The Clinton City Council has OK’d seeking bids on a new rescue boat for the fire department. It was a 6 to 1 vote with Ed O’Neill the lone ‘no’ vote to proceed.
The department received a federal grant of up to 450-thousand dollar grant to pay for 75 percent of the new boat designed to handle all types of emergencies. Clinton Fire Chief Mike Brown told the council that there has been a 75-thousand dollar grant from the Clinton County Emergency Management Agency and 75-thousand dollar from a local industry. Brown said the estimated cost of the new vessel would leave around 25-thousand dollars for long term fuel use.
Todd Epperson of the Coast Guard said that Clinton ranked number one of the 27 applicants for the federal funds. Epperson said there is a great deal of critical infrastructure in the area to protect..