An empty lot that is a possible space for a new indoor shooting range for the Chattanooga Police Department and Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office.Hamilton County commissioners will decide today whether the county will pay $550,000 extra for the indoor police firing range the county is building with Chattanooga’s government.
Sheriff Jim Hammond hopes they vote to kick in the extra cash, but some commissioners say Hammond — and Chattanooga police Chief Bobby Dodd — will have to make do with a trimmed version of the planned 24,000-square-foot facility in the 700 block of East 12th Street.
The old police range on Moccasin Bend is being turned over to the National Park Service, so the indoor range is needed to train the city and county’s 1,200 sworn officers.
Hammond first came to commissioners last month asking for the extra cash, after architects from Franklin Associates Architects reported the project would cost $1.05 million more than the original $4 million price.
The county has been asked to pay $550,000 extra, according to the resolution. The city is expected to pick up the rest. Already, each government has committed $1.5 million, and a $1 million grant paid for range equipment.