Yellow Pages
Funding to continue operating the threatened Anacortes to Sidney, B.C., ferry — and all Washington State Ferry routes — is included in the Senate and House proposed 2009-2011 transportation budgets.
The good news came a week ago from the Senate and Monday from the House.
The run’s finances got a boost Monday when the Town of Sidney arranged for a $100,000 reduction in docking fees between WSF and BC Ferries, which leases the terminal and dock from the town.
That means instead of nearly $400,000 per season, WSF will pay less than $300,000 per year for three years. After that the contract will be renegotiated.
“As I’ve always said, we can’t celebrate until the ink is dry,” said Duane Clark, member of the Anacortes Ferry Advisory Committee and the Save Our Ferry group. “But we’re more hopeful than we’ve been in the past. We have reason to be hopeful but still reason to be cautious.”
The Sidney run was cut in Gov. Christine Gregoire’s proposed budget and in WSF’s proposed long-range plan, both announced in December before they headed to the Legislature.
The final budget is scheduled to be completed by April 26, the last day of the Legislative session, before it goes to the governor’s office for Gregoire’s signature.
“We really worked hard to prioritize with our limited resources,” said Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, which drafted the budget.
Those priorities are maintenance and preservation, followed by operating costs and debt service, she said.
The state ferries system is part of the highway system and is to be funded accordingly, said Sen. Curtis King of Yakima at last week’s Senate press conference. Its budget proposal treats the ferry system, which is in a financial crisis with an aging fleet that has led to numerous service disruptions, as a priority, he said.
“The ferries have been difficult, hard to figure out and languishing,” said Rep. Judy Clibborn who chairs the House Transportation Committee. But she added that the ferry system is a state icon.
The Senate proposed budget allocates more than $4.3 billion in transportation funding for more than 400 projects across the state in the next two years. The House budget allocates $4.6 billion for the same number of projects.
Not on either list, however, is the planned Highway 20 roundabout at Sharpes Corner, which is deferred until 2019.
The project, tentatively scheduled to begin in 2012, is one of 31 transportation projects delayed until additional, future transportation revenue is identified by the Legislature, said Sen. Chris Marr of Spokane.
Neither budget proposal includes funding for the planned Anacortes ferry terminal replacement, but the project could still go forward if WSF seeks and receives additional federal funds, Haugen said.
During the past two years, the Legislature has been combing over WSF’s budget, Haugen said. A lot of money was going into terminals, something that does not impact the ferry system as much as boats. What the Legislature has done is reprioritize, she said.
Rep. Christine Rolfes said the House was able to cut $1.8 billion from WSF’s original plan.
Both budget proposals include funds for maintaining all routes currently in the system and capital funds for 64-auto capacity ferries — three in House and four in the Senate proposal — to be purchased within the 2009-11 and 2011-13 biennia, and begin funding for two 144-auto capacity ferries in future biennia.
The Senate budget directs the Transportation Commission to develop a fuel surcharge system to begin during the 2011-13 biennium, while both budget proposals provide funding for WSF to expand its reservation system starting with a pilot project in 2010 and limit fare increases to 2.5 percent per year.
Because of rising construction costs, though moderated in the last three years, and declining dedicated transportation revenues from less gas tax being collected, the state will be down approximately $514 million in revenue for the 2009-2011 biennium, according to the Senate’s figures.
