County approves shooting range north of city

Posted

BY CHUCK VANDENBERG
PCC EDITOR

FORT MADISON - County officials gave a nod of support Tuesday morning to plan to open a shooting range north of Fort Madison.

The shooting range is planned to be located at 2958 County Road 103 about five minutes north of the city west of the airport.

Supervisors said they all received emails in support of the proposal submitted by Jim Seitz, of Seitz Firearms LLC.

The facility will be built on Seitz' property, according to a letter to Lee County Attorney Ross Braden in September.

Seitz is looking to sell firearms from his residence and construct a 140-yard range from shooting positions to a 12-foot tall earthen berm south down range that is 12 feet wide at its base. A 12-foot by 24-foot wooden structure with a tin roof is also planned at the shooting position.

Seitz indicated there is an additional 40 to 50 acres of timber behind the berm, all within his property boundaries.

Seitz said he anticipates the range being open from 5 p.m. to dusk Monday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to dusk on the weekends.

Board Chairman Ron Fedler said the county received a stack of emails in support of the shooting range, and he had one phone call opposing it.

The measure passed unanimously.

In other action, the board passed a resolution, 5-0, to authorize the county to enter into a loan agreement with Zion Bank Corp. of Salt Lake City for $1.075 million on bonds for installation of a new digital camera system for Lee County Jail and repairs needed at other county facilities.

Supervisor Gary Folluo also reminded citizens that coronavirus case counts in Lee County are on the rise again and people need to be vigilant about wearing masks and taking recommended precautions such as frequent hand washing, sanitizing and social distancing.

"Nobody wants government intervention, but nobody wasn't people sick and dying either. Pay attention to what your doing and let's get through this as best we can," Folluo said.

Fedler said he lost a friend last week to the virus, and although he didn't support fining people for not adhering to recommendations, he agreed that people should be wearing masks.

"It's proven that masks help. I'm not saying there 100%, but I would like everybody in the city, county, state and federally to please wear a mask and think about the people around you," he said.

approval, board of supervisors, fort madison, lee county, Pen City Current, Seitz Firearms, shooting range

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