Butler County has no plans to turn a piece of rural woodland into a firing range, whether or not the county sheriff believes it's a good idea.

Commissioners Chairman Dale Pinkerton said last week he believes it would be foolish to spend county resources on a public safety training facility when sheriff's deputies undergo training only twice a year and the total cost is $400 -- $200 for each day of rental at the Moraine Sportsmen's Club in West Liberty.

"We have no intention whatsoever,'' he said.

Commissioner Jim Kennedy agreed. "I don't know what he's thinking,'' he said of Sheriff Denny Rickard.

The land in question is a 10-acre parcel that has a metal pole building, some woods, and four man-made ponds in Marion, just outside Harrisville on Campground Road. Though the property is owned by the county, it had been used for water treatment by the state Department of Environmental Resources for many years until May 2006.

Ed Rupert, director of the county's tax assessment and property and revenue offices, valued the land at $1,080.

The issue was raised at a public meeting Wednesday when a local property owner asked commissioners not to go forward with plans to establish a firing range on the site.

But, Mr. Pinkerton said, there is no such plan.

If Sheriff Rickard had his druthers, there would be.

"I think it would be ideal for a training facility and it could be used by more people than just my deputies,'' he said, noting that anyone who needs public safety training or firearm experience could be interested in such a facility in that area.

He speculated that word of his interest got around after one of his deputies who lives in the area visited the site recently.

Since the DEP turned back ownership of the 30-foot by 40-foot pole building with a concrete basement in July 2006, several ideas for the property have been discussed -- from a firing range to a municipal park.

There even had been discussion of selling it outright, Mr. Rupert said.

Currently, there are no definitive plans besides seeking proposals for the scrap metal inside the building.

The county bought the land for $1,120 in March 1968, then allowed the DEP to build an acid mine drainage treatment facility on the property. "Polluted water was impacting Slippery Rock Creek so the county wanted to see that cleaned up,'' Mr. Rupert said.

Four ponds, the largest of which is about 3 acres, cover about 80 percent of the parcel, he estimated. After many years of treatment, the DEP determined that its mission was accomplished and closed down the project.

Mr. Kennedy said he sees no sense in "turning a beautiful piece of property into a big liability" by allowing the discharge of firearms there. "It's ludicrous. We have a lot of private gun clubs out there. We send people out for training. There's no reason to build a facility of our own,'' he said.

Commissioner Jim Lokhaiser said he has come to agree with that position. "Initially, the idea of a shooting range was mentioned to me and I went out to the site to look at it and I thought it might work fine,'' he said.

Afterward, though, he was presented with potential problems, including liability issues and the proximity of existing and possibly future housing.

"Now, I can't see that it's worth the hassle,'' he said.