Vice Mayor gives brief update in Public Safety Committee, Feb. 7
Contributed
Cincinnati City Manager Sheryl Long stated that site preparation should begin soon at the Hamilton County Sheriff’s gun range. The Hamilton County Sheriffs’ gun range in Colerain Township is the future site of the Regional Safety Complex which will include a new gun range for the Cincinnati Police Department. Vice Mayor Jan-Michele Lemon Kearney gave a brief update on the plans at Cincinnati City Council’s Public Safety and Governance Committee meeting on Feb. 7. Hamilton County Administrator Jeff Aluotto is scheduled to give an in-depth presentation before the same committee on Wednesday, February 22, at 9:30 a.m.
“We are fortunate to have leaders like Sen. Sherrod Brown, Hamilton County Commissioner Denise Driehaus, Mayor Aftab Pureval, and Lincoln Heights Councilmember Daronce Daniels,” said Kearney. “Mayor Aftab has a ‘can do’ attitude. He is committed to the success of this project, and his passion creates energy in all of us.”
Lincoln Heights Councilmember Daronce Daniels approached Senator Sherrod Brown and Renee Mahaffey Harris of the Center for Closing the Health Gap in 2020 about the need to move the Cincinnati Police Department’s gun range in Evendale. They brought in Cincinnati leadership and organized a bipartisan effort. At the suggestion of Hamilton Commissioner Denise Driehaus, and after City and County officials visited a myriad of sites, all agreed on moving to the Hamilton County Sheriffs’ site. The City-County union provided an opportunity to create — in the words of Colerain Township Trustee Matt Wahlert — “a regional safety complex,” and possibly a future Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy (OPOTA) site.
Kearney said there is a long list of leaders who also are a part of the successful plan to move the gun range from Evendale to the site for the new regional safety complex in Colerain Township: In addition to Brown, Pureval, Driehaus, and Daniels, Hamilton County Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey, former Cincinnati Police Chief Eliott Isaac, current Chief Teresa Theetge, and former Mayor John Cranley were on board from the beginning, as was former Sen. Rob Portman. Gov. Mike DeWine has promised his support. Also integral to the process are Hamilton County Commissioner President Alicia Reece and Commissioner Stephanie Summerow Dumas, Mayors Dick Finan (Evendale), Ruby Kinsey-Mumphrey (Lincoln Heights), and Brian Poole (Woodlawn), State Rep. Cindy Abrams and former State Rep. Tom Brinkman, Colerain Township Trustees Matt Wahlert, Dan Unger, Cathy Ulrich, and former trustee Raj Rajagopal, former Colerain Township Police Chief Mark Denney, and The Heights Movement including Celeste Treece and Carlton Collins.
“This has been and continues to be a gargantuan effort with a ton of leaders and moving parts – all forging ahead,” said Kearney. “This outstanding collaboration is nothing short of amazing.”