As a nearby neighbor to the Monadnock Rod and Gun Club (MRGC), I watched the recent Zoning Board meeting with interest. I’d like to respond to the comments of the gun club’s attorney, Kelly Dowd, as well as member Tom Cooney.
Dowd mentioned that the MRGC wants “to make amends for everything that was done in the past, and contribute to the community in some way.” While that’s a nice thing to say, Dowd and the club would be smart to show the community what steps the club and/or its officers have taken to show they really mean this. To my knowledge, they have made no effort to clean up their own property, clean up the Perrys’ property, work with DES to figure out a course of action to rework the wetlands they redirected or do further testing and remediation of their groundwater. If they really wanted to “make things right,” there are several steps they should have already been taking.
Cooney said, “We’re here to fix an egregious thing by maintaining a use that is truly grandfathered.” While I appreciate that he acknowledged the club’s activities have been “egregious,” what the neighbors want to know is how are they going to fix it/ We have not seen a plan, nor have we heard about monies allocated or grants applied for. Why would the community, trust that MRGC will do any of this work now or in the future?
Actions speak louder than words. If MRGC wants to be part of this community, it should clean up its mess and stop acting like the community is “beating up on the club.” If it had done things right the first time, the club would not be in this situation.
Gloria Morison
Peterborough