THETFORD — Neighbors spoke out against rapid-fire shooting in the town forest, as the selectboard considers another 10-year lease for the Upper Valley Fish and Game Club.
But the club asked for more time at its shooting range in the forest, and the board voted 4-1 to grant it partially. The plan would allow a slight increase in rapid-fire shooting that usually occurs Wednesday evening with one additional four-hour period per year.
“I think if everybody can come out of this thing unhappy, then I think we’ll have done a good job,” selectboard member Steven Tofel said at the board meeting July 20.
A petition signed by about 100 residents called for one quiet day each week, an exemption for all federal holidays, and, most importantly, an end to rapid-fire shooting altogether.
“It’s too loud. It interferes too much with our country life, which is what we want here,” said resident Ford Von Reyn.
Selectboard member David Forbes said he believes the issue is sparked by Thetford becoming more suburban over the years, despite rural roots. He added that he believes the Club is engaging in an honest effort at compromising with this in mind.
The previous 10-year lease, approved in 2016, took two years to negotiate, and the town decided that more than one shot per second is not permitted aside from Wednesday evenings and that the range can open during the first and third weekends of every month.
The Club has now asked for rapid fire permission on the first Saturday of each month too.
Board Chair Sharon Harkay asked Vice Chair David Goodrich to recuse himself from the vote; he’s an active member of the club and has served, at times, as a liaison for it.
“Although you’re not going to make any financial gains, I think it is a clear conflict of interest for you to vote with the rest of the board on this matter,” Harkay said.
However, Goodrich declined.
Harkay suggested that, while the club wanted one Saturday of additional rapid-fire shooting every month, the town keep it to Wednesday nights, plus one additional four-hour session per year.
Selectboard member Li Shen said it would be “arrogant” of the board to contemplate increasing rapid-fire, considering the feedback.
“Why do we have the right to decide how much increased noise should be inflicted on the neighbors for the next 10 years?” said Shen, who added that she doesn’t believe any selectboard members live in the affected area.
Tofel said he visited the Five Corners Road area on a Wednesday night, and found that the noise noticeable but “not overwhelming.” He said the club has been around for 50 years, and everyone who’s moved in since then knew what they were getting into.
In a public comment, Von Reyn said that, in his 20 years of residency, the noise has become unreasonable. He said he doesn’t think rapid-fire shooting should occur there under any circumstances.
Another resident, Troy Thomas, lives 300 yards from the shooting range, he said at the meeting. He hears the shots “all day, every day” and, despite being there five decades, the sound remains jarring.
“When I go outside, and I’m working in the garden, all of a sudden the shooting starts, and I jump. It’s that powerful. It really throws me when it starts, and then it continues,” Thomas said.
Sunny Martinson said residents tolerate all kind of noise, such as lawnmowers, coyotes and planes, but “none of it upsets me like gunfire.”
Resident Laurie French reminded the board that she had asked for one no-shooting day a week 10 years ago, when the they last considered the lease. To her, there has been a major shift in how the space is used.
“It’s not even like living in the same neighborhood,” said French of the noise increase.
After residents spoke, Shen said any gains for the club are losses for the neighbors who are already without peace on their property. She made a motion to approve rapid-fire shooting only on Wednesday evenings, just like the last lease, but it failed 4-1.
Club member Doug Stone said the fish and game club promotes hunter safety and training, and that rapid-fire shooting is an important skill.
“We’re willing to pay to do what we do,” Stone said, noting the $700 property tax fee associated with the lease.
The selectboard voted to approve a four additional rapid-shooting hours, though Shen complained that the board was increasing the rapid-shooting time when residents had specifically asked for less.
“We did not side with the club in their desire to have one full Saturday a month,” Harkay replied.
“But now the neighbors are extremely unhappy,” Shen said of the compromise.
The lease is still not ready. The selectboard must revisit residents’ request to have a no-shooting day every weekend, how to split up holidays, and what happens in a month that has five weekends.
The selectboard’s next meeting is expected to be Aug. 3 at the Thetford Town Hall. An agenda has not yet been published.
