THOMASVILLE — Thomas County has fulfilled requirements for beginning construction of a public shooting range in 2018.

An environmental study of the site off County Farm Road was favorable, and the site is free of Native American artifacts, said Thomas County Commissioner Wiley Grady, chairman of the commission public properties committee.

The shooting range is being funded with an $800,000 Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) grant. Grady said DNR required certification that Native American artifacts and burial grounds were not present.

“We’re not on any wetlands,” Grady said.

County government will match DNR funding with in-kind services.

“We will be our own general contractor,” the commissioner said.

County crews will prepare the site, construct some buildings, erect fencing and pave the parking lot. Costs for the county work — up to $600,000 — will be calculated by DNR as in-kind services.

An architectural firm that specializes in shooting range construction will be recruited. After an architectural plan is presented, work can begin.

Local county officials will visit several other DNR shooting ranges to gather information.

The Georgia Department of Transportation (DOT) building at the site will be replaced on county property at Cone and Joyner roads. The current structure will be dismantled. Building materials will be sold as salvage.

“The county is required to provide the DOT a building,” Grady said.

Officials hope shooting range construction will begin in early 2018 and that the facility will be functional by mid-2018.

“The range will always have personnel on site,” Grady said.

The facility will be open Tuesday through Saturday and closed Sunday and Monday. Hours of operation have not been set.