The head of the state ferry system was fairly upbeat as he addressed a meeting at the Senior Center Thursday night, but David Moseley indicated some tough work is still ahead to put the ferry system on an even keel.
Moseley said the legislature approved almost everything in what had been called Plan A, which was to keep the ferry system running as it has been, with no reductions in schedules. He called the legislature’s actions “a significant positive step in these very difficult economic times.”
Moseley said they left out one important necessity: a long-trem funding mechanism for paying for new ferries. He and Washington State Ferries Planning Director Ray Deardorf said without a permanent funding source, the ferry system’s capital improvement fund stands to be $936 million in the hole over the next 16 year period. They said the operating fund would have a $127 million gap over the same period.
Moseley said “I believe we need to help the legislature identify a source of comprehensive funding. We need a broad array of tools.” Moseley said ferry funding must be part of overall transportation funding in Washington, or else the ferry system might just lose out.
The federal government might be a source of funding, Moseley suggested. “This is an opportunity,” he said. He pointed out that WSF has already received $12 million in federal stimulus dollars and that WSF has applications in for another $50-60 million.
To get local, Moseley said WSF might be able to build a new Anacortes ferry terminal, if federal dollars become available. A new terminal has been on the drawing board for quite awhile, but the legislature has not funded it, but did okay building it with federal money.
Moseley said WSF will pursue a reservations system, something he said must be instituted. He said that WSF has talked with ferry operators around the world and that all of them have reservation systems. One has had a reservation system for 40 years. The state legislature mandated WSF to investigate and return to the next legislative session with some sort of plan.