Lummi Island Ferry Advisory Committee (LIFAC) February 2, 2016

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1 DISCLAIMER: This document is a draft and is provided as a courtesy. This document is not to be considered as the final minutes. All information contained herein is subject to change upon further review and approval by the Lummi Ferry Advisory Committee. Lummi Island Ferry Advisory Committee (LIFAC) February 2, 2016 CALL TO ORDER Committee Member Stu Clark called the meeting to order at 6:32 pm. Clark thanked the Lummi Island Volunteer Fire Department for the continued use of the Fire Hall for the monthly LIFAC meetings at no cost. ROLL CALL Present: Charles Antholt, Rhayma Blake, Stu Clark, Cris Colburn, Heidi Forbes, Nancy Ging Absent: Charles Bailey (Excused) FLAG SALUTE NOMINATION AND ELECTION OF OFFICERS Clark called for an election of officers to a six-month term. Chairman - Antholt nominated Clark and Colburn seconded the motion. Ging offered to serve. Vote was Clark 3, Ging 2, Abstain 1 Vice-Chairman Colburn nominated Ging. Approved by consensus. Secretary Blake volunteered. Approved by consensus. MINUTES CONSENT Ging reported that July 2015 and January 2016 meeting minutes are still missing. Blake asked previous board members to assume responsibility for those and would act as secretary going forward. OPEN SESSION Mike Skehan Skehan thanked the new LIFAC members for serving. He encouraged the committee to develop definitions of good ferry service that are more meaningful than the current Level of Service (LOS) of 513 trips per capita, basing service on how tolerable delays are. Afternoon rush hours are the customary time period used to develop LOS. He estimated that currently the ferry averages only 50% full during the winter and 55% full during the summer. Water resources limit island growth to a maximum 2,222 population, but he estimated that up to half of those lots are unbuildable. He also encouraged LIFAC to use Office of Financial Management (OFM) population estimates. Antholt thanked Skehan and noted that the numbers we had were from the U. S. Bureau of Census for Lummi Island. (Notes attached) Jim Dickinson Dickinson requested that LIFAC follow the format used 1

2 by the Whatcom County Citizens Task Force for the Lummi Island Ferry in 2011 that provided citizens the opportunity to speak early in the meeting and again either during or at the end of the meeting to clarify issues. His three pages of written comments are attached. Highlights include: o TREK Dickinson provided details that indicate that the TREK lane width is superior to that of the Whatcom Chief, meaning it is a 15- car ferry, not a 10-car ferry as Public Works had claimed with the addition of bumpers. o DRY-DOCK COSTS - Dickinson contends that dry-dock costs could be $180,000 lower than at present: $100,000 savings in infrastructure and rental costs and $80,000 in lost vehicle/driver revenues. o HIYU - The 34-car HIYU is scheduled for its every-other-year drydocking in March 2016 in Fairhaven at a cost of $170,000. Dickinson encourages LIFAC members to read the HIYU report and consider its advantages. o STATE FERRY RIDERSHIP Dickinson reports that State ferry ridership increased 10% on the San Juan routes in 2015 due to more Californians moving to Washington. o FEDERAL FUNDING OF FERRIES Dickinson understands that upcoming federal grants will only be available for new ferries built by minority contractors and serving urban areas, which would exclude Lummi Island. This might build the case to consider a used vs. new ferry. Wynne Lee Lee submitted the following request in writing: With regard to the ferry terminals at Gooseberry Pt and Lummi Island, what is the highest water level (including tides, low pressure effects, storm surges, wave action, best current prediction of 50-year climate change-related increase in mean sea level) at which the Whatcom Chief or a similar ferry dock could not dock safely? OLD BUSINESS Update from Rob Ney, Public Works Special Programs Manager, Ferry Division o Ney apologized for the late notice on the February 10 th ferry service maintenance outage. Notice is typically given two weeks before. o New flappers have been installed on the Gooseberry Point side. Public Works is waiting for better weather before scheduling the closure that will be required for adding the new flappers to the Lummi Island side due to the welding that will be required. It will probably be late on a Friday or Saturday night. o Dead cars left in the ferry parking areas are being tagged with three days notice being given. The responsibility may be shifted 2

