By Nirvi Shah
The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Marine Patrol unit no longer uses the Boynton Inlet as its headquarters and the area will also lose the deputies that patrol Ocean Inlet Park.
The Marine Unit moved because of its cramped quarters and because its south county location meant it was sometimes inefficient to patrol some of the northern coastline, sheriff’s spokeswoman Teri Barbera said.
The 12 deputies, two sergeants, a lieutenant, two mechanics and other staff simply didn’t fit anymore in their offices at Boynton Inlet. They have moved into bigger digs at Phil Foster Park in Riviera Beach.
Barbera said there will always be some members of the Marine Unit working at Boynton Inlet, though she couldn’t say exactly how many because of homeland security rules.
She said although there will be fewer deputies and their patrol boats at Boynton Inlet, the area will be no less protected.
“The coverage will be the same, but we are saving money,’’ Barbera said. “”It took us an hour to get to Jupiter. We’re definitely more centralized.”
Local police agencies said they liked having the Marine Unit close by, but they understand the need to become more efficient in times of tight budgets.
“Those more personal relationships where our officers know their officers, if you need us call — we’ll miss that, which makes for a good working relationship,’’ Manalapan Police Chief Clay Walker said. “I still think they’ll be here when we need them.”
The Sheriff’s Marine Unit helps with immigrants coming ashore, boat fires and other distress calls from troubled boaters.
Amy Tolderland at SeaTow said she can’t see the harm in a change in the unit’s office headquarters.
“As long as they’re out there in the water, where they have their office is irrelevant,” she said. “Our whole thing is what goes on away from the dock.”
Still, though they will still be patrolling the waters near the inlet, Capt. John Allen of Loggerhead Dive Charters said Boynton Inlet needs the Marine Unit to be close at hand.
“You can read the sign: It’s a nonnavigable inlet designed for drainage,” Allen said. “It’s so narrow. The current is so fast going in and out. There’s a sandbar out in front of the inlet.
“We’re going to miss them,” he said. “They’re able to respond to pretty much anything.”
County park officers cut
At the same time the Marine Unit’s presence may diminish, the sheriff’s office is cutting the 52-member parks enforcement staff to save about $7 million — part of a larger budget-cutting undertaking. The deputies will be reassigned to other duties, and the county’s Parks and Recreation Department will have to take on some of their responsibilities, said Eric Call, assistant director of the department.
“It’s a pretty significant hit,” Call said. County parks have had a dedicated law enforcement unit for more than 30 years. The downsizing isn’t supposed to go into effect until Oct. 1, but Call said most deputies have already been reassigned to other jobs away from the county’s 81 parks, including at Ocean Inlet Park at Boynton Inlet and Gulfstream Park near Gulf Stream.
The county has about 17 park rangers who will remain at work. Maintenance staff will take over the duties of opening and closing parks. Sheriff’s deputies on road patrol duty will be called in when needed — but it’s not the same, Call said.
“It’s certainly a greater deterrent seeing a green and white vehicle driving through the parks,” he said. “It’s going to be a tough one.”
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