As both parties continue to work out and revise a new use agreement, a few Leelanau Township board and Parks and Recreation Committee members met with Northport Sportsman’s Club members on Nov. 26 at Braman Hill shooting range to discuss possible environmental testing with Gosling Czubak Engineering.
Since August, the township and Sportsman’s Clubs’ legal counsel has been working to put together a use agreement as they have been unable to find a signed copy of the original one. One of the concerns brought up in recent months was soil testing of the property to ensure there are no traces of lead contamination.
Representatives from the township board, parks and rec, and club all agreed that the meeting at Braman Hill went well though, and are now awaiting for a more thorough report from Jeff Sisma of Gosling Czubak of the testing options they have going forward.
Northport Sportsman’s Club President Tom Gremel said the engineer relayed from his preliminary observation that “they don’t have a problem,” and that one of his recommendations would be a pH test for the soil to look for any traces of acidity and alkalinity. This past summer, Gremel said the club happened to do a pH test on the property, adding that they were encouraged by the results.
“You don’t want there to be too much alkaline or too much acid, otherwise it causes lead to break down faster. If it’s a neutral PH, then the lead remains inert, it does not change,” Gremel said. “The township wants to make sure that there isn’t anything else going on, just as a precaution — lead leaching into the soil and that kind of thing. Unless the lead is breaking down, it’s not going to leach anywhere, which is a good thing.”
One of the other possible options discussed at the meeting was to drill three small test wells, which would be two inches in diameter, that would be monitored over time. Gremel said the club is happy about the option as they want to do everything they can to ensure people’s safety.
Township parks and recreation secretary Kristi Holstrom, who has been helping to spearhead research efforts, said according to the options Sisma laid out so far, it made the most sense to start with checking water quality to identify if there’s been any movement of lead in the soil to the water. Part of the proposal that the engineer is putting together will also include some environmental research where they would look at the property historically and take into consideration the changes in the land and the different uses over time. The costs, which Holstrom said wouldn’t be much, associated with the options they have now have yet to be determined.
“We felt good that this could be the first step of just checking in at the water level…” she said. “We want to do this in the most informed way possible, we’re not trying to rush this. We want to be very thoughtful about it and do what’s right by the residents, by the land, by the wildlife, and of course, we’re very supportive of the sportsman’s activities. We see it as a valuable and very valued resource in our community and as part of our park system, so we want them to be able to continue to operate, however, in a way that reflects the best practices for doing so, and protecting the welfare of residents and the wildlife.”
Holstrom said she’ll be doing more research regarding how other gun ranges are managed around the state and region, looking specifically at management practices, as well as national standards for gun ranges. She added that she is feeling “very optimistic” about an agreement between the club and the township, and the new board and supervisor are all on the same page about moving forward thoughtfully and not rushing anything.
“I have a list of various things I want to explore for the purposes of becoming as informed as we can be as a committee,” Holstrom said. “And then to share that with the township board in order to make the best decision on how the board will form an agreement with the sportsman’s club and just manage that overtime.”
Newly appointed township supervisor Barbara Conley also attended the meeting on November 26, and said if they can find there’s no danger to the public, then that’s a very good thing and will help them to continue moving forward.
“That’s kind of a focus there to be sure,” Conley said. “The sportsman’s club has used the property for quite a long time and they keep it nice, so we’ll go from there.”