3 to senior ferry crew members in the future. o Senior Master Hudson is creating standardized procedures for training. He is working with other senior masters to develop training to be used with new hires, including the three new oncall employees who have just received offers. Personnel are spread thin right now so the new-hires will be welcomed. There is training in the wheelhouse as well. o When Ging asked about the count strips on the road, Ney said they count trips by hour. The other side of Public Works manages them, so he did not have details. Antholt inquired about the request he and Colburn had made for tracking ridership, and Ney reported that he and Hudson are still developing a process that might be more cost effective in which the crew might be able to fill that request. Antholt said he would share a copy of that request with the other LIFAC members. Minutes for LIFAC Meetings o Clark pinpointed a lack of meeting minutes and would like to pursue the services of someone not on the committee. Colburn stated that the secretary is responsible but that hampers her participation. Blake offered to compile minutes, but not at the level of detail provided by the previous secretary. Antholt suggested we all need to help on this task. o Drafts of minutes can be circulated by , but can only be changed and approved at meetings. Possible Components of the Level Of Service (LOS) Standard Clark clarified that this LOS would be used to determine the capacity of a replacement ferry. Ney agreed that it is a critical first step in the process of replacing the Whatcom Chief. We would need to get the County Council buy-in on the recommendation. Ging would like a better understanding of the consequences of not meeting LOS standards. Possible elements were presented by Ging, with additions made by Blake, Skehan, and Dickinson: o Population o Scheduled trips o Possible trips o Parking at both Gooseberry Point and the island side o Wait times o Length of wait lines o Capacity to handle commuter peaks o Capacity to handle seasonal peaks o Perceived needs of ferry riders (what s acceptable) o Reasonable expectations for car ferry access in terms of wait 3

4 times and frequency o Span of service/hours of operation o Vehicle occupancy/driver only vs. full o Alternate methods of addressing travel demand/better interface with WTA/carpooling alternatives that would reduce the number of vehicles o Able to handle any vehicle that roads can legally handle by width, length, and weight o Fuel efficiency Ney commented that discounts for fully occupied vehicles had been considered in the past but the likelihood of abuse seemed high. Antholt asked for a copy of the crew contract. It was determined that the crew s flexibility is negotiated. 1.aspx?searchid=72341cf ce-920e-3e46740c9b9e Whatcom County Comp Plan (Draft March 2015, Chapter 6) - References to Lummi Island o Ging identified the explicit removal of concurrency requirements for the ferry route in the latest draft. Concurrency requires counties to adopt and enforce ordinances which prohibit development approval if the development causes the level of service on a locally owned transportation facility to decline below the standards adopted, unless transportation improvements or strategies to accommodate the impacts of development are made concurrent with the development. (RCW 36.70A.070(6)(b). Reasons for removal are the ferry route is not considered an arterial route (only 3% of the roads are classified as arterial) or a transit route. Ging noted that there is precedence for concurrency beyond arterials and transit routes (the federal definition) in that many of the collector roads require concurrency since they are used as arterial routes. Since the plan notes that the ferry is the only transportation to and from the island, it may be reasonable to make an exception and include concurrency for the ferry. It is not clear why the ferry used to have a concurrency requirement and now does not. Ney told Ging there is no deficiency on the LOS at present and SEPA requirements would cover what concurrency tries to cover. o Changes to the comp plan can be introduced at the Public Works Committee meetings on March 22 and April 5 or through amendments in the future. Ging suggested LIFAC recommend an update to the LOS of 513 by then if possible since Councilman Weimer indicated changes are typically made only 4

5 every five years. Ney suggested LIFAC ask for the opportunity to revisit just the LOS recommendation after a new level of service is totally vetted since it is critical in driving the discussions of the new ferry. Ging offered to follow up to determine if that is a possibility. o Appendix J, the formula Public Works currently uses to calculate LOS, has been sent to Planning, and LIFAC may want to recommend a change to that as well. o Chapter 6 will also include a list of capital improvements. That list is still under development according to Beth Louis. LIFAC should review those as well. o Blake suggested that the Coast Guard should probably be included in the list of governmental agencies the county coordinates with in Goal 6G. o Blake suggested adding language to Goal 6-H that addresses the impact of ferry emissions on water quality. o Clark indicated LOS and comp plan changes would be on the agenda next month. NEW BUSINESS The feasibility of a Fairhaven route was postponed and ferry parking was addresses earlier. CLOSING SESSION Clark invited final comments from those attending. o Jim Dickinson commented that he did not believe the county needed to interface with the Coast Guard as long as federal regulations were followed. o Dickinson shared that the TREK may be sold soon which would mean there would be no similar-sized ferries on the West Coast. The HIYU would require $1 million in dock work. Ging thanked him for presenting his report in writing, and suggested reports in the future should be submitted ideally a week before the meetings. Dickinson felt he did not have an opportunity to challenge misconceptions about the previous HIYU report. ADJOURN The meeting was adjourned at 7:40 pm. 5

