Manistee County OKs $121,300 airboat, the first in the county

Manistee County Sheriff Brian Gutowski is shown at a previous Manistee County Board of Commissioners meeting.

MANISTEE COUNTY — When first responders arrived at Healy Lake during a 10-degree blizzard to get a snowmobiler out of the water on Dec. 23, one piece of equipment was credited with pushing the rescue over the top: an airboat.

But that particular machine is rare in the region, and Manistee County had to call in help from Benzie County to save the man.

Now, the Manistee County sheriff wants to make sure the county doesn't have to wait for help to arrive from another county when the area has another incident like the one late last year.

The Manistee County Board of Commissioners approved the use of $121,300 in Title III funds at its meeting on Tuesday to pay for an airboat.

At the meeting, Sheriff Brian Gutowski said the man would not have been able to be saved from Healy Lake without the Benzie County airboat.

Commissioners unanimously recommended the approval of a bid from American Airboat Corporation for a 2024 AirRanger Rhino LE Edition airboat.

At the May Manistee County Public Safety Committee meeting, Gutowski said he wanted to pursue the airboat purchase "because I really believe that we would have lost at least one person had we not had Benzie's airboat there for that incident."

Brian Gutowski

Gutowski told both public safety committee members and commissioners that an airboat would have also been helpful in search efforts seeking the Gladwin man who went missing at Tippy Dam on May 1. The man's body was found on May 2 near Tippy Dam.

"Once we had Consumers (Energy) lower the dam, our river boats could no longer operate the way they could before because there was just not enough water. So, it would have come in real use during that incident," Gutowski said at the board meeting. "This is just a really great capability for us to have."

Gutowski told the public safety committee, "I think it would really pay for itself."

Lisa Sagala, Manistee County controller-administrator, said at the public safety committee meeting that Title III funds can only be used toward certain costs associated with programs, trainings and other actions on federal land.

"We just got another distribution of $16,000 so that takes us up to $170,000 I think, just shy of $171,000," she said. "And I believe we might get one more distribution next year and then you have to either allocate it or send it back."

At the county commissioners meeting, Sagala said the funding is "very specific" about what it covers.

The funds were also used toward two new snowmobiles for the sheriff's office earlier this year replacing ones from the 1990s. The sleds cost about $15,000 each.

Gutowski told the board of commissioners that the Benzie County airboat is about 25 years old.

"I think with the right maintenance and making sure that we’re doing things the right way, I would anticipate this will last all of that" 25 years like Benzie County's airboat, he said.

The cost of the boat also includes the trailer to haul it, radio installation and other attachments.

Gutowski and the former Manistee City Fire Department chief Mark Cameron had previously noted they had been seeing more water rescue scenarios in recent years.

Because of the increasing rescues, the agencies have also been teaming up for more collaborative trainings with the U.S. Coast Guard Station Manistee and also seeking better rescue gear and suits in the last year.

Three Norman Township Fire Department members were later awarded in February for their response efforts in saving the man on Healy Lake.

Jack VanderBie, Norman Township Fire Department chief, previously told the News Advocate that the rescue "was a very high stress environment and very physically demanding" for all involved.

"The Coast Guard, when they arrived out on scene, they made the comment that this is the absolute worst conditions that you can have for an ice rescue. … that this was as bad as it gets," he recalled.

VanderBie had said that his department had just gone through an ice rescue training before the Healy Lake incident.

"We had done our station's ice rescue training the Tuesday before and then Friday we had the real deal go on," he had said. "(In training) one member says ‘So, how many ice rescues do you get a year?’ … I said ‘Well, we haven't had to do any but there's going to come a day when something happens’ — and then Friday we have this one and it was the most challenging ice rescue that you could have in the middle of a blizzard. So you never know when you’re going to need it, that's why we train."

The U.S. Coast Guard Station Manistee hosted an ice rescue training day at the Paine Aquatic Center involving police officers from the Manistee County Sheriff's Office, Manistee City Police Department and the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians Public Safety Department for the first time in this file photo from Nov. 30, 2022.

Norman Township Fire Department members represented one in a list of at least 10 agencies that responded to the Healy Lake rescue.

Nick Gera, Coast Guard Station Manistee commanding officer, previously told the News Advocate he was working with other groups to create an asset list this summer that documents all the key equipment on hand in the area and which entity holds that gear.

The list would include equipment like an airboat.

At the commissioners meeting, the board also unanimously approved a Port Security Grant for a new marine boat and a grant to the Manistee County Foundation Minger Foundation to apply toward matching funds for Port Security Grant.

The current boat is very "poor performing in high seas," Gutowski said at the board meeting.

"We really struggle in those times when we really need a stable platform out on the big lake with the boat that we currently have," he told the commissioners.

The boat that the sheriff's office is purchasing costs $326,000 for the boat and Manistee County would need a $100,000 match, according to the meeting agenda packet.

The boat being pursued is a SAFE Boat brand vessel with SAFE standing for secure around flotation equipped. The company is based in Washington state.

The company "builds highly reliable and extremely durable vessels that help keep military, law enforcement and fire professionals safe as they carry out their duties, protect citizens and work to save lives," according to its website.

"The grant also includes a training to be brought here for our staff as well as the Coast Guard and training for the deputy to go out and get trained on how to operate the SAFE boat effectively and safely," Gutowski added at the board meeting.

Gutowski noted that the sheriff's office could contribute $45,000 and $10,000 has been applied for from the Manistee County Community Foundation.

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• 5 Norman Twp. Fire Department members awarded after ice rescue, medical incidents

• ‘'Water is not a force to mess with': How the Coast Guard is increasing water safety

• Video: Police join Coast Guard's ice rescue training at MHS pool

• Police: Man jumps from Manistee bridge, in stable condition

• Video: What a Manistee Coast Guard ice rescue drill looks like