November 6th, 2025 Public Open House Summary

What was this event?

A public open house for the Jonesville Shooting Range and Park planning project was held on November 6th, 2025 from 5:00 to 7:30pm in the Sutton Elementary School gym. With an open house format, attendees were able to directly interact with the client and consultant team. Various exhibits were available at the open house including maps to show the location of the site, and three initial concepts for possible improvements focusing on the development of a shooting range.

Attendees were encouraged to provide their written comments on a “site assessment” form, and to visit the project website for additional information or to leave digital comments.

You can view the meeting's exhibits at this previous post: Exhibits from November 6th Public Meeting 

A summary document was developed and can be downloaded with these links:

High Image Quality Download (larger file size)

Reduced Image Quality Download (smaller file size)

Summary of input

(This is from the downloadable summary document, links above)

The current site is valued for its accessibility and open features, being a free resource with unrestricted, easy access that is familiar to the community and provides a good starting point for a shooting range. People like that it is a large, open area offering multiple unique shooting points with a safe backstop (ridge). The larger site supports multiple uses, including trails, campsites, swimming, kayaking, and fishing. The site is enjoyable when used in an orderly fashion or when no one else is present.

The site is plagued by significant issues, particularly concerning safety and misconduct. The current situation is described as an unorganized “Wild West” due to the danger of stray shots, unregulated shooting at all hours and locations, and the absence of a defined firing line. This chaos is compounded by the presence of illegal activities, public intoxication, parties, and explosions. A major source of conflict is the significant noise impacting nearby residents, as the site is adjacent to residential areas, close to Sutton, and currently has no noise regulations. Furthermore, the site suffers from poor infrastructure and maintenance, including major trash issues, rough and eroding roads and parking areas, and a lack of defined management or cleanup. Finally, there are user conflicts due to overlap between motorized and non-motorized recreation uses, including hazardous operation of motor vehicles, and damage to trails that contribute to not being desirable for non-motorized uses.

Recommendations focused on management and range design. The foremost request is the need for rules, oversight, and enforcement (policing), including hours of operation and quiet hours. Signs should be provided that clearly state rules and guide behavior. To reduce user conflicts, management should establish designated areas for different activities. For shooting facilities, Options 1, 2 and 3 were appreciated for formalizing a modern, safe shooting range. Consideration should be given to design for noise reduction, and long distance shooting if possible (600 to 1000 yards). Infrastructure should include restrooms, dumpsters, maintained access roads, and developed campsites. Finally, the site should be considered as a place to host organized competitions and community events. Partnerships should be pursued, including ideas like the formation of a club to manage the park and ranges. Financial ideas include implementing a fee system (especially for non-residents), using a digital donation kiosk, and volunteer contributions such as community cleanups.

Some attendees requested consideration of a different location due to the impacts on area residents.