The Carroll City Council on Monday night approved a request from Mike Wendl, President of Wendl’s Weapons, LLC, for permission to discharge firearms within the city limits. Wendl was seeking this consent in order to continue exploring the building of a firearm retail store and indoor firing range at the former Carroll Auto Salvage location on Highway 30 east. Wendl says there has been a lot of interest in an indoor shooting range.
He says there are indoor ranges in Denison and Boone, but nothing like what he is proposing.
This is not just something for use by the general public, Wendl has seen interest from local law enforcement. Carroll Chief of Police, Brad Burke, says he has discussed with Wendl using the facility, especially in the winter months and for low-light and no-light shooting practice. Wendl is also seeking input on use from other agencies in the area.
The entire facility will be Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulated for air quality lead filtration at a 99.9 purity rate. Another concern Wendl is addressing up front is the potential noise factor.
The council approved a recommendation from Chief Burke for a two-year non-assignable consent, allowing the discharge of firearms, effective upon Wendl’s certification of occupancy at the site. The council will then review the consent order and receive an update at that two year mark. If the determination is made to move forward with the project, Wendl anticipates the building being completed in December of this year or January of 2019.
