Chief gets OK for rescue boat

CELINA - Fire chief Doug Wolters this week was told to proceed with plans to buy and equip a new rescue and recovery vessel estimated to cost $90,000.

City council's safety services commitee members argued that the prospect of saving lives on Grand Lake via such a vessel outweighs any public grumblings about spending taxpayer dollars in part to make the purchase.

"What is a life worth out there? You can't put a number to that," councilman Jeff Larmore said.

Wolters has said the idea for the boat, which he believes will serve the area for the next 25 years, is driven by his department's difficulty over the the last few years in responding to some 911 calls. The department's only seafaring vessel is a 12-foot-inflatable boat that's not practical for rescue and recovery.

Over the last decade, 10 fatalities and nine rescue and distress calls have been reported on the lake, according to Wolters.

Wolters has devised custom specifications for a 25-foot-long tritoon that soon will be let out for bids. When additional equipment is figured into the equation, the total cost estimate comes to about $90,000.

He has proposed to pay for at least half the cost of the boat with donations and so far has secured $39,400 with another $20,000 in grant applications still under consideration. The remaining cost would be paid for with fire savings account dollars from the 0.5 percent income tax.

"From a donation standpoint, they needed to have at least 50 percent of this funded before using their other capital to do this," mayor Jeff Hazel informed councilors.

Councilman Eric Clausen, though, noted he's received negative feedback on the proposal.

"Some people, they don't like the idea that Celina is providing a boat for almost the entire lake," he said. "Taxpayer money is going to be used for something that a majority of the city probably doesn't take advantage of."

Wolters had noted that his department is responsible for 60 percent of the lake plus another 20 percent on the south side.

Councilman Mark Fleck asked if any funding could come from southern municipalities.

Some 911 calls over the years have been directed to Montezuma Fire Department, which has a rescue boat docked at Windy Point. But its boat can't support many people or accommodate immediate life-support services, Wolter has said.

"Montezuma Fire Department spent well over $70,000 to build a boathouse plus their boat," Wolters said.

The Celina Fire Department has come to an informal agreement in which the Montezuma Fire Department and The U.S. Freshwater Boaters Alliance, a nonprofit group of boating enthusiasts, would also respond to any incident on Grand Lake, he said.

Montezuma doesn't have divers or room on the boat to treat people, while the boaters alliance mainly provides towing services, he said.

"If we get an incident on the lake, we'll all respond," he said. "The more boats, most of the time the better off you are because you got a better chance. It just has to be coordinated."

Hazel also touched upon the issue of using taxpayer dollars on a boat that would be deployed on a state-owned lake.

"The state does not have an EMS department. They don't provide that anywhere in the state of Ohio," he said. "That's what local communities do."

"This is in fact an ambulance on water. It's an emergency response," Hazel said. "This in no way duplicates or takes the place of the Freshwater Boater Alliance. Those guys and gals out there doing that on their own as a volunteer group provide an incredible service to the community, and they will continue to do so."

Councilman Mike Sovinski said he too has concerns about the city spending money toward the boat but said entities such as Jefferson Township pay the city for fire protection. Lake tourism and the goodwill it inspires also must be considered, he added.

"I'm for it primarily because of the people that are out there doing these rescues are our guys, and they should have the equipment that they need to make these rescues," he said.

"Over the years we've got a tremendous amount of money from service organizations for all of our dive rescue," Wolters added, pegging the contributions at tens of thousands of dollars.

Councilman June Scott agreed with Sovinski.

"We are considered to be a water community, a lake community," he said. "We have a responsibility then to protect the people that use that (lake) even though a lot of us would say we don't own the lake."

"If I were in dire straits on that lake … I want somebody to come out with the best equipment they got to pull my butt out of water," he continued.

Celina is a community that leads, Larmore stressed.

"I'm not going to apologize for a being a city that leads," he said. "I don't have any problem buying this boat. I don't care if we bought 100 percent of that boat, to be honest with you."

With service organizations stepping up to donate and the number of accidents that have occurred on Grand Lake over the years, the decision to buy a boat is a no-brainer, he continued.

Sovinski stressed the boat would not be used for any purpose other than rescue and recovery.