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Whitestown police commission approves contracts to build department shooting range
Summary
The Whitestown Police Commission approved contracts to construct an on‑department shooting range, including earthmoving, a soil stabilization product and a range deflection fence; all motions passed unanimously with not‑to‑exceed caps set for each contractor.
The Whitestown Police Commission on Dec. 2 approved a package of contracts to build a departmental shooting range on property the department has closed on, setting not‑to‑exceed caps for earthmoving, a soil stabilization treatment and a protective fence.
The approvals came after Chief (Speaker 2) described the project and safety measures. He said the earth‑moving work to form two berms would cost $155,531.64 and drainage work $10,002.25, and that using in‑house crews or alternate suppliers could reduce costs for seeding and the stone drive. He recommended a conservative not‑to‑exceed total of $167,377.89; Speaker 1 moved to approve that amount, and the motion carried 3–0.
Why it matters: the commission is authorizing construction and materials intended to contain fired rounds and limit environmental contamination. Chief (Speaker 2) told the commission the design includes two berms (roughly 30 yards wide, with one about 50 yards long and the other about 100 yards) and a planned berm height of about 30 feet, above common industry guidance of 20 feet. He said the schedule, weather permitting, could allow construction to start after the new year with grass seeded by April.
The commission also approved a not‑to‑exceed $41,000 purchase of a soil treatment product from MT2 intended to bind and capture lead shot inside berm material so rounds can later be recovered. Chief (Speaker 2) described the MT2 process as mixing a proprietary additive into extracted soil to capture rounds and reduce lead leaching into the water table, noting the $41,000 price covers doing both berms and represents a discount compared with single‑berm pricing.
For additional safety, the commission approved a $116,836 not‑to‑exceed contract with JK Property Solutions to build a double‑sided wooden privacy fence with steel support to sit atop the berm at a 45‑degree angle and a 30‑foot effective height. Chief (Speaker 2) said the fence design exceeds what local ranges typically use and cited inspection of a comparable installation used by Carmel Police Department as evidence of durability.
All three motions — the Willpower Excavation earth‑moving and drainage work ($167,377.89 cap), the MT2 soil product ($41,000 cap) and the JK Property Solutions fence ($116,836 cap) — were made, seconded and approved by the commission by voice vote, each carrying 3–0.
Chief (Speaker 2) said neighbors provided feedback that led to some design changes to be discussed at the upcoming council meeting, and officers emphasized they had explored multiple vendors but in several cases only one company could meet the required specifications. The commission scheduled its next regular meeting for Feb. 3 at 6 p.m.
Quotes and attributions in this article use the speaker labels as recorded in the meeting transcript. The record shows no individual names for commissioners; motions were recorded as made and seconded without named movers.
