Stanly County commissioners approved a new boat for the sheriff’s office at Monday’s meeting.

The boat will be a 22-foot center console Ken Craft 219 Bay Rider and cost $70,339. However, Cube Hydro Carolinas will donate $30,000 for the boat which will patrol Badin Lake. The rest of the costs will come from the county’s fund balance from drug forfeitures.

Currently, the sheriff’s boat which was at Badin will move to patrol Lake Tillery. This boat is 20 years old and has a refurbished motor, Sheriff’s Deputy Ashley Thompson said. It was bought by Alcoa.

Thompson said the county got a discount on the boat as part of a larger purchase by the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. The new boat fits the NCWRC specifications for size, configuration, seating, batteries, motor and electronic equipment.

“We’re going to let our drug dealers offset the cost of our boat,” Thompson said.

Chairman Bill Lawhon said, “Lake Tillery is getting busier…there are lots of big homes that pay big tax dollars, which is good for all the citizens. I’m glad this is happening…boat traffic has really picked up. “

Thompson noted 12 officers from the department have been trained by Wildlife Resources Commission. The patrols increase in the summer, with many school resource officers working shifts on the lake.

“We are not asking for any more manpower; we can reallocate them on the lake,” Thompson said.