Council approves lease of Lot 21 for indoor archery club; temporary outdoor range allowed

The Soda Springs City Council voted to authorize the mayor to sign a lease for Lot 21 in the industrial park to an archery club, approving a five-year term and allowing limited temporary outdoor shooting activity while the club builds an indoor range.

Council members and the applicant discussed the site plan, which the applicant described as a roughly 3.59-acre south-end lot beside the railroad with a conceptual building footprint of about 50 by 270 feet. The applicant said a temporary outdoor range would give members value while the indoor building is planned and funded.

Council and staff stressed safety requirements. The applicant said outdoor activity would be built and operated according to applicable range guidelines, including backstops and restrictions on broadheads. A council member pointed to lease language in Section 3 that limits uses “without written consent of a lessor” and asked that permitted ancillary uses be clarified before final signature.

Council moved and seconded a motion to allow the mayor to sign the lease with the corrections noted by staff; the motion carried on the vote recorded at the meeting. Council also discussed a lease provision stating that if the club abandons the project, any building on the leased premises would revert to city ownership and expressed a preference that the facility remain for community recreation if turned over to the city.

The council directed city staff and the lessee to finalize minor contract language before the mayor signs. The lease contains other conditions discussed at the meeting, including subleasing possibilities and a request that the lessee avoid using cinder surfaces for parking to reduce dust impacts.