Lake sheriff blasts board’s decision to defer boat purchase, lease deal

The Lake County Sheriff’s Department will have to wait until December for the Board of Commissioners to vote on a boat purchase and lease agreement to store equipment, a decision that Sheriff Oscar Martinez blasted.

Recently, the board voted to defer the purchase of a $770,060 Metal Shark boat and a lease agreement for a storage unit to hold equipment, following a public hearing on the lease agreement.

Martinez previously said the department has been looking to purchase the Metal Shark boat because the department’s current boats are a 1994 Silver Ships 35-foot Endeavor and a 2013 Silver Ships 29-foot Ambar. The Endeavor’s top speed is 30 mph, and the Ambar’s top speed is 50 mph, he said.

After the vote, Martinez said under Indiana law he can make this purchase as a purchasing agent under certain stipulations, such as if it is advantageous to the governmental body’s interest in efficiency and economy. A separate law states that a purchasing agent has to be authorized and the commissioners have not authorized Martinez to be a purchasing agent, said commissioner’s attorney Matthew Fech.

“The process of purchasing this watercraft has been delayed time and time again. The repeated deferral of this item is a deliberate and illegal attempt to negatively impact our operations,” Martinez said.

The new Metal Shark Defiant, a 38-foot vessel that can reach 60 mph, would replace the Endeavor, Martinez said. The new boat would take eight to 12 months

to build once the order is placed, said Lake County Chief of Police

Vincent Balbo.

Martinez said the department will purchase the boat through a federal General Services Administration bid. The vessel, he said, will provide “state-of-the-art technology critical for the safety of Lake County law enforcement officers and residents.”

The Metal Shark has multiple features, Martinez said, such as being wider, which will allow for better handing during higher waves, built-in side-scanning sonar, a high-definition radar and GPS.

“It is faster and more maneuverable than other vessels and is packed with superior electronics. This boat simply provides the best possible option for use on Lake Michigan,” Balbo previously said in a statement.

On Wednesday, Balbo reminded the commissioners that the age of the department’s current boats is the reason why officials need a new boat. Over the last year, Balbo said the department has conducted research, including visiting with the Chicago Police Department, to learn about boats.

Officer Jim Weller, with the Lake County Sheriff ’s Marine Unit, said he’s worked with the unit for 10 years and has operated the current boat in different weather conditions.

“We are requesting something that is going to be adequate in roughly the same size of what we have. This new vessel will have the capabilities of moving faster,” Weller said.

In the current boat, if the unit is in Hammond and it gets a call to respond to a situation in Gary, it takes about 35 minutes to 45 minutes to get there, Weller said.

The new boat, Weller said, would be designed to better handle the conditions of Lake Michigan, pointing out that the sheriff ’s department boat goes out into the lake when others are returning to shore — like helping a boat that ran out of fuel during a storm.

Commissioner Jerry Tippy, R-2nd, said the commissioners “are being sold on performance and price and such.” Tippy said he’s reached out to other “governmental units” and he’s waiting “for responses back to confirm what our responsibilities are.”

Given that, Tippy made a motion to defer the boat purchase to the December meeting so that he has time to gather responses.

Commissioner Kyle Allen, D-1st, said he supports the boat purchase, but he didn’t want to make a motion in support of the purchase because he didn’t want it to fail for lack of majority votes.

“I’ll let you know that I am supportive of purchase of the boat, but obviously if you decide to move forward then there won’t be (enough) support for the boat, at least at this meeting,” Allen said.

The commissioners voted 3-0 to defer the boat purchase to its December meeting.

In October, the commissioners proposed a public hearing for a 3-year facility storage lease for a 10,368-square-foot storage space at 11000 Virginia St. in Crown Point for $114,048 annually or $342,144 total.

The board held a public hearing Wednesday on the lease agreement, which no one from the public addressed.

Balbo told the board Wednesday the lease would allow the department to store equipment. Currently, the department’s garage space is “overloaded,” Balbo said.

Over a six-month period, the sheriff’s department has conducted a study to find a storage space based on location, size, proximity to the Lake County Government Center and access to the interstate, Balbo said. Based on that, Balbo said the department identified the Crown Point location as the best option.

“We do not ask for any supplemental moneys. These are moneys that we’ve found within our existing budget, and we’ll continue to do that over the life of the lease,” Balbo said.

Board President Michael Repay, D-3rd, said no lease has been presented to the commissioners, so the members could either approve a document stating an intent to lease or defer the item to the next meeting.

Fech told the commissioners he recommends that sheriff’s department officials submit the final lease before the December meeting to be considered at that time.