BC3 police allowed official use of BASA gun range
Butler City Council gave Butler County Community College official permission Thursday to use a gun range owned by Butler Area Sewer Authority for training.
Mayor Bob Dandoy said the land is owned by BASA and is located off Litman Road, but the city leases the gun range.
Butler Bureau of Police Chief Bob O’Neill said city police have used the range for decades, and BC3 police have been using it when needed, as well, so the vote Thursday was somewhat of a formality.
City solicitor Tom Breth said BASA brought the motion to council to get an agreement with BC3 on the books. The city maintains the range space, and O’Neill also said BC3 officers seldom use the range.
“They very, very minimally use it, maybe 12 hours a year,” he said. “This is just a friendly agreement with them because they were already using it. Basically, they are cops, they are nearby, they need a range, they come over and shoot a couple times a year.”
Dandoy also said the bridge on West Brady Street will open soon, after being closed since January for a construction project that installed a new culvert to mitigate flooding from Sullivan Run.
Also, Councilman Dan Herr said the pickleball courts that have been undergoing a revamp at Ritts Park will open “very soon.”
He told council that pickleball courts need to be painted in the right temperature conditions with two base coats of paint and two topcoats, which has led to the project taking a little longer.
“The courts are going to be multicolored; each court, I believe, is going to be a different color,” Herr said. “If it’s not at least started by the time we meet again, I would be very disappointed.”
