A group trying to address residents鈥� concerns over noise at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport voted Thursday to stop convening.
Five of the eight cities and counties serving on the so-called community noise roundtable hit eject citing a lack of progress and trust in the airport's owner, Jefferson County.
But turbulence on the roundtable has been building in recent months.
He was also quoted saying he wanted cities serving on the roundtable to 鈥渨aste their money and time鈥� trying to address the noise coming out of his airport.
鈥淐ause here鈥檚 the deal, Centennial (airport) had a (noise) roundtable for 20 plus years, nothing gets done,鈥� he was quoted as saying in a transcript 萝莉少女 News obtained from Jefferson County in an open records request. 鈥淚t just makes people feel happy that they鈥檙e part of the roundtable and they get to bitch.鈥�
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The comments offended roundtable participants and fueled recent calls from some residents and city officials to dissolve it, saying Jefferson County was participating in bad faith.
Then, in March, Boulder County and Superior sued Jefferson County and the airport to halt noisy training flights.
In between those bumps, hundreds of residents under the flight paths have complained about a lack of progress and say the constant buzz of low flying planes makes it hard to sleep or enjoy their homes.
All of this turbulence became too much for the roundtable to endure. On Thursday, defecting roundtable members vowed to seek other methods to address the noise. The options floated range from working directly with pilots and the Federal Aviation Administration to battling the airport in court.
Some even proposed alternative future work groups to address the matter.
鈥淚 like the idea of coming up with a new organization that's a little bit more cooperative and more expansive, and coming up with some other ways of having some kind of input for the public in the operation of airports,鈥� Louisville City Council member Deb Fahey said before she voted to dissolve the roundtable. 鈥淏ut the (noise roundtable) just isn't doing it for us.鈥�
Two weeks ago, Louisville Mayor Chris Leh accused Jefferson County鈥檚 leaders of using the noise roundtable as a 鈥渟mokescreen鈥� to shield themselves from accountability for the noise problem while they pursued expansion plans at the airport.
鈥淭he behavior that we have seen out of (Jefferson County) for years is just not good policy and practice,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t's just not what we ought to tolerate any further.鈥�
Responding to the complaints, Jefferson County defended the work of the roundtable.
"In the last couple of years, the (noise roundtable) has improved the voluntary noise abatement procedures, introduced a procedure to request pilots use the primary runway during nighttime operations to avoid overflying residential neighborhoods, and secured funding from the Federal Aviation Administration for a Part 150 Airport Noise Compatibility Study," county spokesperson Cassie Pearce said.
Arvada and Westminster鈥檚 representatives also wanted to continue the roundtable. Elected officials in those cities said the roundtable gave affected residents and pilots a place to discuss concerns and explore solutions.
But Louisville, Boulder County, Superior, Lafayette and Broomfield didn鈥檛 agree the roundtable has been effective. They were the cities and counties that said 鈥榚nough鈥� and voted to terminate the group.
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Cities and residents calling to dissolve the roundtable say it has not achieved anything meaningful since it started meeting in 2021.
They point to increases in air traffic at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan and a lack of significant operational changes at the airport.
鈥淲e discussed a lot of issues in the three years since (the roundtable started) but we saw little recommendations result in action by the airport or Jefferson County,鈥� Broomfield City Council member Deven Shaff said in March before his city voted to leave the group. 鈥淭he noise roundtable is dysfunctional. It鈥檚 lacking support from our community鈥t鈥檚 lacking trust.鈥�
Lafayette鈥檚 representative on the roundtable, David Fridland, said the group wasn鈥檛 allowed to push for flight curfews or landing fees at the airport, changes he said would actually have a chance of reducing noise. He concluded the roundtable simply lacked any power it would need to actually make an impact.
Residents who spoke at what became the last roundtable meeting on Thursday also said they had lost faith in the group.
鈥淧lease quit wasting time and money,鈥� Westminster resident Charlene Willey said. 鈥淓nd this charade.鈥�
Willey said she attended almost every noise roundtable meeting since it started, and it鈥檚 not just the constant buzz of airplanes that Willey has been trying to get relief from. She blames the heavy air traffic over her home for an increased level of lead in her blood. The Environmental Protection Agency recently proclaimed leaded fuel used by small piston-engine aircraft as a public health threat.
A final ultimatum
After months of tension and uncertainty, the roundtable鈥檚 fate appeared to be sealed Thursday by the community most impacted by the airport noise. Superior entered the final meeting with the swing vote, and an ultimatum.
Superior representative Jason Serbu said the community was willing to continue the roundtable, but only if several reforms were made. The town wanted the Federal Aviation Administration to start attending meetings. It also wanted Jefferson County to take on more accountability for the roundtable by paying for all of it and leading the group.
鈥淕iven what the former airport director Paul Anslow has said about the (roundtable) in the past, specifically, that he wanted neighboring governments to 'waste their time and money' on the roundtable, at a minimum, one way to correct this particular structural problem with the roundtable would be to have Jefferson County fund everything in connection with the noise roundtable, including member dues, staffing costs, and any other expenses,鈥� Superior Mayor Mark Lacis told 萝莉少女.
But with the roundtable on the verge of collapsing, Jefferson County Commissioner Tracy Kraft-Tharp wouldn鈥檛 give a definitive answer when she was asked Thursday whether the county would agree to that.
鈥淚鈥檓 not in a place to say yes or no to any of those things,鈥� Kraft-Tharp said. 鈥淭hat is a group decision.鈥�
And so, seconds later, a motion to dissolve was made, the roll was called, and Superior joined Boulder County, Broomfield, Louisville and Lafayette to hit eject and cancel the roundtable.
Bri Lehman, a Lafayette resident affected by airport noise, said dissolving the roundtable will help affected communities work toward progress in the long run.
"I'm relieved we no longer have to participate in this farce," she said. "We may now engage that time and energy in pursuit of actual solutions."
She said some residents, including herself, have already started taking matters into their own hands and talking with pilots about how to mitigate noise.
"I've heard from members of the aviation community about the state using Division of Aeronautics funds to build some practice runways away from congested residential areas," she said. "I look forward to pursuing actual solutions that might actually substantially affect our communities in a way that will benefit them, instead of continuing to inflict harm."
