Committee hears plea to expand lake life-ring program; council funding reported verbally approved

The Neighborhood Improvement Committee heard a presentation from a Life Ring representative about expanding flotation-ring stations at town lakes after a recent fatal rescue attempt. The committee was told the group had requested additional funds from the council to place life rings at multiple lakes; committee members said the council verbally agreed to cover the equipment for a set of rings but that formal budget confirmation was pending. Aiden Perry, who identified himself as a representative of Life Ring, described the origin of the program after a young man he named Aiden Perry (a family member) and another person died when a car entered a lake: “His mom and his family have introduced life rings, like, life — literally life rings, along different lakes, especially in areas where there's cars, to prevent a tragedy like that from happening again.” Perry said the group used remaining funds from last year’s budget and then requested “additional $22,400 and some change” from the council to expand stations. Committee members said council staff indicated the council could fund 10 life rings and would “pick the tab up,” while acknowledging that some committee members thought the request had been for 15 rings. The committee did not take a formal vote on the funding request at the meeting. Town staff present were asked to confirm final budget allocation with the budget officer and report back to the committee. Committee members and a resident exchanged procedural questions about how the program would be rolled out, and whether the exact number of rings and installation sites had been finalized; the number and sites were described as “not specified” in committee discussion. The presentation emphasized public education: “throw a flotation device. Don't throw in yourself,” the Life Ring representative said, urging residents to use devices rather than entering the water to attempt a rescue. The committee did not enact a policy change or adopt funding in the meeting; staff follow-up to confirm the council’s financing and the number of rings was requested. The committee’s next steps are to await confirmation from the town budget officer on how much the council will formally allocate and where the new life-ring stations would be installed.