Shooting complex proposal discussed

On April 29, the Hot Springs County Shooting Complex Committee held an informational public meeting at the fire hall. Committee members are Paul Galovich, Shurie Scheel, Meri Ann Dorman, Al Burrows, Adam Estenson, Chris Delay, Paul and Cynthia Garbin, Phillip Scheel, Bradyn Harvey, Derrick Burrows, Jim Collins, and Travis Collins. Not all committed members were present at the event, however, it was well attended by the public with 52 people who signed up. 

Host Shurie Scheel started by saying, "I just want to make it publicly known that I'm not necessarily acting in my capacity as a member of the economic development. Meri Ann Dorman is not acting in the capacity as a chamber director. Paul Galovich is not acting in his capacity as a commissioner. We happen to be in those roles, and this is completely separate from that. It's not necessarily tied to any of those organizations, nor does our participation in this say that those organizations are supporting this initiative. I just want to be clear with that, because I know that this is a contentious issue." 

For the agenda, Scheel said they discussed the proposed site, requirements, timeline, competition, economic impact, potential partners, business model, downside mitigation, a similar facility, and public comments.

Scheel describes that the shooting complex will need facilities for the following sports: modern tech, high terrain rifles, 3D archery, sporting clays, indoor shooting, pistol/flex bays, long range, and shotgun range.

Regarding the state task force timeline, Scheel provided key dates: April 8: RFP Released; April 15: Scoring Rubric Released; April 22: Closed 1st Round Questions; May 15: Close 2nd Round Questions; June 3: Proposal Due; June 17: Initial Selection Notified; June 24: Oral Presentations; July 1: Successful Sites Notified; July: Site Visits and More Info Due; August 13: Final Selection. 

There are nine locations who have submitted proposals, including Hot Springs County. Others are Campbell County, Natrona County, Park County, Cheyenne, Fremont County, Uinta County, Guernsey and Sheridan.

Scheel described the potential economic impact and said that the proposed shooting complex would have events that range from 20 to 700 shooters. If they attract national events, they could have up to 3,000 shooters. There would be multiple day events and most events would bring their own staff and volunteers. Scheel added that most shooters will camp with RVs, which is common for that culture. The events would bring guests and attract spectators. There would also be downtime at events, as the complex would not be used every single day each week. Scheel also mentioned the cultural alignment of shooters with our local values.

Scheel also said if Hot Springs County is selected they will seek out partnerships with the State of Wyoming, Hot Springs County, BLM and State Parks, Firearm/Optics Companies, Law Enforcement Training, Youth Shooting Sports, Grand Funders (NRA), and the Wyoming Business Council. 

Regarding their business model, Scheel said it would be Public/Private Partnership; a 501(c)6 Organization-Local Board Controlled; a State Partnership Facility, County owns some land; a landowner agreement for other use when not in use. The expected budget total per year is about $300,000 to $600,000. It would have two to four full-time employees, plus two to four seasonal employees. To start with, the state would fund employees and, as an economic flywheel, they will grow as they get more self-sufficient and reduce dependence on state funds. 

Regarding downside mitigation, Scheel noted the issues of noise and capacity/traffic. For noise, they will install sound absorbers, have indoor ranges, archery is closest to the populated areas, install noise barriers, and use the topography to their advantage. For capacity, they will install a kitchen for event use, utilize food trucks, hotels will follow, have RV parking on site, and partner with other communities. 

Scheel also showed some slides from the Cameo Shooting and Education Complex in Palisade, Colorado, with the population of 2,565. One slide showed their upcoming events for 2024, with 12 events starting in April and through October. The Cameo complex isn't used every single day and some events are small and others are larger.

Scheel then took public comments. The majority of the comments came from residents of Red Lane who complained about noise issues. One of those residents said, "My home is directly below 100 foot cliffs. The noise from the guns would echo off the cliffs, and I would hear them twice. I know because our town's fireworks echo. There are many other suitable sites in Hot Springs County. I put a huge deck on my house to sit and relax after 37 years of taking care of our coal-fired boilers. I've earned my happiness and will not sit and listen to all day shooting. Not once, but twice because of the echo."

Members of the shooting complex committee describe they already had tested with sound equipment some firing of guns at the original proposed site and they had listeners in Red Lane. The committee said the listeners in Red Lane could not hear the gunshots. The committee also said that the proposed site for long range has been updated and moved even further away from Red Lane. 

During the meeting, the public comments about noise in Red Lane became more heated. As a solution to the complaints, one committed member proposed an idea. He suggested they pick a day for the Red Lane community members to be in their locations where the fear of being disturbed and the HSC Shooting Complex Committee will fire off large rounds of firearms in the proposed site as a test, to see if Red Lane residents can actually hear the firearms. 

One committee member also said, "I just wanted to mention here that this is not a required public comment section by the state task force. This is something that, as a committee, we decided to do. So when you say we never reached out, we haven't reached out yet, but we're reaching out now before the state gets heavily involved if we get selected. So everybody, I'd like you to just keep that in mind that this is us reaching out. And we didn't know when the state would require the public comment or if they will. We're being proactive."