Vermont Standard
By Curt Peterson
Standard Correspondent
KILLINGTON — Residents discussed a proposed new firearms ordinance drafted by Police Chief Whit Montgomery and Town Manager Seth Webb.
Webb recounted the history that led to the proposal, citing several
complaints about tenants on River Road discharging large-magazine
firearms in the residential neighborhood and near town recreation areas.
Montgomery had expressed frustration at having no statutory power to
prohibit the shooting or to punish the perpetrators. The early May
meeting drew a large crowd, most of whom had strong opinions one way or
another regarding restrictions on firearms use. But the
meeting remained orderly and everyone got to report their experiences
and express their views. At the June 2 meeting Webb was authorized to
work with Chief Montgomery on a draft ordinance that was presented for
discussion on Tuesday night.
The
ordinance describes certain areas relating to roadways within the town:
River Road, between Rte. 4 and Rte. 100 North; Schoolhouse Road, from Killington
Road to its end; Roaring Brook Road, from Dean Hill Road to High Ridge
Extension Road; Barrows Towne Road, from Rte. 100 North to its end; West
Park Road, from Killington Road to its
end. This area is designated a “Restricted Firearms Discharge Area” in
which firing guns or rifles is prohibited within 200 yards of either
side of the roads.
Exceptions to
the rule are provided if someone is attacked by an animal, or if an
animal is injured to the point it must be put down, or use of firearms
by law enforcement officers in performance of their duties. There is
also an exemption for legal hunting. Violations of the proposed
ordinance would earn fines of from $100 for a first offense brought in
Vermont Judicial Bureau without contest, to $800 civil penalty for a
fourth offense.
Select board
Chairman Patty McGrath said, “I want to make it very clear that this
ordinance is not intended to take anyone’s rights away from them. We’re
trying to strike a balance among everyone’s rights.”
Resident Eli Kirschner suggested that the hunting exemption provides a
cop-out for offenders. “Wouldn’t the person you’re trying to arrest
just say, ‘Oh, I was hunting?’” According to Selectman Chris Bianchi,
the state does not allow the town to restrict the right of property
owners to hunt game on their own land, even if it is within the RFDA.
Other residents pointed out that hunting isn’t the problem — the
nuisance and risk of injury come from people just shooting multiple
rounds for hours, often late at night.
Dawn Barkley said, “When people are just shooting and shooting in the
middle of the night, you can be pretty sure alcohol is involved.” There
was general agreement that mixing drinking and recreational shooting in
the dark would be a recipe for disaster.
Charlie Holland asked the board if they had received any additional
comments or complaints about shooting incidents or about the proposed
ordinance. Webb reported that one resident had been worried the
“informal firing range” on federal land might be involved, but that he
had advised her the town had no jurisdiction over that site.
“We have also had several more complaints over the summer about
shooting in the River Road area.” River Road is a popular route for
runners, bicyclists and people walking with their dogs and/or children.
Holland, Barkley, and Barkley’s husband Tao Smith all complained about being woken up after midnight by extensive shooting.
“It’s not just a couple of shots,” Barkley said. “It’s hundreds of rounds.”
Smith said they had complained to the State Police and to Chief
Montgomery about the problem. Montgomery said it is often impossible to
determine the exact origin of the noise due to echoing in the mountains.
He said there is a “noise in the night-time” ordinance that could apply
to after-hours firearm disturbances.
Matt Meservey, who had registered opposition at the May meeting to any
ordinance restricting the use of firearms, said he has lived in town
since 1997 and had been told over and over that Killington
is a community that sits down to work out solutions to problems, that
there is a comingtogether when an issue arises. “Where is the
coming-together when we’re passing an ordinance that restricts the use
of firearms by residents, when the problem is usually caused by people
from out-of-town?”
Webb responded
that townspeople had reached out among neighbors to try to work out a
compromise that might satisfy everyone’s needs, but that it had been
unsuccessful. There was some discussion about getting the word around so
visitors and second-home owners would know about the new ordinance if
it is enacted.
Meservey added that he keeps bees and fires a gun to scare bears away
from his hives. Bianchi asked him if his property was within 200 yards
of a road in the RFDA. “Maybe I am within 200 yards,” he said, “or maybe
I’m 201 yards away and it doesn’t apply to me. I’m against an ordinance
that restricts anyone’s rights, not just mine.”
One of the exceptions in the proposed ordinance seems to require
written select board approval for slaughtering livestock. Chris Bianchi
objected, saying, “I don’t think someone who wants to use a firearm to
dispatch a couple of pigs should have to go through an application
process to get permission, and I don’t want to be in the business of
deciding whether they get permission or not.”
Seth Webb was asked to change the provision regarding livestock to
require only notice to the police department or select board that
firearms would be used for this purpose, if within the RFDA. He will
also work with Whit Montgomery to add a prohibition against firing a gun
or rifle between sundown and sunrise, with a stiff penalty for
violating the provision. The final draft will be presented again at the
Sept. 15 board meeting. Bianchi pointed out that the ordinance does not
have to be warned. Residents have 60 days to file objections once the
board has approved the ordinance, then, barring any resulting changes or retractions, the law goes into effect automatically.
Selectman Ken Lee, en route from a vacation trip, was absent from the
meeting, which made it impossible for the board to approve an Outside
Consumption liquor license for Liquid Arts. Because Chairman McGrath is
in the business, she abstains from decisions regarding liquor licenses.
Without Lee’s vote the applicant was out of luck.
Owner Beth Sarandrea was relieved to hear Bianchi suggest the license
could be approved during a conference call with Lee in the morning.
“That’s great,” she said. “I’ve had people leave without ordering
because they can’t have a beer with their lunch if they eat on the
deck.”
Webb’s Town Manager’s Report included a schedule for this weekend’s Killington
Classic Motorcycle Rally, a four-day event that includes a Covered
Bridge Ride, Vermont Highlights Tour, a Poker Run, the Green Mountain
Scavenger Hunt, and a 12-mile Parade to the Rutland Block Party. The
event, which starts on Thursday Aug. 27, is billed as “Vermont’s Biggest
Motorcycle Rally,” and has been hosted by Killington for years. Sign-up is at the Foundry on Summit Path.
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