I receive phone calls on all sorts of issues important to the callers.  This particular call was regarding the long running discussion of the gun club and the efforts to satisfy the competing interests. The caller  is tired of  the discussion and is not even a gun owner or a resident directly affected by the pop, pop, pop. This fellow lives on my side of Town. I have good hearing, so does my dog as you know if you read this blog.

I can hear the Sig Arms  range in Epping as well as the one on Portsmouth Avenue. I can also of course hear the sirens,and train and planes.

There is undeniably something different about gunshots, proximity is the issue.

The caller is tired of the continued debate, time and monies spent on what is a non issue in his view.

The Town extended the lease and unless the Club raises  a considerable sum to build an indoor facility which I have researched would cost  about 50K a lane , the long suffering neighbors are stuck.An indoor range requires special ventilation and the lane cost does not include the building. The lease stated that the Gun Club would make efforts to attenuate the sound of gunfire , not eliminate. The lease was signed almost 4 years ago and only now is the berm concept being worked. The Club had a local cardiologist, Dr Wharton  listen and he , as a cardiologist, and member of the Club felt the fix was fine . Last night at the BOS meeting ( which you could not hear) 2000.00 was  tasked to hire a sound expert to test the berm concept. While one may respect a cardiologist for his work on a human heart, his expertise in this particular  arena can and should be questioned.

The caller felt that if you are buying a home you should exercise due diligence, park in the neighborhood, speak to your prospective neighbors. Listen for that rooster, the barking from the nearby kennel, the low flying planes when the runway shifts due to wind conditions.

The Town decided that the interests of the gun enthusiasts outweighed the interests of the neighbors. A berm will not effect  the sound emanating from the Gun Club.

Mike