The city's budget for the next fiscal year shows new signs of life in the effort to relocate a law enforcement firing range embedded in the middle of the Moccasin Bend National Archeological District.
The proposed budget includes an allocation of $150,000 that will be used primarily for site preparation and planning, including soil testing and other engineering needs, according to staff in Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke's office. The budget also includes tentative plans for another $2 million to follow in 2020 and 2021.
"A final location has not been selected," said Stacy Richardson, Berke's chief of staff in a statement. "A committee of representatives from the Chattanooga Police Department, various city agencies, and other local stakeholders have been evaluating several different properties that could be suitable sites for a new range."
The 33-acre range sits on the bank of the Tennessee River and is surrounded by 750 acres of parkland donated to the park service more than a decade ago. Gunshots can be heard on nearby hiking trails and across the water on the Tennessee Riverwalk near the Cameron Harbor development.
It's not ideal for those looking to enjoy the natural tranquility of the bend, but the range is used by both the Chattanooga Police Department and the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office as well as a number of smaller agencies from nearby areas. Officials have struggled to identify a new property that would satisfy their many training needs.
"We have been talking about this project with all local law enforcement partners and we are proactively planning this facility to meet as many of their needs as we reasonably can," Richardson stated.
Berke's office has been aiming to relocate the range for years, and he formed a committee in 2015 to explore alternatives after a plan to build an indoor range in the 700 block of East 12th Street was abandoned.
Tricia Mims, executive director of National Park Partners, a nonprofit organization that supports and advocates for national green spaces, said she's seeing positive signs things will be different this time.
"It's taken a while, but we're finally at a point where the project is moving forward," she said. "We see this as a very positive first step. Once a new law enforcement training facility is built and the current firing range's use is no longer needed, the plan is for that property to become included in the national park that surrounds it."
Mims said the park already sees an estimated 1 million visitors every year and the additional land would bring in another 200,000. Whatever design is implemented likely will include a path along the edge of the water to better serve those visitors, she said.
"In terms of the long-term vision for the park, it would open up areas of the park that are not accessible right now," she said. "We're very happy that the city is moving forward in this way. This is a big step for them to have set aside design dollars. That indicates a commitment to moving sooner rather than later."
Contact staff writer Emmett Gienapp at egienapp@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6731. Follow him on twitter @emmettgienapp.