The fact contractors toured the Moccasin Bend law enforcement firing range Tuesday and will submit bids by next Thursday on lead remediation at the site is an indication the wheels have finally begun to roll on turning the property over to the National Park Service.
While we may bemoan the fact it wasn’t done years earlier, we celebrate this step nonetheless.
Local officials agreed in principle more than 10 years ago to relocate the firing range to give the park a contiguous piece of property for the eventual Moccasin Bend National Archaeological District, but the start and stop on the building of an indoor range on 12th Street and the dogged desire by law enforcement officials to keep the Moccasin Bend site have delayed action.
And, of course, when three and four governments are involved, progress grinds extraordinarily slowly.
A firing range committee of city and county officials, law enforcement officials and National Park Service personnel established 10 months ago resolved informally to have a solution in place within a year. Pinpointing a new location, establishing law enforcement needs and putting in place funding strategies in the next few months will be a tall order, but we hope it will occur before long.