CITY OF NORTH LAS VEGAS MCCOOL AIRFIELD ADVISORY COMMITTEE. REGULAR MEETING MINUTES July 19, 2011

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1 CITY OF NORTH LAS VEGAS MCCOOL AIRFIELD ADVISORY COMMITTEE REGULAR MEETING MINUTES July 19, 2011 I. CALL TO ORDER The regular meeting of the was called to order by Chairman Schmitz at 6:00 p.m., in the North Las City Council Chambers, 2200 Civic Center Drive, North Las Vegas, NV. II. ROLE CALL COMMITTEE MEMBERS Chairman Paul Schmitz Vice-Chairman Darrell Stubbs Member Rebecca Carter Member Jorge Lopez Absent: Member Daniel Huba Member Greg Thomas STAFF MEMBERS Recreation Services Manager, Jim Stritchko Recording Secretary, Jacqueline Williams Executive Assistant, Jaini Christison III. CONFIRMATION OF POSTING Paul Schmitz, Chairmen of the of the City of North Las Vegas, Clark County, a municipality incorporated under the laws of the State of Nevada, do call to order the Meeting on Tuesday July 19, 2011 at 6:00 PM in the City Council Chambers, City Hall 2200 Civic Center Drive, North Las Vegas. Let it be noted that this meeting is not in compliance with Nevada s NRS 241, The Open Meeting Law. Page 1 of 7

2 IV. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Chairman Schmitz led the Pledge of Allegiance. V. BUSINESS ITEMS (Action Items): A. Approval of the July 19, 2011 meeting agenda. (Motion) Member Stubbs introduced a motion to approve the July 20, 2011 meeting agenda, seconded by Member Rebecca Carter. The vote favoring approval was unanimous. The motion carried. B. Approval of the April 20, 2010 meeting minutes. (Motion) Chairman Schmitz introduced a motion to approve the April 20, 2011 Meeting minutes, no second. The motion failed. To be brought back to next meeting. C. Introduction of New Members Jim Stritchko, Manager of Parks & Recreation, introduces himself to the new members (Rebecca Carter & Jorge Lopez). He also introduces Recording Secretary, Jacqueline Williams, who is also new to the meeting. Manager Strichko addresses Jorge Lopez to introduce himself. Member Jorge Lopez said he is new to the board and doesn t have any comments at this time. Manager Stritchko addresses Member Rebecca Carter to introduce herself. Carter recently moved to the neighborhood. Her home sets in front of the park where she is able to hear and see the on goings of the park. She joined the panel to address safety concerns of the park. D. Brief overview of the committee s role (Discussion) Manager Stritchko begins by explaining about 4-5 years ago a resident had an issue with the fly field. The issue came before City Council regarding issues relating to the noise and rules and regulations. At that time a committee was established, the one you are serving on presently. We worked with the committee members, flyers and residents. We came together with a resolution which was created into an ordinance. It incorporated rules and regulations, agreement that decibel levels would be measured, and the registration system would require a decal on all planes. Manager Stritchko said we tried to mitigate the noise issues that residents complained about and believes we have done that and everything seemed to be ok. Recently more issues arose. But due to lack of fly members and residents, we didn t have a quorum to bring forth to this committee. Page 2 of 7

3 This committee is to address issues about the fly field. Members can include items they would like to be addressed by simply notification, and they will be added to the agenda. Staff may also add items to the agenda if they see fit. What is the committee to be doing? Here is the decorum of the meeting: Follow Roberts Rules of Orders Chairman leads the meeting Be respectful to one another It is a panel discussion and the Chairman will determine how things are moving along. When a person is speaking, please wait until they are done speaking. Respect others points of view. Manager Stritchko explains that their seats on the committee are up in September. He asked if you are willing to serve again on the next term. Everyone said yes. This will be brought to council for reappointment of members. Chairman Schmitz asked if there were any committee comments. Member Carter announced she had several but basic questions. She is aware of the park hours, but would like to know if they can be changed. How often is the park maintained? Manager Stritchko said the city personnel handles the maintenance, unfortunately due to city layoffs, we are seeing considerable issues. Member Carter states that there is no budget set aside for the airfield; it is lumped into a whole. Is there anyway we could start a budget for this park? Manager Stritchko responded, Yes Is it likely with what the city is currently going through now, pretty tough. Member Carter asked who has the authority to ticket illegally parked cars. Manager Stritchko responds, North Las Vegas Police Department. Member Carter asks if Rv s are authorized to park there? Manager Stritchko responds that Rv s are currently not authorized to park unless permission is granted by the Director of Park & Recreation. Member Carter understands the park was originally set up for electrical planes but now has moved to gas planes. Was a safety evaluation done before allowing the gas planes to fly? Manager Stritchko states it wasn t true. It was not designed for electrical plans, was designed for gas planes. The guidelines in the MMA were met. Chairman Schmitz commented that the park was designed by Bill Bennett, former president/ceo of Sahara Casino. He was an avid flyer and built the park with a combination of his own funds, grants and city funding. There is a lot of history behind the park. It was designed around the safety factor. Schmitz said they really want to keep the organization focused on being good stewards to the neighbors and the community. There is an open Page 3 of 7

