MANSFIELD — The Mansfield Police Department and the North Central State College Police Academy are planning a training “shoot house” with $224,580 in state grant money.
Mansfield City Council is scheduled to discuss the proposal on Tuesday.
The First Responders Safety and Training Center project would be added to the current MPD campus at 310 Miller Parkway, which already has an outdoor shooting range and a classroom building.
Discussions about a joint facility using Ohio Control Board funds have been ongoing for about three years, according to MPD Asst. Chief Jason Bammann, who said a “live fire” shoot house was part of the initial plan.
Instead, he said, the focus will be “simunition training,” which provides a broader range of tactical situations, including the ability of “criminals” to “shoot back.”
“Simunition rounds have come a long way,” Bammann said. “And in talking to (NC State Police Academy Commander) Brad Copeland, they are more apt to use it with simunition, anyway.
“When you introduce pain back at you, keeping in mind those paint balls do sting, it does tend to up your training,” Bammann said.
He said the building will likely be some sort of pole barn that allows the interior to be arranged in multiple ways and also used year-round.
“It gives us options,” Bammann said. “We can simulate a residence, conference room, classrooms, multiple locations for walls inside. It will give us something we can move around, and provide a range of training options for officers and students.
“It will be easy to manipulate so we are not always running into the same house.”
Interim Safety Service Director Dave Remy said the “shoot house” will be built by the city and made available for the NC State program, which is currently training some new Mansfield officers.
“It will enhance the entire facility (on Miller Parkway) and make it more inclusive as a training center,” Remy said.
Work on the structure could begin before the end of 2023.
Also on Tuesday, City Council is scheduled to:
— Vote on a proposal to spend $400,000 on the initial phase of the Sterkel Park for All. The legislation will assist with constructing zone one of the planned five-zone park on the 20-acre site off Hillcrest Street.
Specifically, the city’s funds will pay for site grading, storm sewer installation, all hard surfaces (primarily concrete), electrical service and restrooms that are compliant with all requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The city’s share will be funded with $200,000 from the city’s remaining American Rescue Plan Act funds and $200,000 from the Parks & Recreation Department.
Equipment planned for zone one includes a pavilion/shelter, pickleball courts, fitness equipment, ping-pong tables, tables and benches, game tables, bike racks and fencing.
— Vote on a proposal to spend $509,400 on a new traffic signal system that will clear intersections quicker and more efficiently. Two-thirds of the project will be paid for with the city’s ARPA funds.
— Vote on the proposed demolition of defective structures at 29 Glessner Ave., 97 Orchard St. and 365 Newman St.
— Vote to accept a donation of 100 trees from the Alta Florist and Greenhouse in celebration of its 100th anniversary with a value of $15,259.40. The trees for the Mansfield Shade Tree Commission consist of 10 Burr Oak, 20 London plane trees, 30 crabapple and 40 purple leaf-flowering plums.
— Discuss the city’s contract for Fair Housing Services with the Richland County Board of Commissioners and the Richland County Regional Planning Commission.
— Discuss seeking bids to resurface the parking lot at Mansfield Lahm Regional Airport.
— Discuss accepting a $50,000 grant from the U.S. Dept. of Justice Bryne Discretionary Community Project Funding Program to renew one square-mile of coverage in the MPD’s ShotSpotter program.
— Discuss making several ARPA expenditures, including $74,093.01 for the roof repair project at Fire Station No. 1 on East Third Street; $80,000 for a police and fire Central Square computer system; $96,269.50 for the city’s share of a proposed new Bearcat law enforcement vehicle; and $80,000 for a new computer system for the codes and permits department.
— Discuss a citizen-led effort to place a quarter-income income tax increase on the Nov. 7 ballot to be used in a water main replacement effort throughout the city.
