City Council set to address plan to restrict flyers at McCool park

Residents and recreational flyers butted heads at the Jan. 16 North Las Vegas City Council meeting as Mayor Shari Buck and council members discussed ways to address the noise and safety concerns near Willie McCool Regional Park airfield at 4400 Horse Drive.

This was not the city's first discussion about these issues, but passions were high as Director of Parks and Recreation Mike Henley presented amendments to a city resolution that could reduce the hours of flying and potentially increase costs.

On Dec. 5, the council asked for quick action on sound management at the park, but the short notice meant some park visitors did not feel they received adequate notification of a parks meeting to discuss recommendations, Henley said.

Buck said she was upset that residents near the park did not receive a mailed letter from the city about the meeting. North Las Vegas City Attorney Jeffrey Barr insisted the city properly followed the state's guidelines for open meeting laws, and the additional notification the city plans to do before a vote at the next meeting on Feb. 6 will simply be "extra diligent."

Henley presented four recommendations from the parks board: to reduce the combustion engine flying hours from 84 hours per week to 37, not affecting the electric aircrafts; review the existing regulations for sound management, which was directed to the McCool Airfield Advisory Committee for recommendation; identify an appropriate site to relocate the airfield with regional planning; and increase the annual permit fee to cover 50 percent of the cost of servicing the program.

The next City Council meeting is set for 6 p.m. Feb. 6 in which time for public discussion on the issue is planned.

Barr also clarified that while police officers have the jurisdiction to enforce park rules, the department does not have the resources to station a police officer there.

"Just because we can enforce it doesn't necessarily mean we have the resources to enforce it," Barr said.

North Las Vegas City Councilwoman Anita Wood said she did not want the process to be stalled by sending the suggestions back to the citizen committee because she wants to see action taken quickly. She said she has heard concern from some residents who did not receive proper notification that the flying park was nearby when they purchased their home and asked if the city could take any action to enforce that measure. Barr said the onus should be on the seller but that he and his team would look into the issue.

Daniel Huba, a resident of Prescott Park near the park, said he and other residents are happy with the proposals.

"This addresses many of our safety concerns," Huba said.

But Greg Minden, president of a local club that uses the field and a member of the McCool Airfield Advisory Committee, recommended that the council not approve the measures because he was notified of the meeting four days before and had no opportunity to offer his own input on the initial recommendations. City officials said there was time for public comment at the parks meeting.

Minden pointed out that many of the flyers have invested thousands of dollars into their hobby, and restricting the planes to only electric-operated planes and not gasoline would be a large loss for the aficionados.

"This is a recreational activity for a lot of people, and, for some people, this is a way of life," Minden said.

Darrell Stubbs, president of another club at the field and member of the McCool Airfield Advisory Committee, said the problem is not the lack of rules but the lack of enforcement. He said the members of the clubs who are certified and pay their park dues follow the established hours and rules, but there is no enforcement to catch the people who do not.

Wood said she agreed that enforcement was a major problem, but she believes there is little the city can do. She said she has explored having citizen patrol volunteers watch the area, but they do not have citation power; code enforcement is short-staffed; and the police department does not have the resources, Wood added. She said she is frustrated by the lack of cooperation among residents and flyers on the citizen committee, and more rules may be the only option, even if they do not handle the enforcement issue.

"I'm not happy about the predicament the city is in. No one is," Wood said. "There has to be some give and take from both."

Contact Centennial and North Las Vegas View reporter Laura Phelps at lphelps@viewnews.com or 702-477-3839.