HOLLAND, Mich. - With beach weather just around the corner, things at the Holland Coast Guard Station are changing.
"Station Holland is going to be absorbed by station Grand Haven and turned into what the Coast Guard calls a station small," Chief Adam Smart, the officer in charge at the Holland station said.
Absorbed, a word that often can sound worrisome when it comes to staffing, but according to Chief Smart this time, that's not the case.
"It's a positive thing," he told 13 On Your Side on Thursday.
"Basically adds more consistency. There's less issues with scheduling and personnel and we don't have to worry about making a phone call to Grand Haven to utilize their personnel, which in turn would leave them without that person for a busy weekend in that summer."
Over the last few years, Smart says they have ran the station on weekends only but because he and the other officer lived in the area they took it upon themselves to lend a hand during the week if need be. Chief Adam Smart says his and another full-time position are being cut, that leaves room for Grand Haven to hire more personnel to run the Holland station on weekends consistently.
"In the past we used the Coast Guard Reserves to allow us to have the staff here over on the weekends and summer to conduct our missions and now the Coast Guard will be getting five active duty full-time personnel that will be here to run and manage the station in the summertime."
Smart says the change in staffing has nothing to do with funding but a better way to utilize their staff. Most importantly, he says it won't impact rescue response time.
"The Coast Guard will continue to be out on the water conducting its missions and responding to calls as necessary as it has been in years past," Smart added.
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