Sandusky's drone dilemma

SANDUSKY — They didn't drone on for hours or even minutes.Rather, effectively on the fly, Sandusky city commissioners quickly delayed some major decisions on such devices.Legislation at a recent public meeting called for the elected officials to vote on new rules regulating drones, unmanned aircraft devices and model airplanes.But, upon taking up this item at the session, all seven representatives almost instantly agreed they must be better educated on overhead contraptions.They've postponed a ruling until a date sometime in the near future."The first draft was a little too restrictive for some of us, and we wanted to take a step back and take a wider look at what other places are doing," Sandusky ex officio mayor Dennis Murray Jr. said.Murray and fellow commissioner Dave Waddington introduced the legislation after noticing drones hovering above a pair of recent city-sponsored events: Wightman-Wieber Safety Fair and Kids Fun Festival and Bayfront Bazaar & Brew."We were concerned it could hit someone," Murray said. "The state and/or federal government should be legislating this area, but they aren't. There are privacy and safety issues that need to be addressed. Cars, utility infrastructure, roller coasters and cars are all areas of concern."Reach reporter Andy Ouriel at ouriel@sanduskyregister.com and follow him on Twitter @AndyOuriel.Sandusky city commissioners want to take up legislation to better regulate drones flying within city boundaries.