Police Look To Build Shooting Range In Long Valley

LONG VALLEY, N.J. – The Washington Township Police Department is asking the township committee to use a parcel of vacant land for the purposes of a shooting range.

Chief Jeff Almer and members of the police department will make a presentation to the governing body at its Wednesday, Feb. 10 meeting to discuss the idea, which the top cop says is to further train his department and cut back on costs.

The outdoor facility would be open to police officers only for training purposes.

“A local range would help us to increase training capabilities, especially with rifle training,” Almer told Patch. “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 piece of land in consideration is on the northern end of Reservoir Road near Route 46. The concept shows the range begins 145 feet from the road and includes a 20-foot wide berm.

“We looked at six or seven pieces of land in town,” Almer said. “This one just made sense with the mountain as a natural backdrop and not many residents in the area.”

There would be no structure built and a shed has already been donated to the cause, Almer said. The cost is nearly nothing to the township, the chief explained, with members of the police department volunteering their time and other needs to complete the project.

It’s up to the township committee to proceed with the project and would make a recommendation to the planning board for next steps. The meeting is open to the public and begins at 7:30 p.m. at 43 Schooley’s Mountain Road.