeah, in the community."

The letter to the editor the company released says what's coming from the stack is safe, and says the majority of it is water vapor from the drying process.

The owners hope to have a solution soon.

To full "Letter to the Editor" is below.

_{Kirtland Products llC is Michigan's newest pellet fuel producer that began operations. in Boyne City just a few months ago. We are excited about our new business and the potential it has for creating good well-paying jobs in the area. We also have received very positive feedback from our customers and we are ramping up capacity to operate 24 hours a day to meet growing demand.}

_{In our successful startup, however, we have learned that the operation is producing objectionable noise that is noticed by many of our neighbors in the Boyne City community. We are sorry for this and we are working diligently to correct the problem.}

_{At this point, I would like to provide you some background on the development of Kirtland Products.}

_{Prior to constructing the facility, the management team visited nine U.S. pellet mill operations to study the best operating practices and facility designs. We decided to locate several pieces of equipment commonly found on the outside of the plant inside of our building because of the significant noise the equipment creates. These pieces of equipment, wood grinders and dryer system added substantial cost to the final design, but we believed the added investment would insure acceptable noise management.}

_{We did not anticipate that any of the remaining outside equipment would create noise levels objectionable to our neighbors.}

_{We were wrong.}

_{Our message to our neighbors and visitors is simple. We are sorry. We are taking steps to identify the equipment that is producing the objectionable noise and will initiate corrective action as soon as possible. The thirteen Kirtland team members are excited by the potentials of the com pany and we take seriously our community responsibility as a business. I can assure you that the resolution of this issue is a high priority at Kirtland. We will not stop until it is reduced to acceptable levels.}

_{Also, several people have inquired about the "smoke" coming from our stack. What you see coming from the stack is actually steam from our wood drying operation. Depending upon the air temperature and humidity, the water will condense into a bright, white plume as soon as it escapes the process. This spectacular plume can be seen from a distance, depending on the observer's elevation, is mainly water vapor which we monitor and which will be tested independently on a regular basis to insure we remain at the levels approved by the state. In other words, it's safe.}