I-Team: Ashtabula County officials call to restaff Coast Guard station

ASHTABULA , Ohio (WJW) — The FOX 8 I-Team has found local leaders are asking the U.S. Coast Guard to put rescuers back on one section of Lake Erie, claiming boaters in emergency situations may have to wait longer for help because a Coast Guard station in Ashtabula closed.

Ashtabula officials said they have had more than a dozen rescue situations this summer already and they believe that the Ashtabula Harbor Coast Guard station should be staffed.

“We as a community don’t have the resources and training,” said Geneva-on-the-Lake Mayor Dwayne Bennett. “Even our surrounding agencies don’t have the resources and training without the Coast Guard’s help.”

Ashtabula City Manager Jim Timonere agrees with the mayor.

“We have been fighting this battle and we appreciate all the help we have been getting trying to get them back here,” Timonere said. “We understand the staffing issues, and we understand what they are trying to do, but this is putting everything back on us and we don’t have the resources or training.”

Coast Guard officials sent a statement to the FOX 8 I-Team saying the Ashtabula Harbor Station is currently not staffed and there are no plans to staff the location at this time. Officials said the decision not to staff the Ashtabula station was made in November, due to short-staffing issues. However, on Tuesday, Coast Guard officials said that from this weekend through Labor Day, a boat crew from Station Erie will be on site in Ashtabula and will be ready to respond to calls for help.

“Ashtabula has a storied history of a Coast Guard station there,” said U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown.

He said he wants the Coast Guard to once again staff the Ashtabula Harbor Station.

“We need to fight this. It means a lot to Ashtabula.”

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