By Barbara A. Preston | Posted Tuesday, March 19, 2024
A father-and-son team designed and helped build an outdoor shooting range pavillion that provides Montgomery Township police officers with protection from the weather while they practice using their weapons. It also helps to keep their feet dry from the swampy area designated as their shooting area.
Dan Fortunato, the principal for Fortunato Architecture on Tamarack Circle in Skillman, and his son, Dan Fortunato, Jr. of FCF Construction, built the structure during two Saturdays.
“Sergeant Ryan Gray approached me a few months ago to see if I could help with their shooting range conditions,” said Dan Fortunato, Sr. “The officers wanted to construct something they could use for protection from sun and rain while they target practice. I guided the process by having a concrete pad installed, a prefabricated shed structure for storage, and we designed and built a pavilion structure.”
OLD OUTDOOR FIRING RANGE - Before, Montgomery police had to practice use of their firearms in a swampy area of the township. (Photo courtesy of the Montgomery Police Department.)
Additional work was completed by A-Tech Landscaping, who worked on drainage at the range, and installed a new shooting surface consisting of stone dust material obtained with assistance from Trap Rock Industries.
NEW OUTDOOR FIRING RANGE - Now, Montgomery police officers may practice using their weapons from under this pavilion.
Prior to the renovation, the police range was subject to flooding and officers often faced muddy conditions. Montgomery Police Information Officer Jason Larsen said, “The improvements provide a clean, safer area for the members of the police department to train on firearms and tactics, as well as conduct their mandated firearms qualifications."
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“Having the police training site in town is beneficial because the members of the police department are in the township when conducting their training in the event of an emergency, as was the case several years ago when the officers were completing their firearms qualifications and were called to respond to a bomb threat at a business on Wall Street.”
"We'd like to keep the location [private] to avoid unwanted visitors," Larsen added.
