WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — For years. leaders with the Warner Robins Police Department say they've wanted a new training facility. Now, that wish is coming true.
City Council approved a contracting group to work on helping bring part of the new center to life.
For 16 years, Lt. Kirk Lowry has prepared new officers at the police training center.
"We do the initial hiring test here, the physical agility test, and then once they're actually hired they spend about a month with me learning how to shoot," he said.
They also open the shooting range to the public on occasion, where Lowry even worked on some construction.
"The technician and myself built this thing in 2013," he said, referring to their 50 yard shooting range.
He is very proud of the work, but says as a whole the facility needs work that matches other departments spaces.
"We have a wonderful building at 100 Watson Boulevard. Its brand new, modern, reflects the way that our department is," he said.
However, their main building is more than 30 years old and doesn't match that vision.
"The facility used to be a picnic shelter. If you look around at the walls they used to be open," he shared.
Lowry says new or current officers train there at least once a week.
"Everything in this building was an after thought. The heating and air conditioning was an after thought. The internet, the phone lines, everything was an afterthought," Lowry said.
It can have an impact on their day to day.
Mayor LaRhonda Patrick says she knows how to hit a target and has been out on the range, but says the grounds are underwhelming.
"I was expecting so much more, so I can only imagine what our new recruits feel when they see dirt and some trees and not much else," she said.
The department is now looking to add office space and a classroom, mock housing that the S.W.A.T. team can use for warrant training, a new storage facility, and more.
"We have some of the best snipers in the state on Warner Robins Police Department, some of the best S.W.A.T in the state, so they deserve a nice facility," Patrick said.
They hope it will help entice new recruits and show support for current employees.
At this time there isn't a timeline for completion. Money towards the project will come from SPLOST funds.