Deal on f iring range close
Facility for police one of two proposals in Glenville
The town is closing in on a deal with a property owner in rural West Glenville for a firing range that Glenville officials insist the police department sorely needs to train its officers for a major crisis.
Even as those negotiations continue, planning officials are also considering a proposal for an additional outdoor rifle and pistol range in West Glenville on Rector Road .
On Thursday, Craig Serafini, owner of the Upstate Guns and Ammos in Schenectady, said he wants to retool the existing Rector Road range that dates back to the 1940s.
“It’s been used as a private facility for a lot of years and now we’re looking to bring it up to modern safety standards,” Serafini said, adding he is seeking a special use permit because of the change in ownership over to him.
The Rector Road site is zoned rural agriculture, a designation where a gun range is a permitted use.
Glenville Supervisor Chris Koetzle stressed Thursday that the town is not involved with Serafini’s proposal.
“We’re very close to an agreement,” he said of the ongoing negotiations for the police range with the land owner, whom he declined to identify. “I would say we have an agreement in concept and we’re in the process of putting the final details in place and it has nothing to do with this proposed private gun range that is going through the planning board right now for consideration.”
Koetzle also noted, however, that if negotiations fail, the former land-
fill location on Barhydt Road would still be an option despite the fierce opposition from some homeowners around it.
He also reiterated that the former landfill site is zoned for a gun range and that the proposal in one form or another has existed for more than a decade.
The supervisor has previously said Glenville cops need a place where they can train with shotguns and rifles, as well as tactical training where the officers would need enough room to move around to simulate a reallife emergency that would also include the use of special police vehicles.
Glenville officials are also looking to construct a training facility for firefighters.