Gun enthusiasts in Davis County can look forward to the shooting range reopening to the public possibly as soon as January. The county owned facility at 1649 E. 650 North in Kaysville was closed to the public in August by Wahsatch Shooters Association of Davis County, who were contracted to operate and supervise the general public’s use of the range. Since that time, the county commission and Davis County Sheriff’s Department (DCSO) have been working on a solution to get the range up and running again.

“It’s the same facility,” said Commissioner Lorene Kamalu. “The group that ran it stopped. We’d never planned for that.”

Commissioner Randy Elliott has been having subgroup meetings to figure out how to pick that back up, she said. “Now we know it was never specifically under anyone’s watch, just a trust with Wahsatch.”

 There will be a change in structure, Kamalu said. “We know it will be a DCSO employee that will oversee the property. There will be all the same things for shooting up there.”

The upkeep was falling behind, she said. “We need to make improvements and maintenance on it. It hasn’t been maintained so great. The road is crumbled and the berms need work. Public Works will use their manpower and equipment to help with that.”

Member fees were supposed to be used for maintenance, said Kamalu. “In more recent years finances have not been happening according to the contract. We appreciate Wahsatch and the decades of what volunteers did up there.”

“The goal is to get the range open as soon as we can,” said DCSO Chief Deputy Andrew Oblad. “Hopefully in January the public can come back and use it. It’s a joint effort between the DCSO and the county to maintain it and get it open. It won’t be run by a private organization like before.”

Prior to Wahsatch shooters getting out, range officers were up there when the public went, he said. “They were allowing admissions, making sure things were safe, etc. We’ll continue to use the same model. A range officer will be there to make sure it’s safe and managing how long people are in a bay.”

Law enforcement use the range for training so they’re often up there too, said Oblad. “There will be a portion for law enforcement and a portion for the public. We’ll rent some to shooting groups. There will be cameras to make sure that all of them are the only ones using it.”

Oblad said they’re working on getting agreements between who is using the range such as who is insuring it. “Do the groups who rent out the bays have insurance? The goal is to have an area for the public on Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday. They can go up and pay a fee to shoot.”

Change will be good, said Kamalu. “This is a priority. We want to do this while we have the chance to use recreation funds. It’s a super tight budget so it’s a top priority. We want it to be sustainable for all of those who use it. The goal is to keep it up like our golf courses. It should be used and loved by the community.”

There is work going on even this time of year, she said. “It’s been there for decades. Wahsatch never stopped working on it. We’re building on a great foundation by Wahsatch Shooters.”

Davis County Auditor Curtis Koch went through a tentative budget last week with the commission for approval, said Oblad. “Our goal is to use the money allocated by the county to make improvements before it opens up. It looks like it’s going that way.”  λ