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Police‑academy officials ask committee for $200,000 to design firing‑range upgrades
Summary
Officials for the Vermont Police Academy and State Police told the House Corrections & Institutions Committee they need $200,000 in design funding to produce construction documents for options to fix safety problems at a 25‑yard, 16‑lane indoor range — including a covered roof option (~$1.077M) and an extension to 50 yards (~$2.182M). BGS said it will report back with whether a smaller appropriation can advance design work.
Officials for the Vermont Police Academy told the House Corrections & Institutions Committee on March 18 that a $200,000 capital appropriation is necessary to turn three planning options into construction documents for a deteriorating 25‑yard indoor firing range used by law enforcement statewide.
Ken Hawkins, deputy director of the Vermont Criminal Justice Council and the Vermont Police Academy, said the 16‑lane range has overhead baffling that traps rounds but leaves the firing end exposed to rain, snow and ice, creating slipping hazards for trainees. “There are significant concerns with our ability to train all of Vermont partners with regard to firearms training throughout the state,” Hawkins said, describing frequent cleanup of baffles and winter conditions that force students to traverse icy areas while changing targets.
Major David Peterson of the Vermont State Police said the limited length and exposure also limit patrol‑rifle proficiency training that has become standard for the agency. “Water’s dripping on them, water’s dripping on me. It’s a distraction,” Peterson said, adding that the facility cannot reliably support required annual firearms training for all agencies without upgrades.
Consultants Freeman, French & Freeman prepared three options for the site, witnesses said: a covered roof/enclosure (the transcript references roughly $1,077,000 for the roof option), enlarging and extending the range to 50 yards (about $2,182,000 in the earlier estimate) and, separately, an exterior 100‑yard patrol‑rifle range. Hawkins and Peterson said the $200,000 would fund the next design phase to narrow scope, produce permitting documents and produce a defined budget so the project could be advanced in the next capital request cycle.
Mike D. Rosher, executive director for the Division of Fire Safety, said the range serves state and municipal agencies as well as fire departments and that a governance committee had prioritized improvements because of safety and functionality concerns. BGS Commissioner Wanda Manoli told the committee BGS will review whether a smaller sum could advance the project and promised to return with clarified cost and schedule details.
Committee members pressed whether partial funding — for example $100,000 — would deliver construction documents; witnesses and BGS staff said that amount would likely delay the timetable and provide less certainty on final cost. No formal funding decision was recorded in the markup; the committee asked BGS to follow up with refined estimates and a recommendation.
Next procedural step: BGS will report back to the committee with clarifications on what the $200,000 would buy and whether a reduced amount could still reach construction‑document level; no vote was taken on the appropriation at the March 18 markup.
