GRAFTON — The owners of a gun shop and auto repair facility have plans to turn the old Spitzer car dealership downtown into a business where you could get your car repaired and do a little shooting at an indoor gun range at the same time.

The auto repair business at Pro-Tech Automotive & Cycle, now on Commerce Court, has been slow during the recession, but gun sales are booming at Bullseye Firearms next door, said Rich and Stephanie Guyeska.

Their dream is to have a one-stop shop for gun purchases as well as an indoor target practice at the former Spitzer dealership at 788 Main St., which has been vacant for several years.

“There’s empty buildings all over the county, and we don’t want to leave Grafton,” said Rich Guyeska. “To us, it’s worth the work.”

Neighbors are divided on the couple’s plan to reuse the 9,600-square-foot building on a 1.2-acre lot on the north side of downtown Grafton.

Some question the plan, citing concerns about noise, undesirable characters at the gun store and shooting range and unsightly vehicles at the impound lot.

Putting a shooting range and impound lot near people’s homes doesn’t make sense to retired school teacher Catherine Barber and her son, Donn Barber, who live across the street.

“We’re totally against the noise the gun range is going to create and the impound lot,” Catherine Barber said. “We know these are nice people and have good intentions — we just don’t feel it’s a good location.”

Donn Barber said a village ordinance prohibits the discharge of a firearm within village limits, and there are no provisions for gun ranges. He worries that people might drink at nearby bars and then decide to do a little target practice.

He said there’s already a lot of noise from the nearby railroad tracks, and he thinks the abundance of paved surface will amplify the “Pop, pop, pop” of gunfire.

But Bruce and Donna Bergenstein, who also live across the street, said they are largely supportive.

“It’s an empty building — put something into it where the village will get some taxes,” said Bruce Bergenstein, a hunter who has visited other gun ranges. “When you get outside the building, you don’t even know they’re shooting.”

His wife, Donna, said she’d also like to see a vacant building filled.

“The only thing that concerns me is the people going in there with guns,” she said. “But I know Rich, and I know he would not allow anyone in there who was drinking or would cause a problem.”

Klein — the chief building official — said his biggest concern is that the impound lot would “look like a junkyard.” The lot could be seen by neighbors from their second story windows — even if the Guyeskas put up a fence, he said.

The Guyeskas said they have reduced the size of the proposed impound lot after Klein expressed concerns, and they have promised to install landscaping to make the area more attractive.

As for noise from the gun range, Rich Guyeska said someone might hear shots if they stand next to the building, but he does not believe noise would be a problem for neighbors.

It would cost $200,000 to $300,000 to install the gun range, which would include steel-lined walls, noise-deadening material, deflection devices to send errant bullets into a trap and an air flow system to deal with issues regarding gunpowder and lead, Rich Guyeska said.

Mayor Shari Szczepanski said she is leaning toward supporting the project, saying the Guyeskas have a great reputation and plan to do everything right.

“Any time in today’s economy, if you can have business retention and expansion by responsible business owners, that’s a good thing,” Szczepanski said. “They could be adding jobs, which is even more of a bonus.”

The issues will be discussed at a public hearing at 6:30 p.m. April 20 at the Village Hall, and City Council is expected to take a vote at the regularly scheduled Council meeting to follow, the mayor said.

Councilman John Lescher said he could not speak for the entire Council, but said he thought the project would be approved.

“We will make sure he follows all the rules,” Lescher said. “Richard Guyeska has been a very honorable member of the business community. I’m excited about something opening up.”

The Spitzer property is zoned for business, and there is no provision for shooting ranges in village law, but the range could be considered an arcade, which is allowed, the mayor said.

She said Law Director Tom Smith has been looking into that issue and other matters involved with the proposal.

Three variances are needed for the Guyeskas to successfully convert the building: one for the shooting range, one for an impound lot for towed vehicles and a third for the automotive garage, according to Gerald Klein, the village’s chief building official and zoning administrator.

Bruce Bergenstein, who supports the plan, said it would in the best interest of the Guyeskas to make certain the building is as soundproof as possible. After all, they plan to run an auto repair shop in the same building.

“If Grandma goes in there and it sounds like a war is going on, she’ll never come back,’’ Bergenstein said.

Contact Cindy Leise at 329-7245 or cleise@chroniclet.com.

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