A number of residents expressed dissatisfaction at the current state of affairs regarding the operation of the Del-Tone/Luth shooting range at the regular meeting of the Haven Township Board Monday night.  Haven Town Chairman Jeff Schlingmann presented a report on the events at the range in the past month up the present day during the meeting, and several residents and one county commissioner addressed the board on the topic during the public comment portion of the meeting.

Shooting Range Update

 

Schlingmann presented a timeline of the events that took place after the June 15 Haven Town Board meeting, which included some sharp exchanges between residents and board members regarding a bullet that struck a private home in Benton County.

 

Schlingmann stated that he, as the township zoning administrator, issued an order to immediately close the 100-yard shooting lane at the range in response to a letter from Sherburne County Sheriff Joel Brott, who stated that the shooting lane should be closed immediately as a matter of public safety as the investigation into the incident continued.  Schlingmann, the sheriff and management from the shooting range met at the site during the investigation.

 

The investigation found no evidence that the rifles in use on the range on the day of the incident were the source of the round that struck the residence.  Subsequently, range management installed a wooden baffle system, expanded the backstop with wooden posts and hired a national Rifle Association-trained range officer to inspect the range and write a report on the current conditions.

 

Following the report, Schlingmann inspected the range and, finding that it met the standards set forth in MN Statutes 87A and the NRA Sourcebook, issued an order to re-open the 100-yard shooting lane and so informed the sheriff’s office.  Schlingmann also stated baffles and wooden post backdrops had also been added to the other shooting bays on the range.

 

Supervisor Mike Pesch asked whether the shooting lane is required to have a 20-foot backstop, and Schlingmann replied that current statutes require a two-thirds gradient on the backstop and a height of 20 feet above the shooting lane.  In order to ensure that a bullet cannot escape the shooting range, Pesch said that the “best practices” for range construction and current state requirements are “not the same.”

 

Schlingmann replied, and later reiterated, that “state statutes are what we have to abide by” in relation to governance of a facility like the shooting range.

 

During the public comment session, Pat Prom raised several questions regarding conditional use permits (CUP) and Interim use Permits (IUP), and the annual administrative renewal process for the latter. She also asked if reports of other complaints from the same shooting range from the Sherburne and Benton County sheriff’s departments had been provided to Haven Township officials in recent years, and was informed by Schlingmann that they had not.  Schlingmann also stated that there is currently “no evidence” as to the source of the shot at this point.

 

Sherburne County Commissioner Felix Schmiesing also appeared before the board, noting Haven Township has its own zoning authority in the matter of the shooting range but urging the board not to “jettison” the CUP conditions set up by the Sherburne County Board in 2010.  The county had spent a significant amount of money on the issue, he said, and had in place what he considered to be effective restrictions on shooting operations at the range.  He specifically cited the “No Blue Sky” requirements for wooden lanes that would prevent a shooter from firing a shot that could escape the range over the backstop.

 

Schlingmann responded by saying that the range had operated the 100-year lane for at least two years with no problems, and that the CUP requirements were in place.

 

Pesch stated that he would expect the range management to be “pro-active’ in these matters, rather than simply reacting to make corrections after an incident.

 

According to the monthly sheriff’s report presented at the meeting, the incident remains under investigation.

 

Schlingmann informed the board Township Attorney David Meyers had located a long-lost copy of a road order applicable to 32 st. SE and 40th st. SE in Haven Township while going through a file of 1869 records in Palmer Township, where he also is the township attorney.

 

Possession of the road orders will be significant when the construction of new railroad crossings begins in Haven Township in coming years.

 

The township will be seeking bids for snow plowing for the coming winter, Schlingmann said, after current contactor Clint Schendzielos informed the board that he will not continue plowing operations in the township next year.  Bids are expected to be received in time for the Aug., 17 regular board meeting.

 

The sheriff’s report indicated that there had been 37 calls for service in Haven Township in June, including 21 traffic stops that led to 12 citations and one DWI arrest.