The Arlington County Board voted unanimously on Tuesday to build a new firearms training facility for Arlington law enforcement officers.
The facility will be built on the grounds of Dulles International Airport as a joint venture with the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. Arlington County will contribute $7 million to the project. MWAA will contribute about $5 million and the land, valued at $6 million.
The new facility is necessary, county officials said, because the Dulles-area range where Arlington officers currently train does not have running water and permanent restrooms. It also has no covered firing points and minimal classroom space.
Other federal and local law enforcement ranges were considered but rejected. An Alexandria shooting range, historically used by Arlington officers, is now only available on an “emergency” basis, and a Loudoun County range is “antiquated,” according to a staff report. The yearly expense of using private ranges, meanwhile, was deemed to be too high.
Building the range in Arlington was considered but rejected due to the fact that it would have to be indoors and would not provide a full range of training options.
“The lack of a permanent home for Arlington’s public safety personnel has hampered training, and increased costs for the County,” county staff reported. “This Agreement guarantees that Arlington will have a secure and up-to-date facility for 25 years in order to meet training needs for Arlington County Police and Arlington County Sheriff uniformed personnel for firearms proficiency training, qualification, and tactical training needs.”
“The training facility will include two 25-lane, 50-yard open firing ranges, along with a 300-yard rifle deck,” the county said in a press release. “The joint facility also will offer a 7,200 square foot modular training building, several classrooms and a secure storage area.”
Plans for the facility were reported by ARLnow.com in April. The plans faced criticism from repeat Green Party candidate for local office Audrey Clement, who questioned the $7 million cost.
“The NRA has a state-of-the-art shooting range just off the I-66, Route 50 exit that offers training for law enforcement personnel,” Clement said. “If this range works for the NRA, and they are highly successful, why won’t it work for Arlington police?”
County officials called a partnership with the NRA “impractical” due to various factors. The joint venture with MWAA, officials said, will allow Arlington and Airports Authority officers to get the firearms training they need for modern law enforcement.
“We are fortunate to have this chance to partner with MWAA in building this much-needed training facility for our law enforcement departments,” said County Board Chair Walter Tejada, in a statement. “This facility will help ensure that our police and sheriff’s deputies, for years to come, will get the training they need to continue to protect and serve our community.”
The new Dulles range is expected to take about a year to build.