The Anacortes City Council on Dec. 8 authorized an interlocal agreement with Skagit County to provide the Anacortes Police Department (APD) with a share of vessel-registration fees to support a marine unit focused on education, enforcement and accident prevention.

Chief Floyd said the agreement would provide the APD with about 30 percent of vessel-registration fees allocated to Skagit County and estimated the amount to be in the neighborhood of $15,000. He added the city expected roughly $15,000 in 2026 from Washington State Parks via a Coast Guard pass-through grant. Floyd described the marine unit’s mission as public outreach, education, enforcement and accident prevention, and said the program’s funding sources (state parks grants, vessel-registration fees and grant overtime funding) would allow the unit to operate independently of the general fund.

Chief Floyd addressed operational questions raised by council, including insurance (identified at about $222 annually by the fleet manager), minimum staffing (no decrease to minimum road patrol staffing) and potential mooring locations (city-owned floats and port-owned options under review). He noted other nearby agencies that operate trained marine patrols are typically moored in La Conner or Bellingham, which increases response time to Anacortes-area incidents.

Councilman Walters moved to authorize the mayor to sign the interlocal agreement as presented; Mister Fantini seconded. The motion carried by roll-call vote. Council members asked staff to return with operational numbers and response-time estimates for future briefings.