Holly Springs Mayor Tim Downing has a new vision for his small city: to build a public safety training facility there.

The facility, according to Downing, would be a hub for regional law enforcement personnel to attend training.

Downing said his plans would include a 20-lane, 50-yard shooting range and a three-story shooting tower.

The facility would also contain a tactical shoot house and allow the use of live rounds.

The three-story tower would be used to properly teach law enforcement personnel how to clear stair towers in a time of crisis.

Downing said he's eyeing a two-acre tract of land adjacent to the Hickory Springs Industrial Park on Hickory Road.

Downing said he's spoken with Rep. Dr. Phil Gingrey (R-Marietta) and Rep. Tom Price (R-Roswell) about ways to obtain funding.

"They both are very supportive of local law enforcement," he said.

Georgia has numerous public training facilities, but Downing said none are close enough to Cherokee County to allow frequent training. Downing said, for example, it's "not realistic" to regularly send law enforcement personnel to the facility in Ft. Benning.

Downing, a Cherokee Sheriff's Office deputy who works at the Cherokee Adult Detention Center, said he's always "been law enforcement-oriented." The recent passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act encouraged him to pursue federal stimulus dollars for the facility.

"A firing range is something I've felt was needed in this area for a long time," he said.

Along with federal lawmakers, Downing is reaching out to fellow local leaders.

He's contacted the cities of Woodstock, Marietta and Kennesaw for support as well as Kennesaw State University.

Woodstock Mayor Donnie Henriques has written a letter in support of the Downing's efforts to acquire funding for the project.

In his letter, Henriques stated "having this state-of-the-art facility within our county will save our taxpayers thousands of dollars in fuel and overtime expenses.

"The close proximity would be advantageous for us."

Henriques said the facility would provide more opportunity for officers to brush up on their weaponry skills, which can make for a safer community.

Both the Canton Police Department and the Cherokee Sheriff's Office declined to comment on Downing's plans.

Woodstock Police Chief David Bores said the facility's live fire range would "give individual officers and the county's tactical team training opportunities that are desperately needed."

Having an indoor shooting range will allow the officers to "night-fire train" at anytime, he said.

Currently, Bores said, law enforcement personnel who use the sheriff office's training facility are limited to evening hour usage.

Bores added the community would benefit from having sworn officers who are better trained in their profession.

"The more realistic we can make our training the better chance our officers will have to survive a lethal encounter," he said. "This is win-win for everyone except for the bad guys."