If approved by the county board next week, the Mojave County Sheriff’s Office could receive a $126,000 grant from the Arizona Game and Fish Service.
The funds will be used to upgrade several patrol vessels in the Sheriff’s Fleet and upgrade various equipment, according to an interagency memorandum dated Feb. 14 from the Arizona Department of Game and Fish.
Planned uses of the funds include two Mercury outboard engines, four desktop computers and monitors, six radios and other tools to enable the sheriff’s vessel maintenance.
As of this year, the sheriff’s efforts to upgrade the county’s Colorado River patrol boats continue with the reintroduction of state funding last year through the State Lake Improvement Fund.
The State Lake Improvement Fund was established in 1984 as a competitive grant for ongoing equipment purchases. Until 2010, the funds were used to purchase and maintain vessels operated by the Mojave County Sheriff’s Office until the Arizona Legislature canceled the funds in 2010.
According to Mojave County Sheriff Doug Schuster’s 10-Year Strategic Plan, the Sheriff’s Fleet was nearing the end of its life as of 2019 and was still a concern at the time. Between 2010 and his 2022, 11 Sheriff’s Office watercraft have already been retired, making her the only nine Mojave County Sheriff’s Office patrol boats left on the Colorado River. bottom.
When SLIF funds were restored last year under an Arizona Legislative Act, the Mojave County Sheriff’s Office allocated $800,000 of the funds to purchase three new patrol boats.
Sheriff officials said last year they said they would continue to seek state aid until the county’s vessels were restored.
According to last year’s proposals to purchase these new vessels, the Mojave County recreational boating enthusiast base accounts for nearly 50% of all boating activity in Arizona.
