Politics & Government

Should Greenwich Accept $600,000 Federal Grant for Boat? [Video]

Selectmen push for acceptance by BET, RTM.

The Long Island Sound, an international border?

The federal government, specifically the Department of Homeland Security, and Customs and Border Protection, seem to think it is. And to that end the Town of Greenwich is poised to receive a $600,000 federal grant to purchase a state-of-the-art patrol boat that will give emergency first-responders the ability to fight fires. More importantly, according to Greenwich Emergency Management Director Daniel Warzoha, the boat also will provide the town's emergency services the capability to detect chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive devices.

Many of those services historically were provided by the United States Coast Guard and in the aftermath of the Sept. 11th terrorist attacks, many of those responsibilities were scaled back in this region, Warzoha said. To help fill those gaps of protection, the federal Homeland Security department has approved the town's application for a $600,000 grant to purchase what is described as a 37-foot aluminum-hulled public safety vessels with jet-driven twin diesel engines. The boat also would allow responders to beach the boat on the town’s islands and 33 miles of coastline rather than tie up to a dock.

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The protection is needed because of the growing boat and barge traffic along the Sound, increased visits by national and international dignitaries, and the continued rerouting of air traffic patterns away from New York City to Fairfield County airspace, Warzoha also said. According to Warzoha, the cities of Norwalk, Bridgeport and New Haven, as well as the town of Fairfield, have either accepted or are preparing to accept similar grants to help protect their harbors and coastlines.

The boat plan was unveiled at last week's Board of Selectmen's meeting where the three-member board wholeheartedly endorsed the plan, setting in motion an approval process that will now involve the Board of Estimate and Taxation and the Representative Town Meeting.

Find out what's happening in Greenwichwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Given the reaction of RTM Moderator Pro-Tempore Joan Caldwell who questioned the need for the vessel, acceptance of the grant is not a foregone conclusion.

Caldwell questioned how the boat would be staffed, especially if Greenwich firefighters were called to man the boat to help fight fires on the waterfront. “You are creating a turf issue. When is a boat a police boat and when is it a fire boat? If you need this fire boat, you need to look at staffing and resolve the issue,” Caldwell said. “You need to have a plan in mind.”

Greenwich Fire Chief Peter Sieczenski said, “We have a sense of pride in how there is a unified command system in place to handle incidents.” Officials said also that given the training and experience Greenwich firefighters already have, “they would need about 15 minutes to learn how to use” the firefighting apparatus on the new boat.

Caldwell also questioned whether acceptance of the grant would include mandates the boat be required to provide mutual aid for disasters in other areas of the region. Warzoha acknowledged that could happen but also said that Greenwich Marine Police units provided assistance in New York City during four days after the Sept. 11 attacks. He also said that some waterfront communities in Nassau and Westchester counties are improving their on-the-water response units.

In an acknowledgement of the importance of the grant and to the level of service already provided by the Greenwich Marine Police division, the federal government waived its usual requirement that the town provide 25 percent of the funding for the vessel, according to Lt. John Brown of the marine division. The division is the only one in Connecticut that provides marine paramedic program with medics from Greenwich Emergency Medical Service assigned to patrols on weekends and during special events.

In addressing Caldwell’s concern that the marine division would grow to four boats and need additional staff, Brown said the smallest vessel in the fleet is used now when hired by local boat clubs to monitor special events. The boat could be decommissioned and sold if town officials order that, Brown added.

First Selectman Peter Tesei said, “We must weigh the overall benefit over any overall liability. It sends a very poor message back (to the federal government) if we do not accept this.”

The Board of Estimate and Taxation’s budget committee will review the request at its meeting Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Town Hall. If approved, the request will then be put on the Sept. 19 agenda for the Representative Town Meeting.

If all approvals are granted, a boat wouldn’t be commissioned in Greenwich waters for about a year, given the bidding and boat-building processes, officials said.


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