Officials with Macomb County and the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office today broke ground at the site of the new Marine Sheriff Division Headquarters along Lake St. Clair in Harrison Township. The new facility will replace the original structure, which was constructed in 1974 and last updated in 1985.
“Our Marine Sheriff Division plays an essential role in keeping our community safe,” said Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel. “With 85-square-miles of Lake St. Clair in our jurisdiction and a number of rivers, canals and waterways, this team has an incredible responsibility when it comes to patrols and responding to emergencies. They require facilities that support this mission; a place that can accommodate equipment and new technology. And right now, they have a building that’s more than 50-years-old and really in need of upgrades.”
Construction on the headquarters will begin immediately, with completion slated for summer 2023. The new 14,000-square-foot facility will feature administrative offices, dispatch, locker rooms, a boat garage with five adjustable boat wells, a maintenance garage with dive team facilities, a new emergency generator and a lightning protection system. In comparison, the current headquarters offers 5,300-square-feet of space.
“The growth in our boating community and Lake St Clair events in the past 50 years has overwhelmed our current facility,” said Macomb County Sheriff Anthony Wickersham. “Rising water levels have also taken its toll on the building, grounds and docks. Throughout the years, we’ve added deputies, reserve officers and a dive team that share this now outdated facility. Our fleet has expanded, and on several occasions, we have not had the dock space to utilize all of our resources. Our priority on Lake St Clair is to keep the boating community safe by enforcing maritime law and educating the public on safety protocols. This new facility will allow us adequate space, technology, and dockage to do our jobs more efficiently.”
The cost of the project is estimated at $8.4 million. Plante Moran will serve as the project manager and Rockford Construction will be the general contractor.
“Building a new Marine Sheriff Division headquarters has been a goal for Macomb County for quite some time,” said Hackel. “We need to provide our officers with the right tools and resources to do their jobs, and this new facility will do just that. The county's strong financial position and responsible capital planning has provided us with an opportunity to fully fund this critical public safety asset. Working alongside Sheriff Wickersham, the Board of Commissioners and our community partners, we will ensure that public safety remains a top priority."
The Macomb County Marine Sheriff Division was created in 1956 to respond to a growing population in the area and an increasing use of local waterways. Its mission is to maintain water safety on Lake St. Clair through a proactive water patrol presence, boater education and patrol-related water enforcement. Its staff includes eight full-time individuals and four additional deputies during the summer. These personnel are trained and equipped for open water rescue, maritime law enforcement, vessel fire suppression and homeland security efforts.
In addition to this team, the Marine Sheriff Division has a 76-member volunteer force of Marine Safety Officers which provide additional resources for water patrol-related activities and public education-related events. This support allows the Marine Division to log more patrol hours than any other agency on Lake St. Clair, making it one of the most active law enforcement marine divisions in the state.
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