A local police department will be getting their own firing range that will help them stay close to the community they are pledged to protect.

The Hamburg Township Board of Trustees approved the plan to build the new training grounds at their regular meeting Tuesday night. Currently the township’s police department has been sharing time at range in northern Genoa Township.

Police Chief Richard Duffany told the Board that several law enforcement agencies use that range, and while they are appreciative of the owners letting them use it for free, scheduling issues there cause major headaches. The Chief said when officers are qualifying, which is a 4-6 hour process, it is difficult to get them back to Hamburg from northern Genoa in the cases of emergencies.

Duffany began a quest to find an ideal property that would fit the department’s needs. He found and selected a township-owned parcel off of M-36, behind the waste water treatment plant. The firing range will be built out of sight of the public, and be constructed in a manner to lessen noise. The range will be near the Conservation Club, which has its own range, with the belief that its neighbors are already adjusted to the sounds of guns that come off of it. The police range will not be open to the public, and will only be used 20-25 times per year according to the Chief.

The biggest asset, Duffany said, is that it won’t cost the tax payers a dime. The project was approved with it having a ceiling of $30,000, and all funds for it will be paid for using federal drug forfeiture money. (MK)