Benjamin McDougal, Cape Elizabeth’s code enforcement officer, has determined that the Spurwink Rod & Gun Club has now met all the conditions necessary for its license to operate.

In a letter sent to Town Manager Mike McGovern and copied to Police Chief Neil Williams on Dec. 18, McDougal said, “I hereby certify that the Spurwink Rod & Gun Club has satisfied the conditions placed on the approval of their license application.”

Following an often controversial and convoluted process, in mid-October the Town Council gave conditional license approval to the gun club, stating that final certification by McDougal would be required.

Although McDougal said the club has met all the conditions necessary, he was clear that it was only for the 25-yard range and that work still needs to be done on the 50- and 100-yard ranges in terms of the shot containment requirements in the town’s shooting range ordinance.

Two months ago, gun club president Tammy Walter told the Current it was her hope that the safety upgrades being made to its 61-year-old shooting range would allow the club to reopen at least its 25-yard target area this month.

This week Walter told the Current, “Our neighbors, our community, and town officials have had one overriding concern. That is safety. Our (25-yard) range is now state of the art. We have 100 percent shot containment.”

She added, “We, the members of the Spurwink Rod & Gun Club, are proud that everyone can now feel completely safe. We have spoken to some of our neighbors and they have told us they not only feel safer but they said the range seems quieter, too. And although state law says we don’t have to worry about sound, we still wish to be good neighbors.”

It was this past summer when Williams ordered the suspension of live fire on the shooting range after a gun safety expert from Georgia found several safety and security deficiencies while inspecting the gun club’s property.

That safety report was completed as part of an annual licensing process that is required under Cape’s relatively new shooting range ordinance, which was adopted in March 2014, following neighbor complaints about noise and safety issues at the town’s sole gun club.

This week Walter said the Spurwink Rod & Gun Club is still accepting donations to assist with further safety upgrades, as well as accepting applications for new members. See the club’s Facebook page for more information.

George Foley, a member of the Spurwink Rod & Gun Club in Cape Elizabeth uses the newly re-opened 25-yard range.