Published: June 09, 2008 10:17 am      

Gainesville adds patrol boat to Moss Lake

Moss Lake residents and visitors have a reason to feel a bit safer this summer thanks to the presence of law-enforcement officers and the addition of a new Gainesville Police Department patrol boat.

Police Chief Steven Fleming said Memorial Day weekend was the first time beat shift officers worked the lake.

The holiday proved fairly uneventful, he said, adding that cops assisted at least two disabled boaters.

“The officers were able to tow the boats back to shore,” he noted.

After June 16, officers are set to begin patrolling the water in a new 20-ft. Triton boat.

The new boat was purchased by the city with funds requested on behalf of the police department by Director of Public Service Ron Sellman during last year’s annual budget hearings, Fleming said.

It arrived last week and is being outfitted at a Denison-area specialty boat shop.

City Manager Barry Sullivan said the boat patrol officers will serve the Moss Lake area in several ways.

“These officers are like normal police officers on the street. They are there to help and to make sure people are safe,” he said.

Police will also check for violations of the law including docks built without permits and safety lapses aboard recreational vessels on the lake, he said.

Moss Lake is a 380-acre man-made reservoir which provides a large portion of Gainesville’s daily usage of 2 to 4 million gallons, previous Register articles reported. It is owned by the city of Gainesville.

The reservoir is located on FM 1201, 11 miles northwest of Gainesville in north central Cooke County.

Since the lake was completed in 1966, a number of people have purchased land and built homes and boat docks along the lake.

While their dwellings are in the county, Sullivan said, most Moss Lake residents’ boat docks are not.

“Boat docks are actually on city property since they cross over the line from land into the water,” he explained.

That means residents must obtain permits prior to building boat docks. The permits must also be renewed annually.

Sullivan said building permits ensure that docks meet specific safety standards.

A dock which protrudes too far into the water could become a hazard to boats — especially at night, he said.

Water quality is another concern since Moss Lake is a water source for the city, Sullivan said.

He said police officers on the lake can also, at times, assist city employees by performing some of the tests required to ensure that the water is safe.

Working on the water requires specialized training, Fleming said.

Officers assigned to the lake completed classes which included Marine Safety Enforcement Officer training at Tarrant County College in Fort Worth.

Four officers and one supervisor received certification to perform boat patrol duty, Fleming said.

Officers have already begun working some weekdays and every weekend at Moss Lake, although the new boat is not expected to be completed until June 16.

When it arrives, the vessel will have several features lacking in the current flat-bottom boat including a 115-hp engine, a protective metal canopy, lights and radio equipment.

Sullivan said the new boat should also be much easier to steer and more stable.

“It can take bigger wave action and is larger in size than the present one,” he said.

It will also allow officers to pull alongside other vessels when required.

Like officers on land, the lake patrol will check for intoxicated drivers, expired or missing registration documents and other violations of the law.

Safety is the officers’ top concern, according to Fleming.

“The main purpose of the new boat is to protect people on the lake,” he said.

In addition to their other duties, the boat patrol officers can also, sometimes, loan life preservers to boaters “so boaters can get to shore safely and purchase their own floatation devices,” Sullivan said.

The use of police officers at Moss Lake was not a hasty decision, he said.

“The great thing is (that) we’re not entering this light-heartedly. The patrol is useful as a deterrent to other crimes and to establish a police presence in the area. Above all, the officers were trained to protect people. We (the city) are there to help them do that safely,” he said.