Douglasville Police Chief Chris Womack said the proposed public safety and municipal court facility will not be over its $23 million budget when construction starts, and he hopes the overall project will include an indoor firing range.

The project, a police headquarters and ancillary buildings on city-owned land adjacent to Hillside Drive on Fairburn Road, will be funded by a $23 million bond referendum passed last September by city voters.

According to Womack, the most recent spread sheet of projected costs from New South Construction Company, which has estimated prices for the project exceeding the $23 million minimum by $354,031, shows the highest possible cost for the different elements of the project and not the final cost for the project, as each part of the project has still not been bid out.

Because of low interest rates and competitive bidding, the prices should go down, so from a business standpoint it makes sense to do this project now,” Womack said.

According to Womack, an over-budget project “is not an option,” though he feels every amenity requested by the Police Department, including a separate building with a community room upstairs and a firing range downstairs, is “a ‘need’ and not a ‘want’.”

The community room would allow the department to hold its Youth Against Violence (YAV) graduations without renting a space and would provide space for the Citizen’s Police Academy and community-oriented classes, Womack said.

“It would be perfect for having training classes for the community on identity theft and fraud or self-defense,” Womack said.

The combination of a community room and firing range would also give the department the opportunity to profit from seminars and training for other law enforcement agencies.

While Womack hopes to see a community room as part of this project, he said the construction of a firing range is his main priority.

“Any way we can incorporate an indoor firing range is a great asset, and it is a better asset if it is in a separate building,” he said.

According to Womack, he would prefer having the firing range in a separate building so there will not be firearms training going on during the department’s daily operations.

“We would not want that going on because its a noise hazard while we are having Municipal Court,” Womack said, adding events in the proposed community room could be planned around when the firing range will be in use.

Currently, the police department has to rent the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office firing range for required officer training.

“The use of a firearm is a great liability in this line of work, so in my opinion there is no such thing as being overtrained in that area,” Womack said.

According to Womack, every other building or feature requested by the Police Department, including a vehicle bay, a K-9 facility and a simulated firing range, is needed, but those amenities can wait.

Even if only the main building and a firing range is constructed as part of this project as a cost-cutting measure, Womack said he will still be pleased, as some of the other department needs can be addressed at a later date.

“Worst case scenario, we’re going to have a great facility,” Womack said. “It’s just a matter of what we’re getting now and what we can look forward to in the future.”