Saskatoon police firing range started breaking down quickly, police board hears
The range was installed during construction of the new police building, which opened in 2014. It was already outdated the day it opened.
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Saskatoon’s police board has approved using reserve funds for the increased cost to replace the police firing range.
The force sought an additional $90,000 from its equipment and technology reserve to replace the firing range in its nine-year-old headquarters.
The initial cost to replace the range, approved in the 2020 capital budget, was $140,000; a further $40,000 was approved for the replacement in the 2023 capital budget. The total cost now sits at $270,000.
The 10-lane range was installed during construction of the new police building on 25th Street, which opened in 2014. It was already outdated the day the station opened.
“It’s a problem for us because we use our range very frequently for annual qualifications and training for all our different specialty teams, and so it’s an area of the building that’s constantly being utilized and for a while we weren’t able to fully utilize it because some of the functions of the range weren’t available to us,” Chief Troy Cooper said.
Some of the moving parts involved in the function of the range aren’t working properly, and there are entire functions that aren’t working, he added. Target movement has to be done manually.
Cooper said ranges don’t last forever and he understands it’s an expensive piece of equipment, but he hopes to have a useful contemporary range for city police and other agencies that use it.
The new police station cost about $122 million and opened in 2014. The range was included in the new build.
The force’s director of finance and asset management, Earl Warwich, told the board police had asked for a range that would be technologically suited for the purpose at the time and would also meet the cost restraints associated with the overall project.
“What we learned was the range components that we’re talking about were sourced a couple of years before the police HQ was built, and by the time it was installed, it was actually perhaps not the preferred technology to be used, that new things had come along. So we were a little bit of victims of timing in that regard.”
The range worked well for a couple of years, but after the warranty period ended, they had some trouble and could no longer source the parts needed, he said.
Police looked into making a warranty claim, only to learn there was no warranty available. They also couldn’t find anyone who could repair it so shortly after it was installed, according to Warwick’s report.
He said they worked with the city solicitor to make sure they weren’t overlooking anything.
Police made plans to replace the range in 2019 and funds were set aside in the 2020 capital budget. Then the pandemic delayed the replacement. By the time pandemic restrictions were fully lifted last year, the costs to replace the range had increased.
Due to inflation, costs increased — materials, labour and freight among them. Yet there was one more piece not yet accounted for — decommissioning and disposing of the unsalvageable parts, and replacing the master control computer system.
Those costs, now accounted for, plus inflation, led to the request to draw from the equipment reserve fund. Warwick told the board the reserve has sufficient funding, reminding them that in January the board passed a motion to allow police to transfer part of any year-end surpluses to one or more capital reserves. In all probability, they’ll be able to use those surplus funds without affecting any other program, he said.
Mayor Charlie Clark, a board commissioner, said it’s disappointing to be in the ninth year of the building and know the range is already three years overdue for replacement. He asked about the lifespan of the new range; Warwick said the replacement would have an eight- to 10-year lifespan and police are dealing with a reputable company.
“Don’t make things like they used to,” Clark mused.
A request for quotes was issued for the range’s replacement on Dec. 8 and bidding closed on Dec. 23. Information about the provider was not available on the city’s bidding website.
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