|
|
|
AUGUSTA - Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund board members on Friday approved the $56,977 needed for the purchase of a new multijurisdictional patrol boat for Moosehead Lake.The board voted 7-0 to award the funds to the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife to purchase a 26-foot, fully equipped Boston Whaler boat. These funds, derived from the sale of specific lottery tickets, will be added to the $25,000 that has been raised or pledged in the Moosehead Lake region. The boat will cost nearly $82,000. Pleading the need for the nearly $57,000 before the panel Friday were Warden Adam Gormely, who spearheaded the drive, and Greenville Town Manager John Simko. "I was very happy that the board recognized the community support for a multijurisdictional patrol boat," Gormely said Friday. He said the Florida boat supplier agreed to absorb the cost of travel for two wardens to get the boat and for training while there. Simko was equally pleased. "We pleaded the case and made it clear it was a bare-bones budget," he said. "I'm elated it happened; we need this boat and it looks like we've got it." The current 1987 Wellcraft boat, a hand-me-down from another agency, has poor night visibility, is difficult for one person to operate and is not designed for patrol. The boat has been disabled in the water several times, requiring the assistance of others. |