Kaitlin Keane
The Register Citizen, Torrington, Conn.
NEW MILFORD, Conn. — With the help of a $25,000 grant from the National Rifle Association, the New Milford Police Department plans to replace its damaged firearms range house with a new facility that is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
“It’s a good opportunity for us, and hopefully it will serve the men and women of the department for years to come,” Lt. Michael Lafond said.
The Town Council at its May 12 meeting unanimously accepted the $25,000 NRA grant awarded to the New Milford Police Department. The plan is to build a modern facility on the same footprint as the department’s existing outdoor range house on Lover’s Leap Road, according to Lafond.
The new range facility will allow the police department to provide its officers with the training and equipment they need, he said.
“Having our officers be the highest trained (officers) they can be... is a goal,” Lafond said. “This will help us continue on the path of being one of the best-trained agencies in the state.”
The firearms range house, which was installed in 2013, is a mobile home structure that offers storage and classroom space while New Milford police hold firearms training outdoors, he said. The New Milford Police Department engages in firearms training twice a year and often coordinates with regional partners, including Bethel and Brookfield police, in using the facility, according to Lafond.
The firearms range house, which was damaged in a storm last year when a tree fell on it, has been rendered “obsolete,” he said.
“We were looking at an aging range house that was coming to the end of its working life,” Lafond said. “We looked at grant opportunities that would help, and the NRA had one specific grant funding for a range house.”
Grants from the NRA Law Enforcement Range Fund are awarded to qualifying agencies “to assist with the development and improvement of law enforcement firearms ranges,” according to the NRA website.
Any city, county, state or federal agency that plans to build or improve its law enforcement firearms training ranges can apply for the grant, according to the NRA website. The grants are awarded on a 50/50 matching basis with half of the project funded by the applicant and half by the NRA Law Enforcement Range Fund, the website states.
The 50/50 funding will be done with a combination of New Milford “police funds and town provided labor in regards to site preparation,” Lafond said.
The new firearms range house will have a “pretty modest shed-like structure” that is similar to the existing facility, Lafond said.
“Our hope is we’ll be able to have some classrooms, tables (and) chairs, that we’ll be able to get out of the elements while doing training,” he said.
Additionally, Lafond said the department is considering whether to offer adaptive sports at the new facility through the development of a pararifle team modeled after the NRA Adaptive Shooting Program, which allows people with disabilities to safely participate in shooting activities.
While the police department plans the details of the new range house, Lafond said the town is looking at options for removing the old range house.
There is no timeline for the project, although the police department would like to have the existing structure removed and the new facility installed before winter, he said.
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