The fate of a group trying to address noise at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport will remain up in the air for another month as cities involved in the effort clash over whether their meetings have been productive or a waste of time.
Thursday’s meeting of the so-called noise roundtable did make one thing clear: the group is experiencing severe turbulence.
A decision on whether to dissolve the roundtable was postponed until May 2 to give two cities on the roundtable more time to get feedback from their community members.
But some cities frustrated by a lack of progress are already heading for the exit door, and support for the group’s future appears to be tenuous.
Broomfield and Boulder County are bailing on the group, saying three years of meetings haven’t significantly reduced noise or provided relief to their residents.
Broomfield’s representative also cited comments made by former airport director Paul Anslow, who was quoted in a private meeting saying he wanted the noise roundtable members to “waste money and time” trying to address the noise issues.
“No meaningful changes, no meaningful work has been accomplished by the Community Noise Roundtable,” Broomfield City Council member and roundtable chair Deven Shaff said Thursday night.
While Boulder County has not officially withdrawn, Commissioner Ashley Stolzmann announced Thursday the county would soon "submit a letter" to do so.
"Rather than continue to waste the community's time...we will withdraw," Stolzmann said.
Lafayette’s representative, David Fridland, said Thursday he would support a vote to dissolve the group if it had been taken Thursday night because he doesn’t see the roundtable as having the power to provide relief for residents.
Fridland said if the noise roundtable can’t discuss changing airport operations to enact flight curfews or landing fees, “we really can't talk about the stuff that's really going to make change.”
“Maybe it's time to move on,” he said.
A majority of community members who spoke at public comment Thursday also urged the noise roundtable to dissolve, citing a lack of progress.
Representatives from Arvada, Westminster and Jefferson County want to continue the noise roundtable.
Jefferson County owns the airport. Commissioner Tracy Kraft-Tharp said she was “baffled” by criticism from neighboring cities that the roundtable hasn’t accomplished anything.
Kraft-Tharp said the group has discussed the airport’s growth plans and facilitated a change in flight patterns at night to reduce noise at night.
“There seems to be an expectation: (with the) airport noise roundtable, airport noise will go away,” she said. “But that's unrealistic. This airport works with the (Federal Aviation Administration). The FAA has authority over everything in the airspace.”
Kraft-Tharp said the group also gives residents a place to raise their concerns.
Broomfield’s representative, Deven Shaff, countered that the nighttime flight pattern work Kraft-Tharp mentioned as an achievement was done outside of the noise roundtable.
Shaff added if the roundtable dissolves, cities would still have other options to try and reduce airport noise.
He said cities could lobby their congressional representatives over airport issues, or engage with the Federal Aviation Administration directly.
“We need to find a pathway forward,” Shaff said.
Eight cities, towns and counties surrounding the airport serve on the roundtable, and it would take a vote of five of them to dissolve the group. The roundtable would also end if its membership dwindled to four members.
Roundtable members are paying $3,600 a year for their membership, which goes to Jefferson County and covers the cost of consultants.
The fate of the noise roundtable appears to rest with Superior and Louisville.
Their representatives said Thursday they needed more time to talk with their fellow city council and town board members to decide whether to support continuing it.
Jason Serbu, Superior’s representative on the roundtable, said his board is scheduled to have that conversation Monday. He said it would not be an easy decision.
“This roundtable, if we're going to do something with this in the future, then let’s godd–mn, do something with it,” Serbu said. “Let's actually give it some teeth, and try to create change.”
Superior and Boulder County last month filed a lawsuit against the airport and Jefferson County over the noise issues and concerns about leaded fuel.
“For years, we have asked Superior residents to be patient while we worked with Jefferson County to address the noise and lead pollution coming from RMMA,” Superior Mayor Marc Lacis said in a statement announcing the lawsuit. “But now we know that Jefferson County did not take this issue seriously and went so far as to mock our residents’ legitimate concerns. Our residents have had enough.”
