King County Taking Steps to Take Over Vashon Run

Though ferry districts can now submit plans for passenger routes, a Kingston-Seattle route is still up in the air.

By Ed Friedrich - Kitsap Sun

April 27, 2007

King County Metro could soon be carrying South Kitsap residents to downtown Seattle.

The county is preparing to take over the Vashon Island passenger ferry from the state. It’s the final leg for scores of Kitsap commuters, who transfer boats after riding the car ferry from Southworth.

About 300 people make the round trip each weekday. More than 100 of them start out in Kitsap County.

They won’t see any changes for a while. The Legislature recently directed Washington State Ferries to keep operating the route "until such time as the route is assumed by another entity," and budgeted $1.83 million to run it from July 1 of this year to June 30, 2008.

The next year, according to a business plan King County submitted to Gov. Chris Gregoire, the state would still operate the route but the county would pay for any losses, said Jill Satran, the governor’s executive policy adviser on transportation. The route was $1.3 million in the red in 2006.

Then, on July 1, 2009, the county would take over the route completely with its own crew and boats.

The schedule is expected to remain the same for the next couple of years, Satran said, so Kitsap riders should still be able to transfer from the state-operated car ferry. After King County takes full ownership, it can change things around.

Last year, lawmakers passed a bill that allows counties to form ferry districts and levy a property tax increase — without a vote — of up to 75 cents per $1,000 valuation to pay for boats, docks, parking, and operations. It directed Washington State Ferries to sell its passenger ferries, the Chinook and Snohomish, and to make the proceeds available for passenger-ferry grants.

Ferry districts must submit business plans for the Vashon-Seattle or Kingston-Seattle routes to the governor and, if accepted, begin operating no later than July 1, 2008.

The Kingston-Seattle route is up in the air. Aqua Express, a private partnership, offered service for 10 months before high fuel costs and low ridership forced it to quit. It holds the rights for the route until July 1. Company Chairman John Blackman said Wednesday that it is looking at several options in conjunction with Kitsap Transit.

The transit agency board has said it can’t spend any money on passenger ferries, but it could possibly help Aqua Express secure federal and state grants.

Should Aqua Express give up the route, the Kingston Express Association wants to make a run at it. It has teamed with the Port of Kingston to request a $3.5 million federal grant and would like to work with Kitsap Transit in pursuing state grants, said Nels Sultan, the co-op venture’s manager.

A ferry district was introduced to the King County Council last Thursday, said Chris Arkills, senior legislative assistant for Councilman Dow Constantine, whose district includes Vashon Island.

Besides taking over the Vashon-Seattle route, King County would beef up the summer-only West Seattle water taxi into more of a full-time commuter service and set up a demonstration route between Kirkland and the University of Washington. It plans to pay for those by increasing property taxes by a nickel, Arkills said.

King County’s original business plan included an option for a triangle route stopping at Vashon, Southworth and downtown Seattle. The governor sent it back for changes. The new plan submitted April 3 doesn’t include Southworth. That would require a financial commitment from Kitsap County, Arkills said.

Gregoire will review the plan within the next week, possibly as soon as today, Satran said.

"We’re doing all the things we need to do to assume the service," Arkills said. "The steps would be submitting the plan to the governor, which we’ve done, establish an operating body of the ferry district, which we’re doing right now, and eventually setting a (tax) rate and enacting that ferry district," Arkills said.

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