4 house the last Saturday of every month for everyone to come. The Club dues pays for the event supplies and its objective is to educate the community and bring families together to enjoy the fly field. Member Carter inquired about a log for members to sign each time they enter the park. Manager Stritchko stated that they are not required to log in. The log kept by staff is for documentation of any occurrences at the field. Member Carter inquired about a complaints log and requested a copy. Manager Stritchko said, Sure. She also mentioned previous incidents prior to her moving to that area. One report was of a plane crashing into a building. Manager Stritchko has no reports of any planes crashing into a building. Member Carter doesn t understand the objections of the park being moved or discontinued. If it were to move to a different location to fly, what is the discontent of moving the park? Manager Stritchko stated that He doesn t think there is any discontent. As long as the flyers have a place to go, it should be no problem. Chairman Schmitz stated that we are open, it s a monetary issue. It has been discussed to move and reconstruct the field elsewhere, but the cost would be about a half a million to 1 million dollars. Member Carter has a few more questions. How many planes are allowed to fly at once? Chairman Schmitz & Co-Chair Stubbs responded 5 planes. Member Carter asks who checks the planes for safety and sound issues. Is it a separate company? Chairman Schmitz & Co-Chair Stubbs responded the City does. Member Carter asks how often? Manager Stritchko states they did one mass registration where it was done. Now it is done randomly but should be done regularly. We only test the decibels of the plane. Member Carter asks if the planes carry insurance. Chairman Schmitz & Co-Chair Stubbs responded it is mandatory for each flyer to carry 2 ½ million dollars of insurance according to the AMA. They must also carry a card. Member Carter asks if there is a size limit set for the planes. Co-Chair Stubbs responds 55lbs without a waiver. Page 4 of 7

5 Member Carter asks what happens if a flyer is caught breaking a rule. Chairman Schmitz states that right now if we see an unsafe act, we bring it to the flyers attention. Now with broken rules, we are required to contact Parks & Recreation to report it and they usually send someone out to look into it. Now with the new sound regulation out, the police can get involved due to the noise ordinance. Ultimately they can be trespassed from the park. Member Carter asked. As a board member, is she able to go to the park and ask a flyer for proof to fly there? Chairman Schmitz responded, Yes absolutely. Member Stubbs commented that there is a phone number that she has been given to contact if anyone refuses or gives any trouble. Just call that number and someone will come out. Try to avoid being the enforcer. Manager Stritchko states he is not here to tell you what you can or can not do. He stresses that you take caution and use good judgment. Let s use the committee to explore other ways to police the area, possibly getting the police involved. There is a number set-up so people can avoid trouble at all costs. Member Carter asks if there is any safety equipment required by the pilots to have or does the city provide extinguishers, etc. Manager Stritchko states that the city does not provide anything. Chairman Schmitz states that the tanks are so small everyone carries their own extinguishers out at the field. Member Carter asks who is responsible if someone is illegally flying. Will someone actually come out if she calls that number? Manager Stritchko states that there is no guarantee due to recent budget cuts. He suggests the police are called especially if you think it s serious enough. Member Carter recommends that the hours of the fly field be changed for better use of the field. Manager Stritchko states we can talk about it, but ultimately it is the Directors decision. Member Carter inquired who hired the employee who is out at the field. She asked, The City? Manager Stritchko responded, Yes. She then asked, How was he qualified for the position and could he fly while on duty. Manager Stritchko said it a part time position and no he can not fly while on duty. Member Carter then said, So it s anyone who can follow directions and is trained as well. Member Carter asked if we could place on the agenda to talk about moving the meeting to once a month until we get settle. Once settled we would Page 5 of 7

6 STAFF COMMENTS move back. Member Stritchko advised her that she could do that on the next agenda item. Chairman Schmitz stated that we are going to set the next meeting to add it. You can call a special meeting to address the issue. Member Carter requested to also add to the agenda the actual enforcement of regulations since no one seems to be handling issues. There is no one regulating the park, so she would like to open it up. Chairman Schmitz discusses what they do at the fly field. They have responsible pilots in their clubs. They put on programs for the youth in the area to educate them in Science. Chairman Schmitz then discusses how the fly field got its name. Open discussion Chairman Schmitz thanked Rebecca Carter and George Lopez for joining committee. Co-Chairman Stubbs offers an invitation to George to come out to the field and he will show him all about it. Member Lopez stated that flying is no more dangerous than golf or baseball. Why do they require insurance when the other sports do not? Chairman Schmitz agreed, that he questioned it himself. He says insurance is not really required but we have it to be responsible. Manager Stritchko states that soccer, little league baseball, softball, and golf courses are required to carry insurance. No staff comments. COMMITTEE MEMBER S COMMENTS No committee comments SET NEXT MEETING DATE (Motion) Chairman Schmitz introduced a motion to hold future McCool Meetings every month on the third Tuesday, seconded by Member Carter. The vote favoring approval was unanimous. The motion carried. PUBLIC FORUM Greg Clemensen, of 1733 Loch Lomand, Las Vegas, NV 89102, requested that RV Overnight parking be prohibited at the field. Chairman Schmitz stated that RV parking is only allowed if the person is a flyer or observer. Page 6 of 7

7 ADJOURNMENT (ACTION ITEM): (Motion) Member Stubbs introduced a motion to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Member Carter. The vote favoring approval was unanimous. The motion carried. There being no further business to come before the Committee, Chairman Schmitz declared the motion carried and adjourned the meeting at 7:30 p.m. RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED, Jacqueline Williams, Recording Secretary Page 7 of 7