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County says EPA signed off on closed firearms range; administrator proposes appraisal and sealed-bid sale
Summary
Chippewa County Administrator Randy Schultz reported EPA sign-off on the closed firearms range, summarized cleanup work that recovered 22,000 pounds of lead and the costs for two phases of work, and proposed appraising and selling the property via sealed bids after committee review.
County Administrator Randy Schultz updated the Chippewa County Board on Nov. 12 about the former firearms range closure and proposed next steps for the property, saying the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has signed off and the county may seek to sell the site.
Schultz recapped the history: a county resolution (recorded in the transcript as "resolution 30 one-twenty 2") allocated $1 million in ARPA funds to close the range. Contractors recovered about 22,000 pounds of lead during phase 1 at a cost of roughly $275,000; phase 2 cleanup costs were reported at about $380,000 with an additional estimated $7,000 of likely fiber work.
Schultz said the county has considered reuse options but that the existing structure "really isn't designed" for many public-service reuses; he proposed a process to appraise the property, set a reserve price and accept sealed bids, with committee review followed by an Executive Committee review on Dec. 3 and a final decision by the full board if members direct it.
On liability and environmental status, Schultz stated the EPA "did finally come back and sign off on the property. There is no hazard on the property and it will not show up even when they do, when they go to sell the property," according to his remarks. He also noted settlement terms from the underlying lawsuit included a $75,000 payment by the Rooney family toward closure costs.
Schultz credited county staff and the facility and parks director for managing the multi-year process and said he expects committees to review a resolution recommending sale before the board considers final approval.
Next steps: Facilities & Parks and the Executive Committee will review the proposal; the board would receive a resolution authorizing appraisal and sealed bids and would vote at a subsequent meeting if members direct.
