Police firing range plans set aside

COLUMBIA — The Columbia Police Department is seeking permission to move forward on building a training facility while continuing to search for a location for a firing range.

If approved by the City Council, the department will issue a request for proposals for a site and a design for a training facility.

Columbia Police Capt. Mike Martin said he hopes to move forward soon.

“We think we are well past due to have a training facility and getting it built,” he said.

Voters in 2005 approved $1 million for a new police training facility and firing range as part of a package of public safety projects to be financed by a quarter-cent sales tax. Police in 2006 began searching for a site, but found only one piece of land on Boatman Hill Road that could potentially house both the training building and the range, according to a report by Police Chief Randy Boehm to the council.

The project came to a halt after a public meeting at which about 50 residents of the Boatman Hill area showed up with an overwhelmingly negative response. Challenged by zoning obstacles and state regulations for firearms ranges, the police department has been unable to find any other site. Officers are continuing to use a firing range near Hallsville for training. They also use fire department facilities or rent spaces for other types of training, said Martin.

Boehm and the department are now suggesting they be allowed to begin searching for a location in or near Columbia to build the training facility and to hold off on finding a place for the firearms range. At least $200,000 of the budget for the training project would be withheld for the future purchase of property for the range.

Martin said police think a training facility near or in Columbia would be of great benefit because officers would use it more frequently and because the department could host regional training seminars for other agencies. The department has been asked to host seminars and events in the past but has been unable to meet the requests. Departments that host training often receive free tuition for officers who attend the seminars.

Ed Pope, director of management for the Center of Public Safety at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., also thinks the community would benefit from a training facility because it would be able to host seminars.

“I see a great benefit to your community,” Pope said.

He explained that the seminars his center hosts typically last 10 weeks and that tuition can be very expensive, as much as $7,000 to $10,000 per officer. He thinks Columbia would gain educational and financial benefits from hosting seminars because hosts are allowed to set numbers of free seats and each officer attending comes out with 21 hours of undergraduate credit.

“I think it could add to a higher level of education for your officers,” said Pope, adding there is no shortage of departments willing to host seminars but a shortage of departments with adequate facilities.

Martin said the Columbia facility would have two parts when built. Half the building would house a conference room, two offices for staff and a classroom to hold nearly 80 students. It also would have a small kitchenette for retirement parties and other events.

The other half of the building would hold a workout room for officers, a storage area for training equipment and room to park special response vehicles.

In 2008, officers will train at least 40 to 44 weeks out of the year, taking classes on subjects such as self-defense and how to avoid racial profiling. Martin said police hope the new facility would include a driving simulator.

“We are continuously doing training of some type,” said Martin.

Martin hopes the building will be complete within the next year.