[Previous entry: "Community Forum On Underage Drinking"] [Next entry: "October Is Scout Popcorn Sale Month"]

10/08/2007: "Council Asked To Take Lead On WSF Issues"

Alex MacLeod is the SJC Ferry Advisory Committee chairman, and he informed the County Council on Tuesday that he had come before them to “raise and alarm and make a recommendation” on the future of ferry service to the San Juans, and to suggest how the Council may be able to have some influence at the state level.

In short, MacLeod told the Councilmen that they need to get more involved than they have in the past, and that “of you are counting on us (the Ferry Advisory Committee) to look out for what needs to be done, you should not, because we cannot.”

The Council was told they need to take a leadership role, and “stand up and say ‘We are not happy’” to the ferry officials. He gave Port Townsend as an example of how local government officials can alter State plans when they get involved.



MacLeod cited statistics showing that smaller and smaller percentages of state transportation revenue are being spent on the Washington State Ferry system while fuel, personnel and capital costs have risen dramatically. “We are going to need a ton of money in this next [state legislative] session,” he said. He described the funding for the ferry system as, “A financial house of cards” and that elected officials will need to shape the inevitable changes that are on the near horizon.

Another of his concerns was what he considered a flawed performance audit recently performed by a consultant under contract with the state Auditor. “It would be laughable if it didn’t have the auditor’s imprimatur on it.”

The performance audit tracked only westbound traffic, he said, so it appeared that certain sailings were running under capacity and were possibly unnecessary because they departed from Anacortes less than half full. But, MacLeod said, the report did not note if the same ferry had arrived completely full and may even have left cars behind when it sailed from Orcas and Friday Harbor. He also said the survey didn’t account for the cyclical nature of the demand for ferry service.

He urged the Council to work with other ferry-served counties to pressure the State Ferry System to open its decision-making process to include local government and user input. “Local government does not have a seat at the table,” he said.

MacLeod attributed some of the current problems to decisions by the WSF management, but he also noted that the state has begun to regard the ferries as a separate transit system, rather than part of the highway system. That, he said, has made it more difficult to build support for funding, as the ferries are vital to only one region of the state.

Though work on capital improvements to ferry terminals has been put on hold, the construction of four new ferries to replace some of the area’s fleet continues. MacLeod expressed concern about the political and practical effects of potential cost overruns that could result from recent, widespread increases in labor and material costs.

Councilman Ranker said “we can go it alone, or we can join with other counties,” and Councilman Myhr added that “I appreciate your tone”. Councilman Peterson summed it up by stating that “we need to lay out a plan sson.” The Council agreed that it should get involved and would begin its involvement with a workshop meeting on ferry service to plan its strategy.