CALEDONIA — The Village of Caledonia has rescinded plans to reopen a police shooting range at Gorney Park after residents rallied against the proposal.
The village board voted unanimously in January to reutilize the range for police training, but reversed the decision on Tuesday.
"You do find that if people care, they show up, and they advocate," said Shannon Brady, whose property is separated from the shooting range by a small field.
She was among the residents who advocated against the village's plans.
"It did make me feel very proud that the individuals that I myself had voted for are actually putting in the efforts to advocate for us who are against something," Brady said following the board's decision to reverse course.
Gorney Park is located just off Nicholson and 7 Mile roads. Village documents show a shooting range operated there from the 1950s to 1997.
"It is important to note that this range operated safely for many years; however, overuse, lack of control, and misuse led to incidents that forced its closure," Caledonia Police Chief Christopher Botsch said in an email on April 8.
Watch: Caledonia village board rescinds plans to reopen firearm training range following resident concerns
The initial village resolution stated reopening the firearm training range "would provide greater access to quality firearms training and reduce costs associated with using alternate facilities."
It also stated that the site could be brought back for use with minimal costs.
Chief Botsch said in an email Thursday, "We will continue to work with Village staff and the Board to find alternatives so that we can have greater access to quality firearms training for our officers."
Botsch said the department places an "emphasis on training to help ensure we are successful in real-life incidents" and that the pursuit of a training facility is supports that goal.
"I think that they need to practice. They need to be very fluent with their firearms, but I think practicing in a park is the wrong area for is," Caledonia resident Ken Parker said.
Much of the opposition to the new proposal came from nearby residents concerned about a variety of factors, including safety and noise. They said a shooting range was a bad fit for a park that now features multiple playgrounds, a baseball field and a fishing pond.
"Even though it was previously a shooting range, and we had problems with that 30 years ago, the park has been a lot more developed since then," Parker said.
Parker also celebrated the village's ability to consider resident considers and change course.
"It means a lot," he said. "It says a lot for our community that we can have a discussion."
Communication with residents throughout this process was "poorly handled," Trustee Nancy Pierce told TMJ4's Lauren Sklba on Thursday.
She said trustees made their initial vote in January based on the information that was available at that time and that no one with the village engaged park neighbors in the process.
As far as next steps go, Pierce said the question is, "Now what?" She indicated the answer to that question could be a variety of options for police firearm training, including continuing with their current training option, considering a new facility, or addressing concerns at Gorney Park.
For that reason, Brady said she will continue to keep an eye on village happenings to protect the future of Gorney Park.
"Be your local advocate, show up to the meetings, understand what's going on in your community," Brady said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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