Residents urge audit of city lease at shooting complex; city staff outline revenue split and access changes

Public commenters pressed the City of Casper on Monday over how a nonprofit operates and uses a publicly owned shooting facility, asking the council to audit lease terms and improve transparency.

Robert Taylor, who said he lives in Mills, told the council the facility leased by a nonprofit had generated about $116,000 over three years from private shooting competitions and that parts of the pistol range were effectively closed to the public. "There is no publicly available breakdown of how the $116,000 was spent, reinvested, or allocated for community benefit," Taylor said during the public-comment period and urged the council to "conduct a lease audit focused on financial transparency and public benefit, require reporting of revenue and expenditures, [and] establish a public advisory board to oversee the operations."

Council members asked clarifying questions about which user groups and which parts of the complex Taylor was referencing. Taylor identified the Casper Shooters Club and a private-affiliated group called Ghost Town Shooters as organizers of the large competitive events he was describing and said those groups sometimes close portions of the range to general public use.

City staff said they had already discussed Mr. Taylor's concerns with membership leadership and described how proceeds from the primary annual event are handled. City staff said the net proceeds from last year's Governor's Cup were "approximately $18,000," that net proceeds are split 50/50 between the Casper Shooters Club general fund and the club's match fund for future events, and that the city and the club have implemented membership changes intended to expand public access. "We brought Mr. Taylor's concerns to the membership, and they devised a membership through Casper Shooters Club, whereby any of their members could purchase an additional membership to access that part of the facility at any time," a staff representative said.

A competitor and club member, Kevin Eberly, told councilors that large tournaments require substantial in-kind labor and equipment supplied by volunteers and that, after expenses, a typical year’s net profit from the match could be "10 or $15,000," which he said is then split with the club. "They use all of their club's property, all of their targets, their target stands, their moving targets," Eberly said, arguing the event also brings tourism and community benefit.

Councilors asked staff to continue follow-up and to provide Mr. Taylor with additional documentation; the mayor said staff would return with more information during the meeting's comment period. The record shows disagreement between a resident's claim of $116,000 in gross receipts over three years and staff statements about last year's net proceeds; the council did not vote on a formal audit or lease change at the meeting but directed staff to investigate and respond to Mr. Taylor's concerns.

Next steps: staff follow-up and more detailed information for the council and Mr. Taylor were promised during the meeting.