Grant to refit patrol boat

The boat the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department purchased in 2005 will get about $46,000 in upgrades with an additional infusion of grant money.

The boat, which went into operation in 2007, originally was paid for through a $100,000 grant from the federal Law Enforcement Terrorism Prevention Program.

"Now, we have a canvas enclosure on the boat," Sheriff John P. Burns said. "We are going to put an actual cabin on it. It will keep our electronics more safe and keep them from getting wet."

The use of additional grant money on the boat was questioned closely Tuesday night by members of the county Legislature's General Services Committee.

Undersheriff Timothy M. Dowe told the committee the retrofit would include moving the cabin forward and repairing the leaking deck.

"Right now, there is difficulty in seeing over the bow to the lake," he said.

The boat is 31 feet long and 10.5 feet wide, and has a dive platform and a water cannon to fight fires. It is docked at Madison Barracks, Sackets Harbor.

"It just seems kind of silly," said Legislator Michael W. Behling, R-Adams Center. "There are leaks on the deck that need to be fixed. With a boat that's new, I can't imagine there are that many hours on it."

Mr. Dowe said the boat has 10 hours in service every day on weekends in the summer. And with the upgrades, the patrols will start earlier and last later in the season and include nighttime patrols, he said.

The boat will be retrofitted at R.J. Marina, Clayton, where it was built.

"What guarantees are we going to have this time that we are not going to have to go back again?" asked Chairman Philip N. Reed Jr., R-Fishers Landing.

The company will give a warranty on the cabin for seven years, Mr. Dowe said.

Legislator Kent D. Burto, R-West Carthage, asked if there were incident reports from the boat's activities.

Mr. Dowe said the department files quarterly reports with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and other reports with the state, which reimburses 75 percent of the operational costs, all of which are available.

The department would use about $46,301 from the $1.63 million in federal Operation Stonegarden grant money it received in 2008. Operation Stonegarden is a terrorism prevention program run by the Department of Homeland Security.

That money will be diverted from a countywide communications upgrade project, which has not yet been finalized. After the boat upgrades are complete, a U.S. Border Patrol agent will occasionally ride with the Sheriff's Department patrol on the lake.

"The sheriff's patrol will still act as the sheriff's patrol," Mr. Dowe said. "But there will be a number of times the border patrol will put someone on the boat."

The boat should be refitted by June 1, Mr. Dowe said.