Silver Bullet Shooting Range in Wheat Ridge has been in the neighborhood of 38th Avenue since 1976. It's a Colorado mom-and-pop shop that has seen many iterations of the community evolve around it. As Phillip Robinson walked into work on Monday morning, he was hearing sounds of a different type. Not gunshots, but construction.
"It helps everybody else out. It lets them know in the neighborhood that this is a good place to be," he told CBS Colorado. "This is a good place to have in your neighborhood."
The upgrades to the range started as a result of some neighborhood complaints about noise and the sounds coming from the business.
"As the neighborhood around it changes, we noticed we were starting to get more complaints, more calls to our PD," Amanda Harrison, spokeswoman for Wheat Ridge, said.
Typically, Robinson said, longtime residents were used to the noise and knew the business as well as those working there. But new residents that moved into the neighborhood might not have been aware and complaints started to tick up in just the last couple of years. Despite operating legally and within the city's noise ordinance guidelines, Robinson and other members of the range decided to try and work with their new neighbors.
"We're not going to sit here and say 'You should've done your research when you moved here,'" he said. "You're here now. You're a part of the neighborhood."
The roadblock wasn't a willingness but instead the money needed to create and complete a project of this magnitude.
"That's an expensive project and this is a mom-and-pop place," said Robinson.
One of Wheat Ridge's city employees then stepped in to help, guiding Silver Bullet through the process of obtaining funding through the Urban Renewal Authority. The URA is an independent arm of the city government. Businesses apply for funding, it goes in front of the Authority Board and is voted on. Once approved, they will fund the needed improvements.
In the case of Silver Bullet, it was $33,000 to new soundproofing from the outside of the building to other components inside the range.
One resident said in a statement that while it's been difficult at times living near the business because of the noise, they felt listened to as both Silver Bullet and Wheat Ridge's government took the complaints seriously.
Instead of digging in, Robinson said, being helpful to neighbors showed their commitment to the community at large.
"How hard is it if the finances aren't a problem? If the finances aren't a problem, let's do it," he said.
The upgrades are slated to be complete this week.
Andrew Haubner
Your Reporter Andrew Haubner specializes in reporting about Jefferson County in Colorado. Share you story ideas with him by sending an email to [email protected].