I’ve filled out the noise report form on 4 occasions and never once gotten a response – and neither have many others.
MY COMPLAINTS
I live 3 blocks from the capital, but the noise from the airport has been loud enough for me to be interrupted while I’m editing video to figure out what is wrong with my audio. It’s made me look out my window to see why its so noisy. Sometimes the noise lasts for about 5 minutes. I filled out the airport noise complaint form 4 times.
And on each of the occasions (3/10, 3/13, 3/17 and this morning) I asked for a response by email, I have yet to get any response, beyond the autoresponder.
Airport Noise Concern Confirmation
The Dane County Regional Airport has received your request on 3/10/20203:22 PM. Public complaints and concerns with aircraft noise at Dane County Regional Airport are important. Accurate complaint information is crucial in the Airport’s ability to identify aircraft operations or aircraft operators who may not be aware of the Noise Abatement Program. The online Airport Noise Report Form and Airport Noise Hot Line provide an opportunity for individuals to express their concerns regarding noise generated by aircraft or activities at the airport.
Airport Noise Concern
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- Name Brenda Konkel
- Address xxxxx
Madison, WI 53703 - Email xxxx
- Phone xxxx
- Event Date/Time3/10 morning
- Event Address
- Disturbance Noise From Aircraft
- Aircraft Type Unknown
- Aircraft Direction Unknown
- Response Email
- Additional Comments I live downtown and work from home and I’m trying to listen to audio and I’m distracted by the frequency of airplane noise in the background for several hours this morning. What is going on?
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Thank you for sharing your concern. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Airport Staff
(608) 246-5841
My other complaints said the following
- Additional Comments I was woken up a bit before 7 and all I could hear is airplane noise and when I got up to work same issue as earlier this week with the dull roar of plane noise in the background while trying to edit video. I don’t know why I’m hearing the planes at this time, the noise on the Isthmus does strange things from time to time and our house on a hill that is very tall sometimes picks up noise in a way that is different from the street level. For some reason, the plane noise is very distracting this week.
- Additional Comments Wow. That is the loudest I have heard the planes yet. What is going on this morning. Please reply. I don’t know what is going on but the noise is louder and more frequent. This morning was exceptionally loud. My husband could hear it in the living room on the other side of the house over the noise of the TV just 3 blocks from the capital. I’m assuming I’m hearing it because I sit at. my home office by a window facing the airport. I can still hear the noiseof the planes 4 minutes later from when it started.
- Additional Comments I ask again – but I have never gotten a response. WHAT IS THAT INSANELY LOUD NOISE???? I heard it again this morning, I don’t know what it is, but its very loud if I can hear in downtown and I can’t imagine living near the airport. WHAT IS THAT NOISE? WHAT IS DIFFERENT? Please answer, I have filled out this form numerous times and never gotten a response.
I ASKED OTHER IF THEY HAVE GOTTEN A RESPONSE
I asked others after the March 17th complaint if they have ever gotten a response and I was unable to find anyone who said yes. Here’s their comments:
- never, I have not
- I just call in my complaint so no response. Today was quite loud in the Cherokee area on the Northside.
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I’ve never bothered to fill out any noise complaint. I just shake my fist at the planes and swear at them when they fly over and I’m in my garden in the summer.They have been flying over my house a lot the last few days, sometimes very early in the morning and late at night. (Not loud enough that the house shakes, but pretty loud.) I assume they are the F-16s, but not sure. I live just west of the airport.
- I have never gotten a response despite requesting one several times via email.
For the 115th’s complaint form, I actually have gotten a response once or twice, but only on easy questions/complaints.
- I have called the airport noise hotline probably more than 10 times…..never a single response. The last time the jets flew over my house the windows were vibrating – and I’m 3 miles “as the crow flies” from the airport. Presumably they are at least keeping statistics but I think most people don’t even bother to report.
- I‘ve done both ways. No response.
Yes, they were HORRIBLE today/this afternoon specifically.
I rarely call it in anymore due to non-accountability anyway… but the past week+ they’ve been LOUD on the Northside and going out 3 in a row for 2 minutes straight of noise when they do that.
My way to document lately- I set my iphone clock to military time so now when they are bad I can take a screenshot of my login window. (Captures the time and date for me. Then if it’s horrible/the jets fly extra low I give it a ‚heart‘. Can also scribble a note on it this way too-with the edit/markup function)
WHATS THE POINT OF THE AIRPORT NOISE REPORT FORM?
The decision on the F-35 basing could come out soon. I know the world is flipped upside down, but this is a real issue in this moment and for decades to come if the decision goes the wrong way. I’d like to be able to get information to share with readers to use to advocate one way or another on the F-35s. I’m not interested in going straight to the top, those folks have other very important issues to deal with. However, I would like to contact the committee members and maybe get some answers from them.
WHO DO I CONTACT?
I want to ask but finding ways to contact people is a treasure hunt. And my open records requests are sooooooooooooooo slow. Still waiting on the one from November and only one I filed since then has been filled – and now they have no time (which I understand). Here’s who it looks like I should contact
This is what is in legistar
The information on the website conflicts a little with the information in legistar, and legistar has two additional emails. I presume the legistar information is more up to date.
In a world where we can’t attend meetings to give our feedback, shouldn’t they make the contact information of our decision makers available to the public? Indeed, shouldn’t it have been available before?
TREASURE HUNT RESULTS
Contact info
The best I can come up with is airinfo@msnairport.com and the supervisors emails. You’d think they’d at least make the chair of the committee’s email available to the public.
Digging through my years of emails I was able to unearth this:
Jones.kimberly@msnairport.com
Like I said, I’d really like to find the committee members. It seems irresponsible to send an email to the Airport Director and the County Executive in times like these, right?
Airport and 115th Figher Wing “sensitive” to noise issues?
Funny, when searching, I found this letter to the editor, where Chairperson of the Airport Commission Bill Haight doens’t identify himself as the chair of the Airport Commission, but says they are sensitive to noise and will continue to work on it.
National Guard won’t ignore noise — Bill Haight
As a businessperson and a resident of the North Side of Madison I am highly supportive of the F-35 project because it would assure the continuation of our Air National Guard 115th Wing at Truax Field. This tremendous community asset provides economic impact, valuable emergency services, and the employment of more than 1,200 military and civilian personnel.
But I am also sensitive to questions I am hearing regarding aircraft noise. For several years I have had the opportunity to attend the Dane County Regional Airport’s Noise Abatement Committee meetings, so I am well aware of both public concerns and the efforts taken to alleviate those concerns.
Both the airport staff and members of the 115th Fighter Wing are extremely sensitive to the issue of noise. Air National Guard personnel, including F-16 pilots, attend noise committee meetings and meet face-to-face with residents to hear concerns and answer questions.
This sensitivity to the issue will continue and will allow new methods of minimizing disruption to the neighborhood once the new aircraft is in place.
One question that comes up from residents is about the use of loud afterburners on takeoff. I was happy to note in the Environmental Impact Study that due to the higher performance of the F-35 aircraft, afterburners will need to be used much less frequently than with the F-16s. That alone will make a noticeable reduction in noise.
Bill Haight, Madison
WHAT’S NEXT?
Well, this isn’t the most important issue in the world at the moment. I am concerned tho that I can’t email commission members and if they don’t meet I’m not sure how to contact them with concerns without contact information – unless I contact the Airport Director herself, which seems excessive in these times. It just seems like another example of where our democracy is broken right now.
