City leaders are making plans for the future of the old gun range once Davenport Police move out. Next month, the new indoor shooting range here in the police station's basement will be finished, leaving the current range in Mount Joy empty.
Davenport plans to lease out the old police shooting range when the new facility is finished and soon they'll ask for renters for the old facility. Those interested will have a few weeks to respond, and then city leaders will decide on one or a few to move into the old range.
"There are groups that are actively seeking to lease that facility," Third Ward Alderman Bill Boom says, "We're going to issue an request for proposals to outside groups; I know that several other gun sale organizations are looking for a way to do training."
Along with paying rent, the potential leaser would take over maintenance costs from the city, saving the city thousands of dollars each year. One of the groups interested, R&K Arms, estimates the costs for the facility's upkeep is around $24,000 a year.
"Instead of it just sitting there eating up city money, we're willing to take it over plus pay the city money to put back in the general fund," R&K Arms Owner Randy Fulton says.
The shooting range would also create more jobs for the city and offer gun safety classes and a new place for the public to practice.
"A lot of people who have a concealed permit to carry and have come in and bought guns and one of the main things was, is there a place for us to go shoot?" Fulton says, "There's not very many places."
With extra funds for the city and a way for people to practice gun safety, city leaders and gun organizations say it's a win-win for both sides.
"It does tremendous things for me as a business owner, it gives me the opportunity to grow," Fulton says.
"This will make it a lot more accessible to the residents of Davenport, and if we can make this income generating, even better."
