Lake Santeetlah – Off-duty Graham County deputies will now be paid to patrol Lake Santeetlah in uniform – and in sheriff’s department vehicles – in a deal struck with Graham County Sheriff Jerry Crisp.
The measure was approved 4-1, with Roger Carlton opposed. Carlton expressed concerns regarding liability to the town should an officer harm someone or otherwise go outside the scope of the agreement.
Attorney Craig Justus also agreed with some of Carlton’s concerns, but said it wasn’t as serious because of how unique the agreement and the town’s situation was.
“I’m totally supportive of doing this, but doing it the right way,” Carlton said.
Carlton also mentioned potential tax issues the arrangement could causes, citing the IRS not accepting 1099 forms from officers submitted by officers, costing the town money.
“I think that this thing is not ready for prime time,” he said.
Justus noted how unusual the agreement was, saying that the town was trying to put a ”square peg in a round hole.”
He said that he understood Carlton’s concerns, but that they were not as important as they would normally be given the type of agreement.
“The problem is this is a memorandum of understanding, that by its very nature it’s somewhat loose,” Justus said.
The agreement also includes a 30-day notice of termination and a $25 hourly rate to the sheriff’s office.
Lake permits
The board also heard from Brookfield Renewable land use specialist George Stephens regarding dock permits on the lake.
Stephens said that for the most part, he had been able to contact every dock owner on the lake – with the exception of approximately 10, whose emails were obsolete and a smaller number of new residents not yet on the list.
“At this time, no one’s going to be at risk of losing their dock permits,” Stephens said.