The Longmont City Council passed three motions related to the Vance Brand Airport during its meeting on May 20 as community members and pilots raised concerns about safety and the economic viability of the airport.
One motion is for more information to be gathered and presented regarding airport operations at the city council meeting on June 3. This includes options for landing fees, flight paths, lease terms, and unleaded fuel.
The Longmont City Council unanimously voted for the Airport Advisory Board to review current public notification and communications practices and recommend improvements, if needed. The council also voted for the board to evaluate the noise abatement program to determine if any improvements are needed.
On Friday, May 9, a Longmont city employee received a voicemail from somebody who claimed to shoot at an in-flight ultralight aircraft near the Vance Brand Airport. Several pilots spoke during the May 20 city council meeting about the city’s safety failures in responding to this threat and notifying the public.
Chad Rennicke, a pilot and the president of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) Chapter 648, expressed that pilot safety was compromised and the city has not acknowledged the severity of the threat. “The lack of communication to the airport users and the safety towards the citizens and the airport users doesn't seem to be a concern,” Rennicke said. “The threat happened on a Friday afternoon. Authorities weren't notified until Friday evening. We didn't hear about it till Saturday morning. A notice was put out on Sunday and it read like there was someone shooting at rifle range practice shooting. Is the airport manager not allowed to dial 911?”
Rennicke also discussed the importance of bringing justice under the law for the individual responsible for the threat. He explained that EAA has a Young Eagles program that introduces children to flying and there are about 50,000 professional pilots that were originally introduced to aviation through the Young Eagles program. Last Saturday’s program was canceled due to the threat.
Howard Morgan, a resident and professional pilot for 60 years, discussed the economic boost the airport provides to the community. “A number of people have called this a recreational airport, but it's a general aviation airport which means that all facets of aviation are present at the airport,” Morgan said. “One of the big ones is that many of the biggest companies in town have airplanes, multi-million dollar jets, turtle props and smaller airplanes which they do business with. We have numerous airplanes of the same category, jets, turborops, and smaller airplanes coming along every day. And they're not coming to buy a hamburger. They're coming here to do business, big business.”
Morgan added that, according to CDOT, the airport produces $73.6 million a year to the community. He said if the city took an interest in the airport, cleaned it up, and made improvements, that number could easily reach $100 million. “This runway is federally funded,” Morgan said. “So, you cannot tell somebody they can't land here any more than you could tell a semi-truck driver you can't go up Main Street because it's a government-owned property.”
The council has previously heard noise complaints from neighbors of the airport, which were acknowledged by Councilman Matthew Popkin during the May 20 meeting before the council made the motion about evaluating the noise abatement program and its efficacy. Popkin said this voluntary program is the primary method the city has to deal with noise complaints by neighbors of the airport.
