Signs at the county’s unfinished firing range warn residents to stay out until further notice. The project currently doesn’t comply with state regulations and hasn’t been inspected by state agencies for it to be open to the public.

The half-finished public firing range outside Dodge City has laid dormant for two years, but an agreement between the Cullman County Commission and sheriff’s office appears to clear the way for the project to be completed in 2017.

On Tuesday, the commission approved a license agreement with the sheriff’s office establishing guidelines on the property which has been closed and overgrown with weeds since construction ground to a halt in late 2014.

Sheriff Matt Gentry said his office and the county commission have agreed to contribute funding to undertake the necessary work to make it functional. The agreement spells out that the county can’t sell the property after the sheriff’s office invests the department’s funding into the endeavor.

“I hope to see it up and running in spring 2017,” Gentry said. “The sheriff’s office already has $100,000 in the project. This would give the sheriff’s office a range to use. We can take participants in our citizens academy and for our firearms training classes. Once it’s complete, we plan to hire instructors so residents can come to the range to sight in their hunting rifles. This project can be a positive way to interact with the community.”

The project was reportedly undertaken in early 2014 without any preliminary engineering and in its current design, fails to comply with state regulations. Former Associate Commissioner Stanley Yarbrough and Sheriff Mike Rainey spearheaded construction ahead of the June primary where both were forced into a runoff election they lost in July 2014.

The county Road Department cleared trees and created tall dirt berms at the site off County Road 122. Yarbrough said at the time that the sheriff’s office was responsible for putting up pavilions and shooting tables on concrete pads for the 25-yard pistol range and separate 100-yard rifle range.

Associated Commissioner Garry Marchman said the county would have to pay for monthly methane testing to meet Alabama Department of Environmental Management requirements. A bathroom has been constructed, but there is no septic tank or electricity for it. A home apparently sits in the line of fire of one of the ranges.

The firing range was a priority for Rainey when he took office in 2011. Rainey said he wanted the sheriff’s office to utilize the range for the mandatory training of its deputies and offer training classes for the public. Yarbrough said he hoped the next administration would take on the project after he left office.

The closest public firing range locally is 40-plus miles away at Swan Creek in Limestone County which is operated by the Division Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. A private shooting range, the Maple Ridge Gun Club, is located on County Road 420 in Cullman.

In other business Tuesday, the Cullman County Commission:

* Approve minutes from November 16 meeting, appropriations, expenditures, payroll, and requisitions and all journal entries to be posted.

* Held public hearing regarding funding of Job Access Reverse Commute (ARC) for CARTS.

* Set date of February 28, 2017, for a public hearing concerning vacating an unnamed county road based on a request from John Bryant.

* Authorized $406,673 payment to the ACCA Liability Self-Insurance Fund for renewal of liability insurance for January 1, 2017, to January 1, 2018.

* Designated bank depositories for Cullman County funds.

* Authorized Chairman Kenneth Walker to sign a consent order detailing the terms under which a taxpayer will be allowed to repay his or her delinquent sales and use tax to the Cullman County Sales Tax and Revenue Enforcement Office.

* Approved the purchase of a Yamaha Wolverine R-Spec for the OHV Park with funding from an Outdoor Access Initiative grant. The MSRP of machine is $14,799. With a 50 percent voucher and $9,500 grant, the transaction will be a $2,101.50 net gain.

* Approved spending $6,643.17 for a server for the Sales Tax Department from White River Services.

* Authorized $15,000 payment to the City of Hanceville for the maintenance of Mud Creek.

* Authorized Walker to sign a reversionary agreement with the Alabama Forestry Commission concerning Honda Foreman Rubicon ATV and Oxford White Super Cab 4X4.

* Approved spending $11,275 to replace outdoor warning siren activation equipment with Precision Communications, Inc.

* Approved spending $5,350 for glass counter tops for the Revenue Office from Cullman Overhead Door & Glass, Inc.

* Awarded $240,800 bid for painting of Hamby Chapel Water Tank to Walker Brothers, LTD.

* Approved spending $42,325 to purchase 2017 Dodge Ram 2500 truck for EMA from Tallassee Automotive, Inc.

* Approved spending $198,777 to purchase of one man pothole patcher from the ACCA County Joint Bid Program.

* Declared surplus the old Lucent Phone System and Avaya phones to be auctioned or disposed of as scrap.

* Declared surplus 2011 Ford Starcraft bus from Commission on Aging to be sold to the ARC of Jackson County through ALDOT for $5,200.

* Declared surplus 2009 Ford Crown Victoria and 2008 Dodge Charger from the Sheriff’s Department to be sold as scrap.

* Extended bid for herbicide to Helena Chemical.

* Announcements: Santa Claus will visit the Cullman County Courthouse from 10 a.m.-3 p.m., December 21 on the first-floor by the Christmas tree. All county offices will be closed Friday, December 23-Monday, December 26 for the Christmas holiday.

The county commission will hold a work session 8:30 a.m., January 10, followed by its meeting at 10 a.m.