RC Flying Field issue comes down to oversight

Parks staff say solution may not lead to closure or relocation of field

Jefferson City Radio Control Club member Jason Schroeder, front, makes post flight adjustments to his Mikado Logo 480 RC helicopter while fellow JCRC member Richard Moore steps out to the runway to get some flying time with his Gaui X3 helicopter at the Joseph C. Miller Memorial Field on Saturday afternoon.
Jefferson City Radio Control Club member Jason Schroeder, front, makes post flight adjustments to his Mikado Logo 480 RC helicopter while fellow JCRC member Richard Moore steps out to the runway to get some flying time with his Gaui X3 helicopter at the Joseph C. Miller Memorial Field on Saturday afternoon.

An issue between two groups about an existing flying field for radio-controlled model airplanes and helicopters may be solved without closure or relocation of the field.

Earlier this month, the Jefferson City Parks and Recreation Commission heard from both homeowners in the Heritage Hollow subdivision and members of the Jefferson City RC Club about the small section of Binder Park that houses Joseph C. Miller Park, where the RC Club's airstrip is located. Many homeowners who belong to the subdivision located just past the tree line next to the airstrip say they have grown tired of what they believe are disturbances to their homes.

A 'terrific' noise

John and Cyndi Tandy are two homeowners who have taken the lead in trying to get the issue solved.

(John Tandy was also arrested in May for unlawful use of a weapon after a call came to the Cole County Sheriff's Department about "a person shooting a gun at an airplane with the shot hitting the caller's truck and a building at the Jefferson City Radio Control Club." For the interview with the Tandys, their attorney, Jay Barnes, requested no discussion about the May incident.)

The Tandys have lived in the subdivision for about seven years, with their home located just on the other side of the tree line from the airstrip. They said they've had to live with nearly constant noise from planes and helicopters that repeatedly violate the "no-fly zone" established over the subdivision.

"We've had fly-overs and noise and things all seven years continuously," John Tandy said. "They had a habit of just flying right over our tree line and coming over into our property all the time. The noise was terrific."

In May, 45 homeowners signed a petition in support of closing or relocating the club, citing "a significant danger to the property owners."

Barnes said the main issue is safety, citing the Academy of Model Aeronautics, or AMA, National Model Aircraft Safety Code, which states "all pilots shall avoid flying directly over unprotected people, vessels, vehicles or structures, and shall avoid endangerment of life and property of others." He also points to the city's liability if something were to happen.

"Understand what happens if one of these planes comes down and hits someone," Barnes said. "The person it hits is going to die."

Cyndi Tandy said that's why she doesn't feel safe letting her young grandchildren play in the backyard when planes fly over the house.

"I do not want to take the chance of them hitting my grandkids," Cyndi Tandy said. "That would be devastating."

But not all the homeowners in the subdivision agree on the issue.

Brian Nutt has lived in Heritage Hollow since 2008 and also has previously served as the president of the Jefferson City RC Club, long before the subdivision even existed -The field itself has been there for 35 years, and the subdivision has come into existence within the last 20 years.

And Nutt doesn't see an issue with the proximity of the field or a noise problem with the nearby planes and helicopters. He said the aircrafts typically have a fuel capacity that can keep them in the air for five or 10 minutes at a time. Comparatively, he said, the ongoing construction on new homes in the subdivision has caused near constant noise near their homes anyway.

"There's daily noise going on every day in this subdivision," Nutt said. "They're drilling a heat pump for the neighbors here, and I've been dealing with that for three days. If anybody is putting up with noise, it's me."

But, Nutt said, people don't complain about those noises as its part of living in the subdivision, just as the nearby airstrip is part of living in the subdivision.

"That park was here long before any of us were here," Nutt said. "They were aware that that park was there when they bought their house."

The core issue

For now, the Tandys and other affected homeowners seem willing to agree the majority of those who fly over their homes are likely not members of the RC Club and therefore do not have the proper permits and AMA membership to fly.

"The club members may not be as guilty as the out-of-towners. But nobody can stop the out-of-towners," John Tandy said.

That's because the field really isn't secure. Though there is a gate to the field, it can easily be accessed at either side, which is wide open. And there are signs posted stating the requirements to legally fly, but there's no real policing of the field to ensure only people who have adhered to those are flying.

"The club is not monitoring it, and there have been lots of people from out of town," Cyndi Tandy said.

Barnes said that's why it wouldn't really matter if the club and the homeowners were able to come to an agreement. It's still a public park, and people who are not supposed to may still come out and fly, he said.

A potential solution

At this point, Barnes said, both the homeowners and the RC Club are on the same page - trying to find a solution to help both groups thrive.

Dr. Jim Crago, immediate past president of the RC Club, said the club is open to relocating, but it obviously would prefer not to move if another solution could be found, noting the club has invested about $10,000 at the property.

"We're trying to work things out, that's for sure," Crago said. "We would really like to stay put there and try to work out things so that we can cohabitate with the neighborhood and not have these types of issues."

And they may not have to move.

At the commission meeting earlier this month, staff was directed to put together some recommended options to address the issue for the commission to consider at its September meeting.

Todd Spalding, director of Parks, Recreation and Forestry, said staff is still working on those recommendations, but what they are looking at now is a way of implementing more oversight of the field.

"What I'm trying to figure out is a good system in place to where there are eyes on the field every day," Spalding said, adding it could include having a staff member go out to the field and check permits. "From the staff perspective, I think we're going to have a good plan in place."

Any solution staff comes up with will have to be approved by the Parks and Recreation Commission before it can be implemented.