(Wahpeton)– Lakes area cities and fire department boards are being asked to contribute money for a new fire boat.
Emil Richter of the Milford Fire Department and Steve Dulin of the Arnolds Park/Okoboji department are spearheading efforts to purchase the 143-thousand dollar boat to replace the existing one which is a retrofitted boat formerly used the D-N-R.
The Arnolds Park/Okoboji, Milford and Spirit Lake Fire Departments are being requested to come up with 10-thousand dollars each; and the cities of Wahpeton, West Okoboji, Milford, Arnolds Park, Okoboji and Spirit Lake are being asked to contribute 13-thousand dollars each; with 28-thousand dollars from the county. The remainder would come from the Arnolds Park/Okoboji Fire Department’s budget.
Richter says the new boat would deliver a much higher flow of water to fight fires, pumping directly from the lake. He says in many cases, it would be among the first units to arrive at a lakeside fire.
Richter and Dulin presented their requests to the Wahpeton and Milford city councils at their respective meetings Monday evening. Neither council took action, saying they want to talk about it some more and review their budgets first.
