The Lake Improvement Association has donated $2,500 to the Montezuma Fire Department to be used to help fund a new boat house at Windy Point. The boat house will allow the fire department to have a boat ready at all times, which will speed emergency rescue response times on Grand Lake St. Marys by 15 minutes.
LIA President Tim Lovett, LIA Vice President Mark Piening, and Montezuma Fire Dept. Chief Ron Schulze.
The boathouse will be a big benefit for our community. The Fire Department’s main goal for the building of this boathouse is to shorten the response time when there is an emergency on the lake. Currently the rescue boat, named Muskrat 1, is stored in the firehouse. When an emergency call comes in, the firemen must respond to the firehouse, hook up to it, drive to the lake, and ramp it. Once the boat is stored in its new home, a push of a button will lower the boat into the lake and be on its way. It is estimated that the firemen will save 15 minutes in response time.
The boathouse is a 30’ by 36’ feet building located at 5331 Windy Point Road, which is near the entry to Windy Point. This building will store both the boat and the boat trailer. The cost to build the boathouse is approximately $45,000. That money is coming from the money generated by the 1.5 mill operating levy. The firemen are very grateful for all of the support the community gives them. But they are hoping for some donations to help offset the cost. Their operating budget pays for many things including all turnout gear, maintenance on the trucks, hoses etc. The state mandates the firemen to replace turn out gear every 10 years, along with many other requirements. Therefore much of the operating budget goes for state required expenses.
The LIA encourages other local organizations to consider donating toward the boat house, which will speed emergency rescue time on Grand Lake St. Marys.