Shooting range motion passes

Mountain View County’s policies and priorities committee has passed a motion regarding plans to conduct sound abatement testing at a currently inactive Olds-area shooting range.

The move came during the committee’s recent regularly scheduled meeting in council chambers.

The Mountain View Marksman Association (MVMA) plans to apply with the county for a one-day events permit to allow the testing, president Bill Sheehan told the committee.

The range is located about three kilometres west of Olds, south of Highway 27 and west of Rge. Rd. 24. It has been closed for several years.

The sound abatement testing would involve the discharge of several calibres of firearms and the resulting sound monitored at varying distances, he said.

Association members have spent the past several months constructing sound abatement devices that will be used during the tests.

“We are asking for a special events permit to test these devices at the range, with the benefit of berms, foliage and the insulated shooting shacks,” said Sheehan.

The testing would be monitored by a licensed sound engineer, he said.

“We should all know after that (testing) whether our sound levels are within limits or if we have to do more work,” he said.

Event permits are issued by the county and approved by the CAO.

“Administration is not going to issue an events permit without the support and endorsement of council or P&P (policies and priorities committee),” said CAO Jeff Holmes.

Following Sheehan’s presentation to the committee, Coun. Al Kemmere put forward a motion calling for the committee to recommend that the CAO deny the permit.

“If this was in an area where there was very limited population it would be a whole different thing, but this is two miles from the town of Olds and it is an area where there has been development over the years, both agriculture and residential development. I just believe this isn’t a place any longer for this type of activity,” said Kemmere.

That motion was defeated.

Reeve Bruce Beattie then put forward a second motion calling for the committee to recommend that the CAO consider approving the permit.

“Until they find out whether these sound abatement efforts work, then I don’t know how you can say we’re not going to even allow them to try it out,” said Beattie.

Deputy Reeve Angela Aalbers said, “We have a policy and I think people should have the right to apply for these things (events permits).”

That motion passed, included a requirement for the association to conduct consultations with nearby landowners prior to making the application for the events permit.

Following the motion, Sheehan said the association hopes to conduct the landowner consultations soon followed by an application for the events permit.

Area landowners would be invited to witness the sound abatement testing should a permit be granted, he said.

The policies and priorities committee is made up of all county councillors.