Decision on Firing Range Lease Near

City Council members said they are nearing a decision on lease renewal at the 28-year-old police shooting range, a source of continuing controversy in the city.

The range is leased by the Police Officers Assn. for $1 a year. Some council members have said the range has the potential to be a valuable source of income for the association.

“My major concern is safety,” Councilman Tom Harman said, “but I don’t think it’s right for a union to be using that money to support political candidates.”

The safety of the range became an issue in January when a stray bullet struck a nearby home, shattering a sliding glass door but causing no injuries.

Richard Wright, president of the Police Officers Assn., said renewal of the lease is being fought by council members whose reelections are opposed by the union. He said the range actually costs the union money to operate.

“It’s real clear that this is their way of exacting revenge on the police association,” Wright said.

City officials have met with representatives of the Golden West College Police Academy to discuss either refurbishing the current site or finding a new location.

The Central Park shooting range is on a former landfill on unstable soil that leaks methane gas. It would cost $2.5 million to clean and prepare the site for new construction, according to a city-commissioned study.

“You can’t do anything there,” Councilman Dave Garofalo said. “It’s just a very bad piece of property.”

But Garofalo said it would be premature to cancel the lease before a decision on an alternate site is made.

Council members will discuss the lease renewal in closed session on Monday and will make a decision by Nov. 4.