Hunters club granted delay on use request

HOLLIS – The attorney representing the Lone Pine Hunters Club asked the Planning Board on Tuesday to table for 60 days its request for a site application, the latest twist in an ongoing process that has been a source of controversy and expense for years.

Attorney Gerald Prunier did not explain why the club was asking for the extension, but he agreed to bring the application to the board in April.

Town planner Mark Fougere set the hearing for April 21.

The hunting and fishing club is seeking permission to use the property for social, recreational and sporting purposes – but without reopening its trap and skeet range, an area linked to high lead levels.As part of the application process, the state Department of Environmental Services directed the club to hire an outside expert to conduct an environmental impact study on the club’s property. The firm that the club hired, Terracon of Manchester, was scheduled to give a presentation on the report to the Planning Board on Tuesday.

That report, which was recently sent to the town and to a neighbors’ group that has pressed for a decade for an investigation, will now be presented to the board in April.

Meanwhile, DES plans to send one of its experts to a Planning Board meeting after Terracon’s presentation to discuss the findings.

The point of contention between the club and abutting property owners – along with concerns about noise – is whether lead from the club’s ranges will contaminate the soil and groundwater in the area and pollute the nearby Nashua River.

The club is currently closed.