11/21/2008 11:03:00 AM Rough waters ahead for Keystone ferry
Kasia Pierzga / The Whidbey Examiner
Passengers enjoy a view of Marrowstone Island and the Olympic Mountains as they ride the Steilacoom II across Admiralty Inlet from Keystone to Port Townsend. The vehicle ferry will be temporarily replaced by a passenger-only vessel for up to four weeks in January for repairs and scheduled maintenance.
Kasia Pierzga / The Whidbey Examiner
Passengers enjoy a sunny afternoon ride on the ferry Steilacoom II as it crosses Admiralty Inlet. Washington State Ferries may ask the Legislature for more money to build vessels after the lone bid to build a new Keystone ferry came in over budget.
By Justin Burnett Examiner Staff Writer
With the lone bid to build two ferries for the Keystone-Port Townsend ferry route coming in $28 million higher than projected, there's a good chance the state could decide to build only one.
And according to some Port Townsend business leaders, that's not such a bad idea - at least for businesses in Jefferson County.
Jefferson County Ferry Advisory Committee Chairman Tim Caldwell says the state should build just one car ferry for the route, and use the leftover money to build a passenger ferry to transport people between Port Townsend and Seattle.
Caldwell, the former director of the Port Townsend Chamber of Commerce, made the comments in a story reported in the Nov. 19 issue of the Peninsula Daily News.
Caldwell could not be reached before the Examiner went to press Wednesday, but the Port Townsend Chamber's new Director, Rod Davis, said his organization wants to do whatever it can to bring tourism dollars to the city.
"My suspicion is [the chamber's board of directors] is going to support whatever makes it easier and more convenient for people to get to Port Townsend," Davis said.
Seattle-based Todd Pacific Shipyards bid $124.5 million to build two vehicle ferries for the route. WSF officials had estimated the cost of the two new Island Home-style ferries at about $96 million.
Todd provided a bid to build a single vessel, but that bid also was higher than expected - by $16 million. Todd said it could build one vessel for $65 million, but Ferries officials had estimated construction at $49 million.
Earlier this year, the Legislature allocated $84.5 million to build one to three ferries that would replace the Steel Electric vessels that were pulled from service in November 2007.
If Port Townsend successfully lobbies for its own passenger-only ferry to Seattle, it wouldn't be the first time that ferry service to Central Whidbey got the short end of the stick. In 2007, two weeks before Christmas, Port Townsend business owners who were panicked over the ill-timed loss of the Steel Electrics were able to convince state Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond to create a special "shopping ferry" to shuttle passengers directly from Seattle.
The route between Whidbey Island and Port Townsend was left with a small, private whale-watching boat to provide passenger ferry service. Whidbey Island's legislators, local elected officials and business leaders did not learn of Hammond's decision to give Port Townsend its own dedicated shopping ferry until the day the special route began service.
However, officials in Jefferson County are careful in characterizing their legislative strategy on the ferry issue. Port Townsend Mayor Michelle Sandoval said that while passenger-only ferry service from Seattle would help businesses on the west end of the route, she would probably not support a plan that would hurt the economy in Coupeville and Whidbey Island.
"I feel we are partners and we won't do something rogue," Sandoval said.
Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, D-Camano Island, who is also the chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, said Whidbey Island residents have nothing to worry about.
"The state is not getting back into the passenger-ferry business," Haugen said. "And [one-ferry service] wouldn't be better for Coupeville."
Haugen, Sandoval and Central Whidbey Chamber of Commerce President Sarah Richards support an idea proposed at the Legislature's Joint Transportation Committee meeting Nov. 17. Representatives of the Cedar River Group, a policy-consulting firm that's working on ferry issues, suggested that WSF officials put off building two 144-car ferries and build four 64-car ferries of the Island Home design instead.
The Island Home is a vessel being used in Martha's Vineyard, Mass. The Legislature directed Washington State Ferries to build new ferries for the Keystone route, which is currently being served by the Steilacoom II, a small vehicle ferry leased from Pierce County.
Building four ferries of the Island Home design would allow Washington State Ferries to put two vehicle ferries on the Keystone route, and send two others to the Point Defiance-Vashon Island route and the inter-island route in the San Juan Islands.
Cedar River Group officials have suggested that the state could make up for the delayed delivery of the 144-car ferries by moving one Superclass ferry from the San Juan Islands to the Clinton-Mukilteo route, which needs more space for transporting vehicles.
Cedar River Group officials also presented another idea at the meeting. They said the agency could save millions of dollars if the Legislature waives a state law that prohibits out-of-state shipyards from building state ferries.
According to John Boylston, a naval architect at the meeting, the shipyard that built the original Island Home - Halter Marine of Mississippi - could build another one for just $47 million.
That's because Halter has already done engineering for the Island Home, and labor and steel are cheaper in Mississippi.
But Haugen said she does not support the idea of building ferries out of state, no matter how much money it might save.
"We need jobs here," she said.
State Rep. Norma Smith, R-Clinton, also a member of the Joint Transportation Committee, said she, too, is reluctant to outsource construction of state ferries. However, she said she had not yet made up her mind about the issue.
Another option would be to ask the Legislature for more money. Despite the troubled economy and what is expected to be a tight state budget year, both Haugen and Smith expressed confidence that two boats will be built for the Keystone-Port Townsend route.
WSF Assistant Secretary David Moseley said he isn't sure what the Legislature would decide. But he did confirm that his agency is preparing for the worst.
"We've been asked to look at what a system would look like with no new revenue," he said.
The range of possible scenarios include significantly reduced service, such as running the ferry only when it's reached its vehicle-carrying capacity, or significantly increasing fares. Despite a 35 percent drop in traffic on the Keystone route since the loss of the Steel Electrics, it's unlikely to be shut down because the route is considered critical for the transportation of military personnel between the Whidbey Island Naval Air Station and Navy facilities on the west side of Puget Sound.
Moseley dismissed all of those scenarios as just rumor: "We are not at that stage yet."
Moseley said he understood that Todd's bid came in high because of the short, 18-month timeline that would require significant overtime. But Moseley said the issue hadn't been raised in a pre-bid conference held months ago with six interested Washington shipbuilders, including Todd.
"I didn't hear anyone say it's going to cost you more money," Moseley said.
WSF has 90 days to either accept or reject the bid. However, Moseley said the Whidbey community deserves a quick decision, which is why an effort will be made to take no more than a month.
"I'm sure they are very anxious about what will occur," he said.
