A special town meeting will be held later this month in Bethel on outfitting the police station firing range. Residents are being asked for approval to spend up to $1.4 million to purchase and install equipment needed to finish the firing range in the new police station. The money would comg from Fund Balance. The price tag includes funding for contingency and escalation costs. The budget would be reduced by at least $160,000 if the town can lock in a purchase order with the Action Target company before August 1st.
Action Target has a five-month lead time, so construction wouldn't begin until at least January.
The special town meeting is set for July 19th, with a referendum on the 26th.
The new police headquarters on Judd Avenue was constructed several years ago, but the range doesn't have the specialized heating, ventilation and air conditioning system needed to filter out lead dust associated with the range. Funding was not included in the building project for that, or for training equipment which requires some structural enhancements.
The firing range equipment was once estimated between $600,000 and $700,000, but there's been a large cost increase for a specific piece of HVAC equipment and for general construction costs.
The project had been delayed because the area leaked every time there was a strong rain storm. The issue was recently resolved. The special town meeting will be in Meeting Room A of the Municipal Center at 7pm.
