PORT ANGELES — The Peninsula Northwest Shooting Park Association has offered Clallam County $39,305 for the future construction of a shooting range.
County commissioners Tuesday moved up a target to find a suitable location for the firing range from a proposed 25 years to 10 years.
The nonprofit association is disbanding after years of trying to build a shooting range for area residents, Joel Winborn, county Parks, Fair and Facilities director, told commissioners Tuesday.
Under the terms of the proposed agreement, the money would be donated to the National Rifle Association if the county fails to build a shooting range in the next quarter-century.
“I’m a little concerned about the 25-year time frame,” board Chairman Mark Ozias said in a work session.
“Personally, I would like to see us consider shortening that to maybe 10 years, something that’s a little bit more manageable.”
Commissioner Bill Peach concurred that a shorter time frame was a “good approach.”
“Ten years seems to make more sense, actually,” Commissioner Randy Johnson told Ozias. “I like your idea.”
Clallam County has been considering building a public shooting park since 1968, when it closed a range at Salt Creek near Joyce.
A decade-old proposal to build a shooting range on a state Department of Natural Resources parcel at nearby Sadie Creek was met with strong opposition from residents, tribal members and environmental groups concerned about pollution, noise and other impacts.
The 320-acre DNR parcel would have become a county park managed by the shooting park association.
“These folks have been very patient over the years,” Winborn said in the work session.
“I guess maybe the time has come that we determine whether or not this is something that’s an important thing for the county or not, because over the years, we’ve spent a lot of time on this, and we don’t get a lot done.”
The Clallam County Parks Board unanimously recommended approval of the agreement late last year, Winborn said.
Commissioners kicked the proposal to the county Finance Committee for a review in December.
While the Finance Committee had no objection to the agreement, committee chairwoman and county Treasurer Selinda Barkhuis warned that there would be “lots of duties by lots of people” to manage the funds.
“I just want everybody to be aware that there are strings attached to any sort of funds that as a county we manage,” Barkhuis said in the work session.
“It’s up to me to make sure when this money leaves the treasury that I have a warrant and a signature authorizing it by someone who’s authorized, but there’s a lot of other responsibilities.”
Ozias said he had asked association members whether they would be willing to ask a community foundation or other entity to manage the funds.
“They expressed to me that at this point, they’re not interested in looking at alternatives,” Ozias said.
“Their feeling is that either we’ll hold onto this for a while in case we do pull a shooting park together, or if we’re not interested in doing it, then they’re just going to go ahead and send the money to the [NRA] facility that would ultimately be the beneficiary.”
No commissioner objected to the agreement with the Peninsula Northwest Shooting Park Association.
Commissioners are expected to approve a revised agreement with a 10-year duration in the coming weeks.
“It’s a unique project, but I support it because there had been an effort to try to find the range [location],” Peach said.
“And rather than engage in controversy over the site selection, the decision was made: Let us relax, let us take a fair amount of time, do site selection without pressure, without the political impetus to do one thing or another.
“Whenever it gets finished, the money should follow that decision,” Peach added.
Meanwhile, commissioners Tuesday approved a one-year, $1.26 million agreement with Clallam Public Defender for the provision of criminal defense for those who cannot afford their own attorney.
The nonprofit firm has been operating under one-year contracts with the county for the past several years.
Under the terms of the latest agreement, Clallam Public Defender will provide a $16,700 discount to the county if it secures a five-year agreement for public defense with any firm by July 1, county Administrator Jim Jones said.
The discount would bring the county back in line with its budgeted amount for public defense.
“I think we can make it,” Jones said.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
