OTISFIELD — A public hearing to discuss a proposed shooting range off Station Road has been scheduled for Aug. 1 at the Otisfield Town Office.
The meeting will begin at 7 p.m., according to Chairwoman Karen Turino.
Turino said that Uel Gardner, operating as Weaponcraft LLC, came before the Planning Board at its June 20 meeting and proposed an outdoor shooting range where people can learn how to safely shoot firearms.
According to its website, Weaponcraft LLC is a firearms training facility that “provides firearms, equipment and progressive firearms training programs to responsible armed citizens, law enforcement officers and military professionals.”
Gardner said that the property was used as a pit more than two decades ago, but has been used primarily as a private shooting range for the past 20 years.
He said that one of the goals of Weaponcraft in setting up in Otisfield is to start a competitive youth shooting program and develop several teams from around Oxford County.
“Similar to what the Boy Scouts program in Raymond is doing, we can utilize silencers to create a better and safer learning environment for the youth participants and reduced sound for the neighborhood,” Gardner said.
Turino said that she anticipates people will question whether the shooting range will be too loud. The only properties abutting the proposed shooting range are Hancock Lumber and the Otisfield Transfer Station.
“There aren’t any residents within a 1,000-foot radius, so I’m hoping there won’t be an issue,” Turino said.
Gardner said that Weaponcraft had a certified sound measurement study conducted at the nearest residence.
“The measurements were taken under worst-case conditions, such as cloud cover and no upward heat loss, which carries sound away vertically,” Gardner said. “(The results) came in significantly lower than we expected.”
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