MORGAN COUNTY
The Morgan County Board of Commissioners held a work session on Feb. 17 in place of their second regularly scheduled business meeting.
Multiple Morgan County residents spoke to the board during the two-hour meeting, expressing concerns about the meeting’s agenda.
At the beginning of the meeting, Morgan BOC Chairman Blake McCormack explained that the work session was held to allow the board to hear public concerns before voting on agenda items in a formal meeting.
The majority of the session focused on Burnt Pine Farm in Newborn, which runs through portions of Morgan and Jasper counties. The 750-acre hunting plantation offers bird hunting and Sporting Clay shooting, raising questions among the Kenwood Homeowners Association (HOA), which operates adjacent to the hunting property.
Alison Hildebrant, a member of the HOA, spoke to the commissioners with concerns, requesting clarification “regarding land-use classification, jurisdiction, and oversight for the business [Burnt Pine Farms], operating in Morgan County.”
“When we built our homes in Kenwood Subdivision, we understood that [Burnt Pine Farms] was a hunting preserve, which is verified by the 2004 votes by the Morgan BOC for conditional use permits,” Hildebrant said. “Now, that business model has changed to offering sporting clays, and Morgan County Planning and Zoning has informed the new management that clay shooting is not allowed in Morgan County.”
Hildebrant explained that the HOA is confused about the guidelines due to public statements by Jasper County officials. She noted that the HOA requested a clear understanding, as “activities of the operation directly impact surrounding neighbors,” and raises “questions related to public safety, environmental considerations, and quality of life.”
“More recently, public statements by Jasper County officials have revealed that they consider clay shooting and shotgun activities under a ‘public parks and recreation’ classification,” Hildebrant said. “Additionally, one Jasper County commissioner publicly stated that the clay shooting is taking place in Morgan County.”
Shortly after Hildebrant’s concern, Kevin Courchaine spoke on behalf of Burnt Pine Farms, explaining that, as a business, they needed to change their model to sustain a “12-month revenue stream.” He mentioned that the site formerly covered 12,000 acres but was reduced to 750 due to “urban sprawl.”
“We cannot sustain on a six-month birdhunting business model any longer, so we added sporting clays to give us a 12-month revenue stream,” Courchaine said. “Without the 12-month revenue stream, we have a standing offer from Rocklyn Homes to develop the 750 acres into residential development, but we do not wish to go that route.
“That will stress this community to no end, and we all know what 350-400 homes on that piece of property will do to the school system and road systems.”
According to Courchaine, the Sporting Clay shooting course has an entrance on the Morgan County line, but does not take place within the county’s property. He stated that all clay shooting takes place outside the Morgan County line and that the business initially shut down its planned course, which was to be developed on county property.
Courchaine mentioned that Burnt Pine Farms has evaluated noise levels from sporting clay shooting and found only a 2-decibel increase, according to Jasper County measurements. He said the business intends to conduct a noise-level study on its own dime across all corners of the property.
To conclude, regarding the concern about Burnt Pines farm, Morgan County resident Emily Grace Pollard said she and her husband live directly across the street from the property and have not experienced any noise issues from hunting activities. She added that such outdoor activities are important to rural residents and their lifestyles.
“We are not disturbed by the sound of gunfire from the farm; we do not experience anything that disrupts the enjoyment of our home,” Pollard said. “Morgan County’s way of life, including hunting, shooting sports, land stewardship, and outdoor recreation, is not something to apologize for; those traditions are what build character, resilience, and community in places like this.”