SPRINGFIELD, Vt. (WCAX) – The future of hunting at a popular park in Springfield is in the crosshairs. There has been a long history of hunting in Hartness Park, but a new ordinance effectively ends that, ruffling some feathers.
“It is part of who we are and I think it needs to be respected by everyone,” said Bette Matulonis, whose family has lived near Hartness Park for generations. She says It’s a place where shooting game has always been allowed. “We just feel strongly that hunting should be preserved like that.”
The town select board in August expanded its residential firearms ordinance, which prohibits firing guns within 500 feet of a structure, to include all 85 acres of the park. It was recommended by the Springfield Trails and Rural Economy Committee, which has been sprucing up the trail system in the park.
“We are not always going to agree on everything, so it’s nice to see the democratic process followed and it’s nice to see people interested in the town activities,” said Springfield Town Manager Jeff Mobus.
Residents against the expanded ordinance gathered close to 400 signatures, the 5% needed to bring the issue to a townwide vote on November 5th. “If you want to return it back to the way it was, you vote ‘yes.’ And if you want to keep the new ordinance, you vote ‘no,’” Mobus explained.
Opal Jack, who also lives near the park, will be voting no. “I used to walk my dog there, I didn’t feel safe, she was off leash,” she said. Jack says she’s not against hunting. “I just don’t think it should be here in what I consider a neighborhood, safe, fun resource.”
A public meeting is set at the town offices for Monday night to discuss the ordinance and inform voters what they should expect when they head to the polls.