Yellow Pages
David Moseley, Washington State Ferries assistant secretary, returns to Anacortes June 11, six months after presenting a long-range plan that drove many to action through the Save Our Ferry group.
The main purpose of the meeting will be to recap the state legislative session that, in the end, saved the Anacortes to Sidney, B.C., ferry run and provided funds for more boats.
Moseley said he felt progress was made and the state is on the right path, though there are still issues to address, including long-term funding.
It was at a January meeting in Anacortes that Moseley presented two options of a draft long-range plan that laid out the agency’s operation and capital needs until 2030. The first was far from possible with a $3.5 billion deficit during the next 22 years.
But the second wasn’t much better with a smaller deficit of $1.4 million and cuts made system-wide, including eliminating the Anacortes/Sidney run and sustaining only current levels of service elsewhere in the system.
All 27 people who spoke at that public hearing were against canceling the run, including Anacortes Ferry Advisory Committee Chair and SOF member Duane Clark. Clark said WSF’s second option was not a workable plan in any form and should not have even been on the table.
Mayor Dean Maxwell said he was disappointed how much WSF underestimated the value Anacortes put on the Sidney run. He brought up the 2007 E.D. Hovee and Company economic report that lays out the benefits the run provides to the region by creating jobs and tax revenue for the city, county and state.
WSF’s plan went to the Legislature later that month along with Gov. Christine Gregoire’s draft 2009-2011 transportation budget that also eliminated the Sidney run.
In the meantime, the SOF group went into full force, hiring a lobbyist, initiating a letter-writing campaign to legislators and coming up with a three-point agenda that included not only saving the Sidney run, but restoring year-round service and making the run bullet-proof, as Clark said.
Now six months later, the Legislature has set up WSF to survive the next two years — but the problem of revenue not matching expenses still exists.
In April, Moseley wrote in his weekly e-mail update that the most important progress coming from the Legislature was funding to continue current service levels and for two 64-car ferries. However, it did not provide clear direction on a funding plan to make WSF financially sustainable.
What the Legislature did come away with was “a much greater understanding of the financial dilemma facing the ferry system now than at the beginning of the session,” he said. “This knowledge base should help resolve the funding question in future sessions.”
Clark agreed that a number of things are now in place to help the ferry system.
“I’m more optimistic about the track we’re on,” Clark said. “Nothing will take us off this path if we do our job.”
As for goal two of the three-point agenda, restoring year-round service, there have been discussions regarding operating the run during the 2010 Olympics, Clark said.
“Whether that translates into a continuation of year-round service, I don’t know,” he said. “But I intend to continue working to make it year round.”
Clark emphasized the importance of promoting the Sidney run, working out a long-term resolution to the high Sidney docking fees and supporting WSF’s effort to get federal funds for more boats. Solving those issues would give him more confidence the run could become bullet-proof, he said.
Additional issues on the front burner that will be discussed at the June 11 meeting are the proposal for a system-wide reservation system and fare increases, Clark said.
Though the Legislature suggested no more than 2.5 percent annual increases, the Washington State Transportation Commission sets the fares, and it recommended up to 6 percent increases, Clark said.
Moseley and WSF staff also plan to respond to questions and listen to comments at the meeting 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Fidalgo Senior Center.
Nine public meetings are being held in ferry communities throughout the Puget Sound in June.
Community meeting
Washington State Ferries Assistant Secretary David Moseley and staff members will host a community meeting 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, June 11 at the Senior Center.
Discussion topics include a recap of the legislative session and WSF’s agenda for next year.
