Search and Rescue Granted Approval for $3,500 High-Visibility Life Jacket Procurement

Northeast Radio SD News – Watertown, SD - Volunteer rescue personnel in Codington County will soon be equipped with upgraded safety gear following the authorization of a $3,500 life jacket purchase by the Board of Commissioners. The funding, approved during Tuesday’s meeting, will replace aging, obsolete personal flotation devices currently used by the Search and Rescue team.

Emergency Management Director Andrew Delgado presented the request, explaining that a close evaluation of the team’s existing equipment locker revealed a critical need for modernization. Many of the life jackets currently deployed in the field are older models relying on manual pull-tabs for inflation, which limits their practicality and safety during grueling water operations.

“A lot of the ones that were issued to individual members, they’re like ones with little inflatable pull-tabs,” Delgado explained to the board. “They’re pretty old... you can’t exactly test them and then use them again.”

Northeast Radio: South Dakota's Local Voice streaming live 24/7, offering hyper-local news, talk, and music to Watertown and the surrounding region. Connect with them on various platforms for the latest updates.

To resolve the issue, Delgado proposed purchasing 24 specialized mesh, high-visibility life jackets engineered for professional rescue operations, valued at approximately $140 each. The acquisition strategy aims to place two life jackets of varying sizes into every active emergency response vehicle, ensuring appropriate gear is immediately accessible on-site during water rescues.

“They cost about $140 a piece,” Delgado noted. “They want to get two of each size, you know, for each of the vehicles, so that we would have them on site... They have a really good range of motion and should fit our needs very well.”

Commissioner Myron Johnson questioned which line item would absorb the expense, and Delgado confirmed the costs would be fully covered within the Search and Rescue budget designation (Fund 256), requiring no supplemental draws from the county’s general fund.

Commissioner Tyler McElhany brought forward the motion, received a second from Randy Schweer, and it was carried via a unanimous voice vote.