10 Men Chosen To Study Potential Police Shooting Range In Long Valley

LONG VALLEY, N.J. – A committee of Washington Township residents has been formed to study the impacts of an outdoor police shooting range that would be located on Reservoir Road near Route 46.

At Monday night’s Washington Township Committee meeting, members of the ad hoc committee were named, and include:

• Howard Popper, advisory member to the planning board (former Washington Township Committeeman)
• Scott Myers, advisory member to the police department (current Washington Township police officer)
• Donald Babb, township committee liaison member (current Washington Township Committeeman)
• James Frankovic
• Michael Marino
• Thomas Koundry
• Michael Carkitto
• Thomas McBride
• Robert Wilson
• Zachary Hass

All have committee terms to expire Nov. 15 of this year, according to the authorized resolution passed Monday night. The committee was authorized for a period of six months.

Those chosen came from a pool of 17 applicants, of which three were women.

The responsibility of the committee is to “make recommendations on charges given to it by the Township Committee, which will be, in general, to consider the advantages and disadvantages of an outdoor police range, potential sites, viability, and alternatives,” the resolution reads.

The shooting range proposal was brought forth by Police Chief Jeffrey Almer and Officer Myers earlier this year. After looking at a few parcels of town-owned land, the police decided the best area for the proposed range would be on the very north end of Reservoir Road near Route 46 on the boundary of Washington Township.

See related: Police Look To Build Shooting Range In Long Valley

“A local range would help us to increase training capabilities, especially with rifle training,” Almer told Patch earlier this year. “With more active shooter training going on we need to have all our guys trained on rifle.”

Almer said members of the police department use the shooting range at the police academy in Parsippany and train on rifle in Independence Township. Both those situations are not ideal, and incur overtime costs for the department, he said.

The outdoor range proposal, which would be self-funded by the police department, drew opposition from residents in town, especially those living within close proximity to the parcel of land.

See related: ‘Agree To Disagree’: Residents, Police At Odds Over Long Valley Shooting Range

Residents launched an online petition and organized as Long Valley Concerned Citizens, LLC, and claims numerous issues in operating a shooting range in town.

“The proposed firing range raises numerous safety, environmental, quality of life and property value concerns for local families,” said Michael Mixon, spokesperson for Long Valley Concerned Citizens in a statement earlier this year. “We support the need of our excellent Washington Township Police officers for training and encourage the town to explore more viable options; other Police Departments utilize shared service arrangements with facilities already available and operational in Morris County to ensure these needs are met.”

A chairperson and secretary will be named for the ad hoc committee. The schedule of meetings for the committee has not yet been made.

Pictured: Diagram of proposed shooting range.