Upgrades are coming to the Brewer police shooting range that’s used by law enforcement agencies throughout the region.
Penobscot County Commissioners awarded Brewer police $83,000 through the American Rescue Plan Act.
The money will go toward building taller berms, adding fencing, replacing a storage facility and building a small tactical building, Public Safety Director Jason Moffitt said.
Labor for the project will be free, through the National Guard’s Innovative Readiness Training, which will come in June 2024, Moffitt said. The program is a military training exercise that teaches guard members while helping communities, per its website.
Those programs include providing medical care, civil engineering projects, ground transportation, aerial spray operations and cybersecurity.
Numerous law enforcement agencies across the region use the shooting range, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Maine Warden Service, Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office, Department of Homeland Security and the Holden Police Department, Moffitt said.
The county is in favor of regional use instead of duplicating resources, Commissioner Peter Baldacci said. The commission was happy to award the money after learning about its regional use, he said.
The range is in use almost daily, so it utilizes a tight schedule to ensure everyone who needs it has time, Moffitt said.
“We have a lot of skills we need to stay sharp, and keep up with,” he said.
The range offers police a place to practice without the expense of renting space from public ranges and scheduling around the public, Moffitt said. There are agencies in Southern Maine that have to rent space and it gets expensive, he said.
A small maintenance fee is charged to agencies who use the Brewer range.
The range, on Sid Arey Drive, a locked road near the Brewer Landfill 403 Elm St. has been there since before 2000, when Moffitt joined the agency, he said.
A separate area for pistol qualification will be added to the range, if it can be reconfigured the way they think it can, Moffitt said. The small tactical building will allow departments to practice how to move safely from room to room, he said.
The fencing and fill dirt are likely to be the most expensive part of the project, Moffitt said.
