Board approves $100,000 upgrade for Sarnia police firing range

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Changes are happening at the 34-year-old firing range at Sarnia police headquarters.

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Board approves $100,000 upgrade for Sarnia police firing range Back to video

The range has a steel backstop that was recently flagged for replacement because it doesn’t slow bullets enough to prevent them from fragmenting on impact, leaving concerns about lead particulate in the air and on surfaces, police Chief Derek Davis said.

The service’s board recently approved $103,000 for a rubber backstop.

It’s the most cost-effective solution, Davis said, when compared with travel and overtime costs of driving to other ranges or the cost of building a new range, which is estimated at $5 to $8 million.

“It sounds like (the rubber backstop is) a good solution for the next number of years,” board chair Paul Wiersma said.

All sworn officers have to qualify on firearms yearly, firing from 45 feet away as stipulated by the Police Services Act, Davis said.

The current range is about 50 feet and the addition of blocks and armour will take up another two feet, he said.

“So the solution we had to look at had to maintain that minimum distance,” he said.

The board also approved a $31,000 contingency in case issues arise working in an older building.

The funds come from the police budget.

Other renovations are planned and ongoing at the police station, using $200,000 approved in 2020 but deferred due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Davis said in a report.

Renovations plans include a new front desk with bullet-resistant glass and a lower counter height, as well as upgrades to the front steps and visitor parking area to meet accessibility requirements.

Over the summer, building control and mechanical systems like air handlers are in line for replacement.

Drywall repairs, converting a cafeteria for the new IMPACT team, creating an employee wellness and quiet room, and creating a multi-purpose meeting room are underway or completed, he said.

The board met in the new multi-purpose room for the first time on March 23.

“We’re on the unsecured side, so we feel more that this will be better for members of the public,” Wiersma said, adding “It’s a little bit more spacious as well, so appreciate that.”

The board’s former meeting room on the second floor was converted for police use, he said.

The headquarters, which opened in 1987, was designed for the service size prior to amalgamation with Clearwater Township in 1990, Davis said in a report.

As the service has grown, it’s become more pressed for space, prompting the renovations at headquarters and, three years ago, opening a larger leased training facility at Lambton Mall, he said.