Louisville officials want to leave the Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport Community Noise Roundtable or dissolve the group, saying it has done little to address resident concerns about noise.
The Louisville City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to direct roundtable liaison Councilmember Deborah Fahey to vote to leave or dissolve the group at the next roundtable meeting, which is scheduled for May 2. The roundtable is a voluntary group made up of people from neighboring communities, federal and state agencies, airport administrators and airport users that’s meant to address noise concerns related to the airport at 11755 Airport Way southwest of Louisville. The Jefferson County government has owned and operated the airport since 1960.
Fahey Tuesday echoed the same statements as the Superior Board of Trustees April 8 discussion about possibly dissolving the roundtable. pointing out that the roundtable group has no authority over the airport.
The Federal Aviation Agency, the RMMA Airport Advisory Board and Jefferson County make decisions about flight routes, noise mitigation and what kind of fuel the pilots use, among other things, she said.
“(The roundtable has) no say. We can request, but we have no authority,” Fahey said.
At the same time, Jefferson County commissioners approved a noise study at a meeting Tuesday. The FAA Part 150 noise study is a voluntary program by the FAA that sets guidelines for airport operators to document noise exposure and establish noise abatement and land use codes around the airport.
Fahey said the study will provide information on noise impacts from the airport, but that it’s expected to take two years to complete and an estimated 20 years to implement whatever the study findings show. The noise study will be done whether or not the roundtable group dissolves or not, she said. Jefferson County officails will oversee the study, but Louisville staffers and residents can participate in it by going to Jefferson County meetings, she said.
Other council members and a Louisville resident had other negative things to say about the airport at Tuesday’s meeting.
Councilmember Dietrich Hoefner pointed to information in a Superior and Boulder County lawsuit against Jefferson County, that indicates that a former airport director said “I want (several communities) to waste their money and time” with the roundtable process. Hoefner said that he recognizes the former airport director no longer works at RMMA and a new director is being recruited, but that the statement indicates the roundtable is not serving the community.
Josh Cooperman, who ran for mayor in 2023, said the roundtable does not accurately represent the Louisville community and the comments from the previous airport director show that not everyone on the roundtable participated in good faith.
“No matter the course of action Louisville chooses to take, we should work to pressure Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport and Jefferson County to address our concerns,” Cooperman said.
Mayor pro tem Caleb Dickinson said the city has spent money and resources to participate in the roundtable, only for it to end up being a “smokeshow.” Louisville pays $3,600 in annual dues to participate in the roundtable. The roundtable was formed in 2021, and meetings started in 2022.
Mayor Chris Leh said that the airport contributes to the local economy and Louisville does not intend to shut down the airport. But Boulder and Broomfield counties are bearing the consequences of noise impacts from the airport, and Jefferson County is reaping the benefits, he said.
“Rather than being something that is constructive, it’s been a smokescreen that Jefferson County has used to continue to pretend that we’re having some influence over anything, and we’re not. We’re not represented down there, and they’re making decisions, and it’s absolutely horrible intergovernmental relations,” Leh said.
Leh said Louisville residents should direct their complaints to Jefferson County commissioners, the Airport Advisory Board and to the new airport director, who has not been chosen yet.
Fahey said affected municipalities are still able to form another group that could have a more direct influence on the airport.
Broomfield officials have filed a notice to leave the roundtable and Boulder County commissioners have also stated an intention to leave the group. According to the roundtable’s bylaws, if four members of the roundtable leave the group, the roundtable will naturally dissolve.
