Gun club elections set for Wednesday

Last month, the nearly 3,000 members of the Boulder City Rifle and Pistol Club were caught off guard as four of the existing board members all resigned, effective immediately.

But since then, the club has regrouped after the surprising announcement and is ready to fill the vacant seats and move forward.

In a letter to members, acting club president Mike Pacini, the one remaining member of the five-person board, said that the election will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 20 at 6 p.m. for the four vacant seats. The election will be held in the Elaine K. Smith building at 700 Wyoming St. in Boulder City.

The election will be to fill two Boulder City resident seats for the unexpired term of 15 months through January 2025. Members will also vote for two at-large seats, one seat to fill the unexpired term through January 2025 and one seat to fill an unexpired term through January 2024.

All members in good standing will be able to vote for all for seats. Voting will be done at this meeting only.

During a discussion-only club meeting on Aug. 18, which was standing room only, it was stated that the four resignation letters to Pacini, dated Aug. 14, were all brief and very similar in nature. Dale Tweedy, Judy Tweedy, Bob Brown and Ken O’Rourke all resigned immediately, stating in part on a Facebook post, “We feel that all the hours and effort that we are putting in, are not getting the results that are benefiting the members or the club. It is not fair to put the other board members through all of this. We are at a point where we do not want to continue putting the extra strain on our physical and mental health.”

To that, Pacini said at the informational meeting, “I don’t want to be a part of the trashing of anybody,” Pacini said to those in attendance. “I can’t tell you all what to do but I would appreciate if we could take the high road and think to ourselves if any of us were in this situation how we would want people who had been around us to react.”

It was stated at that meeting that city council will be addressing a handful of issues related to the gun club in the near future. One anticipated change is that of the five-member board, three must be Boulder City residents. Currently, that’s not on the books as Pacini was the only Boulder City resident at the time the four others resigned. Listed in the club’s bylaws, however, is that annual fee increases for Boulder City residents cannot take place without council approval.

Another anticipated requirement by council is that the club provide an annual financial audit and report the findings. It was stated the last audit was two and a half years ago.

The BRPC was founded on 1961 and is located off Utah Street, a mile past the transfer station. The city leases 550-plus acres to the club for $1 a year. Of the club’s nearly 3,000 members, around 500 are from Boulder City.

In regard to the lease, in his most recent monthly Boulder City Review column, Mayor Joe Hardy wrote, “The spirit of the lease with the city is to provide a recreational benefit for Boulder City residents. We, of course, welcome members from all over, but Boulder City residents primarily should be managing and enjoying this resource that is provided by their city.”