A state government that will actually get a share of the profits from handgun sales? No, I'm not talking about sales tax revenue or hunting permits or any other type of tax or fee. I'm talking about the State of Wisconsin, through the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), promoting and profiting from the sale of guns, including handguns, on state land.
The vendor who will sell these guns, Millford Hills LLC, has a lease arrangement with the DNR to operate the McMiller outdoor shooting range in the Southern Kettle Moraine State Forest, in the Town of Eagle, Waukesha County (yes, THAT Waukesha County). The state gets a share of the profits from range fees and incidental sales of targets, ammunition, etc. With the state's blessing, the vendor hopes to soon open a full-scale gun shop in the State Forest, including sales of handguns, rifles, ammunition, clothing, hunting paraphernelia, etc. When this happens, the State of Wisconsin will then share in the profits from the sale of handguns and other weapons on public land.
Millford Hills and the NRA lobbyist for the state, Jim Fendry, have basically told the town that it can do nothing to stop this because of existing state laws, in spite of local concerns about safety, security, and competition with local tax-paying businesses. In order for the town to challenge this, it would have to spend $150,000 to $200,000 in legal fees, money that no town in Wisconsin has at this point.
Help! I am not enough of a policy wonk to know how to even begin to fight this. If you have some expertise, follow me after the jump.
How about going through a quick list of what I don't know and would like to know.
1) This would be the first retail establishment of any kind on Wisconsin state FOREST land. Why are there no others?
I've looked into this, and there's not a bike shop, a bait shop, a ski shop, or any other kind of retail sporting goods shop in ANY state forest in Wisconsin. Is this by statute? DNR rules? Coincidence?
FYI, there is a huge for-profit ski operation running in Rib Mountain State PARK; however, it was established at the request of the Wausau community to increase tourism. It's estimated that it helps pour $15-20 million a year into Wausau area businesses. Trust me - that ain't happening here. There IS no tourism in Eagle.
2) What funds were used to purchase the McMiller area for the DNR, and do these funds restrict activities on land purchased with these funds?
Wisconsin has had several programs over the past 50 years to purchase new lands for state parks, forests, etc. The land was purchased in the 1960' or 1970's. There was/is a program called ORPA and a state stewardship program. Were either of those used to buy the land?
3) I have copy of a "Memo of Understanding, Sportsman's Center Operation," signed by reps of the Wisconsin DNR, Milwaukee County Park Commission, and the Waukesha County Park and Planning Commission. No date, but since McMiller was established in 1978, I assume it's within a couple of years before that. Is this agreement still in effect?
This is important because it states that no expansion or change can occur at McMiller without the agreement of all 3 parties. Each of the 3 parties contributed $44,000 to establish the center. It states that the agreement can be amended or terminated by mutual agreement. Did this happen? When? I'm assuming Milwaukee County got involved after it closed its lakefront shooting range.
4) Jim "NRA" Fendry claimed the Town of Eagle couldn't prohibit the gun shop because of "state sovereignty." What is he talking about?
Current state gun laws do give a town the right to enforce local zoning ordinances when it comes to sport shooting ranges (Statute 66.0409). The land is currently zoned P-1, Park/Recreation land, meaning that the Town thought that it had to issue a conditional use permit to allow for retail sales at McMiller. Then Fendry shows up and claims "sovereignty." Note that there was no representative from the DNR, the OWNER of the land, at this meeting. Which brings me to...
5) Why doesn't the DNR, as the owner of the property, have to seek permits, etc., to have a gun shop on their land?
I realize that people who rent property can ask for conditional use permits. But this seems like a very unique situation to me. I suspect that the Wisconsin DNR doesn't want its name on a gun shop permit for PR reasons.
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The current status of this: When Fendry told the P&Z Committee that the gun shop didn't need no stinkin' conditional use permit, the committee basically shrugged its collective shoulders and said, "OK." The Town does believe that it has approval rights over a Site Plan and a Plan of Operations. It may be able to exert some control here, but based on past history, I doubt it. The DNR, Millford Hills, and the NRA will most likely get what they want.
It's on the agenda for Monday night's Planning and Zoning Committee meeting.
It has gotten to this point with almost NO input from town residents!!!! There is some rule that doesn't allow town residents to speak on issues presented at a P&Z meeting unless a conditional use permit has been granted. No conditional use permit means no one has been able to speak for more than 1 minute! And that was only allowed by the Town chairman to appease those of us who showed up, making it quite clear that he didn't have to give us ANY time to speak.
Nor did the DNR or Millford Hills include any Town officials or residents in their planning. This is being rammed down our throats by outsiders - Millford Hills, which is a ritzy hunt club in Johnson Creek in JEFFERSON County, DNR bureaucrats in Madison, and the NRA lobbyist from Franklin. None - not one - of these entities/people pays taxes in the Town of Eagle!!! The DNR and its vendors are exempt from property taxes. Millford Hills pays taxes in Johnson Creek. And Mr. Fendry pays taxes in Franklin.
The Town of Eagle will get no money out of this deal. The DNR pays the Town some sort of stipend for fire, rescue, law enforcement and other services to make up for the loss in property tax revenue. I don't know how much it is, but the Town chairman said, "It's not enough." And the budget proposed by Scott Walker (remember him?) has a provision that will discontinue these payments to local municipalities for land purchased using stewardship trust funds. ARGH!!!
And as far as I can tell, few Eagle residents use the facility. Those with guns go to other facilities or shoot on private land. During a 10-minute period of time last fall, I watched as 8 cars left McMiller, and 4 of them were from Illinois. So it caters to people from outside of the area.
The people who live near McMiller are furious. They've watched/heard this gun range grow from an occasional fall weekend facility to a 361-day-a-year full-scale target, trap-shooting, gun-selling hydra.
And this place is in the middle of nowhere with no security. There's no perimeter security fence, which means that anyone can access the facility from any number of trails in the state forest. There are 2 gates that can be locked across the access road, but you can just walk around them. They claim they'll have security cameras, a locked gun safe, etc., but by the time any law enforcement gets in that place, a thief will have long disappeared into the state forest.
In short, the people who will be most affected by the gun shop have had absolutely no voice in it. Living in a very conservative area, I've long given up on arguing with people about guns. In fact, I have a .22 that I bought when I got sheep, in case a coyote ever tries to get one of my lambs. So I've not publicly said I'm against a gun shop, per se. During my 1 minute opportunity to speak, I said that I think it should be on commercially zoned land that pays taxes and is subject to local control. Thud. Meeting over.
I'm going to Monday night's meeting on the Site Plan and Plan of Operations. I don't know if any citizens will be able to talk. But if you have any insight before them, I'd love to hear it. Thanks!