Buoy situation on lake ‘not bad’: Coast Guard

Six missing buoys were discovered by Craig Coughlin, a navigable waters protection officer for the coast guard, during a patrol of Rainy Lake last week.
He described the situation as “not bad.”
“There were a few buoys that were damaged that we replaced, and maybe half a dozen that were missing,” said Coughlin, who served in the Coast Guard since 1975.
“[From the] media action and phone calls that we’ve been getting in regards to [the missing buoys], I was expecting worse,” he added.
He also said a couple of the missing buoys posed a problem for an average boat but they were replaced immediately.
As of Monday afternoon, some buoys had not been replaced but the rocks they were marking were more than six feet underwater. Those buoys had been placed for old logging tug boats that would draw more than 12 feet of water.
“If the waters levels were lower, [the situation] would be different,” admitted Coughlin, referring to the higher water levels this summer.
Rainy Lake is patrolled by contractor John Ossachuk, who has had the contract since 1995. He was quoted in last Wednesday’s Times as saying he “absolutely” would not bid on the next contract, which comes up for bid in March, 2000.
Many people have complained to both the Coast Guard and OPP about missing or misplaced buoys so far this boating season.
Coughlin said contractor John Ossachuk’s performance was “average” and described former contractor Jim Gladu as “above average.”
Coughlin said he was disappointed when Gladu lost the contract and said, “When something is not broke, why fix it?”
New weights anchoring the buoys weigh significantly more than previous versions. Coughlin said it could be a safety hazard if Ossachuk is doing the job alone.
“In the past, we were using smaller anchors and now we’re using bigger anchors so you need more than one person to manage them,”
Is it safe to do the job alone?
“Not really, not with one person,” Coughlin said.
The last contract was won with a bid between $8,000-$9,000. Gladu’s last contract paid him over $14,000. Not enough money to pay two people.
The coast guard could be putting themselves in a dangerous situation in Ossachuk were to be injured.
Steve Mechan, a contract procurement officer in Sarnia, Ont., did not return messages left by the Times.
“We don’t see the contracts until they are signed and everything from down east,” said Coughlin.