CANFIELD — City council on Wednesday shot down talk of opening any gun ranges in Canfield.

It was the final showdown as an ordinance allowing for such sites was up for a vote.

City residents voiced their opinions prior to council’s decision.

Speaking for the idea was Bill Arnaut, who said: “I have never heard of an indoor gun range that had bullets flying around.”

Speaking against was Ashley Kanotz, worried about having a range close to schools and a bike trail.

Council President John Morvay again, as he had in council meeting two weeks prior, stressed the ordinance was not tied to a business applying for permission.

“No one has proposed this,” he said. “This ordinance was just in case someone came forward. It would open the doors for a range, but the business would still have to apply.”

But Debbi Parisi, owner of Iron Sights Armory, LLC, located at 268 Railroad St. in Canfield, spoke to council earlier this month about a range she was thinking about opening next to the armory. “I wanted to kind of get a gauge for how it would be received,” she said at the time.

She noted then that a lot of the concern about adding a shooting range within city limits is due to the proximity to Canfield Village Middle School and Canfield High School.

“There would be no margin for any of the bullets to leave the facility,” she said.

Iron Sights opened in 2013. Parisi said that as business has increased, so has the interest in the sport of shooting.

Councilman Bruce Neff said, prior to last night’s vote, that he received 10 emails asking him to turn down the ordinance.

After the discussion, a vote was called for and Morvay voted yes, while Neff, Mayor Richard Duffett and Councilman Anthony Nacarato cast no votes.

“I am voting no because I don’t think it is a good fit for Canfield,” Neff said.

He said he wanted an assault weapon ban in the city as well, but was informed by the city attorney that it would be overridden by the courts.

One ordinance that was approved involved signing a contract with MS Consultants for professional services for the extension of a sanitary sewer to the Redgate Farm property southwest of the city. The city owns the property and has kept it for 17 years.

“We had nowhere to grow,” Morvay said. “When Redgate Farm was purchased it gave us a place to grow.”

Resident Frank Micchia spoke in opposition to the ordinance.

“To extend the sewer line, we are talking around $2 million — with no guarantee for anyone wanting to go there,” he said. “Where are the people going to come from? We are not a booming area. It could be a pipeline to nowhere.”

Duffett disagreed and said the Mahoning Valley could easily become the electric vehicle capital of Ohio. He said the General Motors-LG Chem battery-cell plant coming to Lordstown would bring good-paying jobs, and those people will want a place to live.

“Everything is hitting at the right time for Canfield,” he said.

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