By Rich Pollack
Highland Beach’s efforts to enhance safety on the Intracoastal Waterway got a shot in the arm in September when the Florida Inland Navigation District awarded the town $1.29 million to be used for a public safety boat dock.
The dock, which will be used by the town’s Police Department Marine Patrol Unit, comes with a price tag of about $2.5 million, with FIND providing $50,000 for design and $1.29 million for construction.
The town also received a $250,000 appropriation from the state Legislature for the dock, which will be directly behind the town library. The remainder of the cost, about $900,000, will be covered by the town.
“This will help us protect and preserve safety to the residents in our three miles of paradise,” Town Manager Marshall Labadie said. “It’s part of our commitment to providing a strong marine response.”
The police boat is currently docked at Boca Highland Beach Club and Marina at the south end of town, so providing a public safety dock just a short distance from the police and fire station will be a significant improvement, in large part for emergency response times.
“We have to get the marine dock in a central location,” Labadie said.
The floating dock is designed specifically for public safety use and gives the town the ability to coordinate rescues between the police boat and paramedics.
Labadie said that the town will share the dock with other public safety agencies. He said this factor may have played a role in funding decisions, especially from FIND, which is a special taxing district that helps local governments fund public navigation projects on inland waterways.
“I believe the other agencies that are helping to fund this project understand its regional importance,” he said.
In March 2022, the Highland Beach Police Department launched its new marine unit, a 28-foot rigid-hull boat outfitted specifically for police usage.
Equipped with twin 225-horsepower engines, the boat was manufactured in Fort Lauderdale and came with a $164,000 price tag. The launch followed two fatal boating accidents on the Intracoastal Waterway within Highland Beach town limits.
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