This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.

New Clinton Police Boat Approved 233-1

At a special town meeting on May 9, the town voted to 233 to 1 to approve the appropriation of $123,950 from the undesignated fund balance for the purchase of a new police boat that the Clinton Police Department says will help provide increased security in the waters.

The full cost of the boat, a refurbished 2004 Safe Boat Defender originally designed for the U.S. Coast Guard, is $178,500. The remaining balance, $54,550, will come from the sale of the old boat and some additional funds from the Police Department.

Clinton Police Chief Vince DeMaio said the department’s old boat was breaking down often and had to be taken out of the water to be repaired when it did. The boat was about 20 years old, DeMaio said, and at one point last year was out of the water for about four weeks.

The vessel is used to patrol Clinton’s waterfront, responding to calls about speeding boats and boats making wakes among other concerns. The refurbished Coast Guard boat offered a chance for an upgrade at what the department said is an excellent value.

“We had a really good chance to replace it for 50 percent of [the cost of] a new vessel,” DeMaio said, stating that the new boat is “purpose designed for our use.”

The old boat “is a decent fishing platform,” DeMaio said, and was sold to a new owner on the West Coast.

The new boat is anticipated to have useful life of about 10 years. In addition to the regular service to the people of Clinton, DeMaio said the department will “work in conjuncture with the Coast Guard” when needed.

The boat will be on patrol when boating traffic is the highest, typically on summer weekends. DeMaio said the department will set up a schedule and rotate which officers are on the boat.

In the days leading up to the town meeting, the police boat vote sparked a spirited discussion online. Selectman Carol Walter posted about the boat on her Facebook page, writing in part, “It’s a ‘want’ not a ‘ need.’ Please come vote as if it was your money. Because it is.”

In response, the Clinton Police Department posted a screenshot of Walter’s post and argued for why the department felt it needed the boat.

“It was not a want, it was a need,” DeMaio said. “This was a smart to decision for us to use the money wisely. We don’t want to waste money.”

The crowd of more than 200 people was much larger than a typical crowd at a town meeting, a fact not lost on DeMaio.

While DeMaio said he thought part of the large crowd was there for a vote on an ordinance to ban fracking waste in Clinton, he did add, “We have a lot of support.”