Ohio's community-focused safe boating grants set sail for 10 entities

The Ohio Division of Parks and Recreation is again opening its Waterways Safety Fund wallet to assist local entities in promoting safe boating programs.

This year more than $240,000 from the Fund is being provided to support 10 community boating safety education programs this year, says officials with the Watercraft arm of the division.

Individual grants this year range from $8,875.23 to $30,000. Grant money comes via the fund, which itself is fueled by a share of the state motor fuel tax as it relates to expenditures that boaters use for their vessels.

Other Fund revenue sources include watercraft registration and titling fees, along with additional dollars from the U.S. Coast Guard.

For this year a total of $240,003.36 is being awarded to 10 community boating safety education programs.

The boating safety education grant program was formed in 1982 when the Ohio legislature authorized the Ohio Department of Natural Resources to award funds for boating education.

Grant applications are due on November 1^st for the following year. There is also a free grant workshop for interested parties each September. Beginning with the 2017 grant season, grant recipients became eligible for boating safety education grants once every three years.

One of the department’s key ongoing goals is to reduce boating accidents, mishaps and fatalities within the state of Ohio through boater education, also said Mike Bailey, chief of the Division of Parks and Watercraft.

“Our natural resources officers and educators regularly help fulfill this mission by conducting safe boating education programs statewide,” Bailey said.

Bailey said that grants are “user-pay” in order to help fund “ “user-benefit programs,” which are specifically funded by Ohio’s recreational boaters.

“Grant recipients are great local partners, assisting the Natural Resources Department by teaching safe boating practices to residents all across Ohio,” Bailey said.

“The 2018 recipients specialize in teaching safe boating programs in urban areas, to people with special needs, to people from rural areas, to college students and to residents who visit their local metro parks.”

This year’s grant recipients are: The Great Miami Rowing Center in Butler County - $20,425; the Berea Power Squadron in Cuyahoga County - $8,875; the Mayfield Village Parks and Recreation Department in Cuyahoga County - $28,027; the Adaptive Adventure Sports Coalition in Delaware County - $29,791; the American Kayaking Association in Franklin County - $22,320; HERO USA in Franklin County - $28,696; Hocking College in Hocking County - $30,000; the U.S. Freshwater Boaters Alliance in Mercer County - $17,889; the Miami Valley Boy Scout Council in Preble County - $24,000; The Barberton Parks and Recreation Department in Summit County - $29,977.

In large measure, much credit to the financial success of the program goes to the Coast Guard.

And the Coast Guard/State cooperative effort in recreational boating safety “is an outstanding example of the ability of government at all levels to work together for the benefit of the public and has directly resulted in safer boating for millions of Americans,” says the service in a highlighted explanation of its grant authorization duties.

“This is evidenced by the fact that the number of reported recreational boating fatalities has been reduced from a high of 1,754 in 1973 to about 700 per year. During the same period, the number of boats owned by Americans more than doubled,” the Coast Guard says as well.

In all, during Fiscal 2017, the Coast Guard distributed $105.52 million in various grant monies to the 50 states and various trust territories. Ohio received $3.87 million – the forth largest amount in Fiscal 2017 – and which went to both state use and distribution to approved local entities.

The state which received the greatest amount for in-state use and distribution was Florida with $10.55 million.

- Jeffrey L. Frischkorn

JFrischk@Ameritech.net