The Clay County Sheriff’s Office has announced it has chosen a new location for the construction of its Law Enforcement Resource Center. The former location received massive resistance from nearby residents last summer.

Sheriff Will Akin said at County Planning and Zoning Meeting last July that he will search for other locations for a training facility and shooting range. The Sheriff’s Office was looking to build on the site of a closed landfill outside Missouri City.

Akin said during the meeting that the Sheriff’s Office had been looking for a site to build the facility for years so deputies could be trained at the highest-possible standard. He said the proposed location was the best site he had seen.

People living near the proposed site spoke out at the Planning and Zoning Meeting. Many of them cited that they moved to that location for the peace and quiet. Others talked about how a gun range would affect people suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

The Sheriff’s Office announced on April 15, that it has chosen a new site to construct its Law Enforcement Resource Center: on county-owned land adjacent to 16616 NE 116th St., in rural Kearney, Mo.

The training facility will include an indoor-only firing range, classroom and virtual training room. Deputies have gone door-to-door in the neighborhoods surrounding the area to inform residents about the upcoming construction and answer questions.

A community meeting about the project will take place at 6 p.m. April 18 at Chandler Baptist Church, 11401 33 Highway, Liberty, Mo.

KPGZ News - Brian Watts contributed to this story