This story was originally produced by the Keene Sentinel. NHPR is republishing it in partnership with the Granite State News Collaborative.
About 1.3 miles from Dublin Town Hall, Cobb Meadow Road travels northwest to southeast, bordered by houses to the south and Dublin Sand and Gravel and town property to the north. It’s this vacant town land — the site the Dublin Police Department proposes for a new shooting range — that brought around 160 people to a hearing Tuesday afternoon.
“I don’t think there’s a person here that doesn’t want you to get the training you deserve,” Traceymay Kalvaitis, who lives about 1,000 yards from the site, said to Dublin Police Chief Timothy Suokko. “But there’s a difference between convenience and necessity. And I’m just so far failing to see the necessity of having such a training facility right in Dublin, right in a residential neighborhood.”
As the clock ticked toward 4 p.m., the lower-level space planned for the meeting in the town hall quickly overflowed capacity. Residents streamed outside as the storm that had been pouring rain a few minutes prior dissipated, allowing the crowd to assemble in the parking lot beside the hall and police station.
Along with Kalvaitis, most attendees opposed the proposal, citing concerns including danger from stray bullets, excessive noise, and impacts to property values and the environment. However, Suokko and a few residents said the facility is needed to ensure officers receive adequate training.
The proposal, which Selectboard Chair Carole Monroe said members heard about a month ago and which was posted on the town’s website on June 10, asks to build a shooting range on a 75-acre, town-owned property off Cobb Meadow Road using outside donations. Currently, Dublin police use the Peterborough Sportsman’s Club for training, but Suokko said the facility limits them to stationary shooting.
“Police training in general is getting away from [the stationary] model ... but this type of scenario looks nothing like a real-world scenario that any of our officers would ever be involved in, right? People don’t just stand still, it’s far more dynamic than that,” Suokko said, emphasizing the new site would allow “dynamic” training.
He said this type of training is needed because 43,649 officers were assaulted in 2021, with 61 killed by firearms, according to Federal Bureau of Investigation data. That same year, The Washington Post identified 1,055 people in the U.S. fatally shot by police officers.
Several residents suggested the police department train at another facility, such as Sig Sauer Academy and Experience Center in Exeter. In an email to The Sentinel, Sheriff Eli Rivera stated that the Cheshire County Sheriff’s Office pays a membership fee to use the Ferry Brook Range in Keene.
Steven Baldwin, who served with the Hancock Police Department for 24 years and was a firearms trainer for 17, agreed with resident concerns and said training at larger shooting ranges would help the officers more than a Dublin range could.
“There are always better instructors, and having access to that type of experience was so beneficial,” he said about the larger facilities.
Suokko told The Sentinel he has looked at offsite locations, but they come with drawbacks.
“The other issue with the offsite locations is we’re taking people out of town to do training,” he said. “The more time the officers are here, the better.”
Jeff Clough, who owns Dublin Sand and Gravel, described safety concerns for his workers and customers as his gravel pit’s entry road lies within 75 yards of the proposed backstop for bullets.
“I mean, I don’t shoot in my own gravel pit because of respect for my neighbors,” he said to cheers and applause.
Families that live along the road also said they feared for the safety of themselves and their children. Some residents, such as Kirsten Colantino, mentioned the impact of lead on the area.
“The proposed site is on the Brush Brook waterway, which dumps into the MacDowell Dam,” she said. “If anyone’s lead in their soil or water goes above 15 parts per billion, we can get sued. It will devastate this town.”
Some residents also felt they had not been properly informed of the proposal, saying only residents whose property directly abutted the site were sent letters. In her opening remarks, Monroe said the selectboard had posted the meeting information on the town's website, sent letters to abutters, and included information in meeting minutes.
Toward the meeting's conclusion, a dispute arose about next steps. A petition, requesting a special town meeting for the proposal, was created by Molly Pinney and received more than 100 signatures. She said she planned to submit it Wednesday, but Monroe said a town meeting would incur additional costs.
"The purpose of the petition is so that it becomes up to the voters of this town to decide whether or not to do this," Pinney responded. "If you are able to say ... 'We will table this until next year's town meeting,' we can put forth a warrant article on [next year's] town meeting. The concern is that this will be voted on without input of the town."
Monroe said she would have to check with the New Hampshire Municipal Association and the town's attorneys, and would follow up with the information later.
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