Mason County Sheriff's Office patrol boats in 'dismal' condition

[Dave]

I for the most part stayed out of the 'circus' related to the last election for sheriff. Regardless of the outcome of said election, you do have to wonder why the maintenance of the boats was apparently limited to the point that there is only one working boat.

MASON COUNTY, MI – The Mason County Sheriff’s Office is in dire need of upgrades to its patrol boats, according to a report by the Ludington Daily News.

Sheriff Kim Cole is proposing to a Mason County Board committee to buy three new patrol vehicles and repair three police patrol boats.

Cole told the board in a written statement that the “state of our patrol boats is dismal” and said he’s seeking funds to repair all three, the Daily News reported.

Cole said the only working boat is a 15-footer that is too small for service on big lakes, including Hamlin, Pere Marquette and Ford. Both engines in a larger boat are blown, Cole said, and need to be replaced, which would cost an estimated $26,190, the Daily News reported.

A 22-foot, ridged-hull inflatable boat that was used on Hamlin and other large lakes has a blown engine and an air leak in one chamber, and a 14-foot boat isn’t usable because the motor won’t lock down.

http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2013/03/report_mason_c...

[Jane]

Don't take life too seriously it's not permanent.

[Lisa O'Brien]

lol - I love that saying.

[easymoney]

Gee, if your going to spend your summers riding around in a boat, I gues you should learn about maintenence, repair and storage. just saying

[XLFD]

Thanks for joining the circus, Dave.  Here's another initiative coming from new Sheriff Kim Cole called STOPPED, Sheriff's Telling Our Parents and Promoting Educated Driving, which he learned about in Sheriff School.  I always love acronyms.  The voluntary program involves the MCSO alerting parents that have their teenage kids driving their car to be alerted by the MCSO for any traffic stop, even if a citation isn't issued.  At first read, I think it's a good idea coming from the department, that doesn't involve much cost.  It beats the LPD's policy of creating dangerous situations by not following the law, and ticketing bicyclists who point them out, LOL.

[masonco]

The other thing I thought of is the Coast Guard is in charge of Lake MI aren't they? Their boats are always available. It would be cheaper to rent theirs for the couple times a year they need it...but I usually hear of the coast guard being involved anyway. They train for that year around and our county bumpkin cops would never begin to have their expertise.

[Jane]

It would seem better to have the volunteer fire depts with their first responders each have a boat in their garage. Ford Lake is so far from Ludington, even Hamlin is a ways when it means getting officer to the garage, hitching up a trailer, and driving the boat to the lake, putting it in the lake and getting to the scene of incident.. It appears in my thoughts anyway Hamlin would have at least a 30 min. response time from ludington.

[XLFD]

I agree, Jane.  Hamlin Fire Department is well known in the county for advocating water rescue programs, and LFD used to.  A 2011 water rescue training held by HFD is below, from their excellent website I just found recently.  Firefighters are used to working with water and getting wet, and should be trained on the basics in a marine community.  Police officers don't like getting wet, worry overmuch about liability issues rather that rescue issues, and are more concerned about patrolling during non-emergencies.  I believe the County should revisit the issue of how they should properly cover the bodies of water in and around Mason County for patrol, rescue, and recovery operations and get a firm plan.  Maybe Kim Cole's initiative will start this positive step for a cohesive policy.

[Sam Axe]

Here is a good read on the water laws in Michigan     http://www.boater101.com/course/documents/mi/mistatelaws.pdf

If I recall correctly, the Sheriffs Departments all over the state of Michigan have dedicated Marine Officers who only patrol the bodies of water that each county has. And I bet itll be a suprise to most on here there are LAWS on the water that must be followed... Also I believe that its the Sheriffs responsibility  to over see the all bodies of water and to enforce the laws

http://www.michigansheriff.com/pdfs/The%20Office%20of%20Sheriff%20b...

[XLFD]

Thanks for the links.  I don't think there's an issue about the sheriff's department purview consisting of the bodies of water in and around his county, the controversy arises when we try to assign how much resources we allocate for that task, and how best to implement it.

[Sam Axe]

I also recall that the State of Michigan gives out grants, again if I recall correctly, to each county so it doesnt even come out of the counties pockets... it used to be all State of Michigan/DNR funded, now if the county admin dont use it correctly and repair or replace as needed and pads their own pockets thats an whole nether story for an nether day

http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-153-58225_37985-124965--,00.html

http://www.michigan.gov/documents/dnr/IC1840_278563_7.pdf

[Chuck Finley]

Now that you said that I think I have heard the same thing

[AQUAMAN]

I'm quite sure some agency like Sam mentioned would be able to help if the MCSD took the time to investigate and do the paperwork. I would refer Cole to Johnson Supreme Marine for a quote, but I don't think Todd would be too anxious to be of help after the last few weeks of media statements made.