6 Jim Dickinson s February Ferry Notes. 2/02/2016 TREK Dave Maeser the owner of the car Ferry Trek reports that he may move the boat to San Diego where he can get about 200 days of Rentals for it a year. Alternatively, he does have some prospective business that does not need the Certificate of Inspection for this work. If that happens he will not need to keep it in license, at that point the boat would no longer qualify to carry passengers and used here. A Construction Company has inquired about buying the boat, if a proper offer, is received, Dave will sell it. In one of the LIFAC Meetings it was stated that the TREK would need bumpers on the deck which would result in an about 10 car Ferry. The TREK is an ex Lake Champlain Ferry and has the same deck format and car spacing as their current boats. Originally it was a 20 car boat with 4 lanes. In 1987 when the boat was sold to Ketchikan, and renamed the Bob Ellis, they removed the forth lane under the island and made it into ADA legal passenger space. Ketchikan routinely carried 17 cars, 15 in the three adjacent lanes, and one each in front and back of the Island. Dave Maeser put a large anchor winch on the #2 end of the deck, behind the island, which removed one of the single car spaces. The Trek has legal lane width decks, the idea it would need bumpers is unfounded, Lake Champlain operates 11 Ferries, 8 of identical deck layout as the TREK without width consuming bumpers, they seem to do just fine. Conversely the curbs on the Whatcom Chief s house are totally inappropriate resulting in many destroyed tires including two of mine. The TREK s 3 lane width is 26 6, for three 106 or 8 10 wide lanes. Conversely, the Whatcom Chief lanes average 90.5 (Charret Report) wide or 7 6 lanes, the TREK s are over 15 inches wider, each. While a brand new Ferry might have a few inch wider lanes, the TREK s are far superior to those of the Whatcom Chief. If the TREK s a 10 car Ferry, the Whatcom Chief is comparatively a 6 car boat. We used a prudent 15 cars in all the calculations for Dry-Dock replacement. Dry-Dock Costs By not engaging the TREK for the 2015 Dry-Dock, it cost the Ferry System at least $180, The infrastructure and rental costs for the Pedestrian only boat were approximately $100,00.00 in excess of the costs of the TREK s 2015 bid. This would include the rental costs of the floats, striping, barriers, installing and removing the floats, and the rental of the bus.

7 Initial projections of lost revenues due to not being able to carry cars are at least $80, based on the 15 car capacity of the TREK and comparisons to the 2010 September carry, and other Ferry systems and season. This initial study was done by Bill Cummins and, Jim Dickinson. Bill thinks the 80K figure is low, it could be as high as over 100K, JD 2/16 Notes Page 2 more study will be done in March. Bill Cummins has done a preliminary study that projects that loss of Business revenues and out-of-pocket costs to the Island Ferry riding public is in the range of $200,000.00, one entity alone had a $50K loss. The TREK was rejected on the following grounds:. 1. The owner s never operated a scheduled car ferry. R. No one besides the State of Washington, Whatcom County, Skagit County, Pierce County or Wahkiakum County can qualify for this. Due no other entity being able to qualify, this requirement is illegal. Conversely the Vessel has 37 years of successful operation in two locations. The two local Captains Dave Maeser was going to hire had a minimum of 25 years experience each, on our route. This was not a proper requirement. 2. The Vessel could not be here and on site in nine hours or less. R. True, owner allowed for fourteen hours, however his back-up passenger vessels could be here in less than three hours, from Anacortes or Friday Harbor, which was not considered. The Anacortes boat does not need the floats to board. 3. The TREK s owner did not include Letters of Intent from either the Back-up Vessel owners or the two local Captains. R. These requirements were not included in the County s bidding documents and are therefore not applicable. The Trek s Owner had no idea that these items needed to be included. Once the bid was opened, the TREK s owner was not allowed to respond to the above requirements. In its current bow/stern layout, the TREK can operate in the local docks without modification, in all but heavy weather. Once the TREK exits the local scene, there is absolutely no similar sized Ferry back-up for the Whatcom Chief. Washington State Ferries

8 Evergreen State Due to high costs of retention, the State has elected to immediately surplus the 62 year old, 87 car Ferry Evergreen State as it has exceeded their 60 year old limit. The E-State has been in almost continual use, due to other boat failures, since its initial retirement in Many in the WSF Operations think it ought to be retained until early 2017 when the Chimicum, the third of the new 144 car Olympic Class Ferry assumes service. WSF experienced unprecedented ferry failures in summer JD 2/16 Notes Page 3 HIYU The HIYU is still listed as the WSF reserve ferry. It was scheduled for its every-otheryear Dry-Docking in October 2015 at the Fairhaven Shipyard, but was bumped by the 144 car Super Class Ferry HYAK which needed immediate attention. HIYU received an extension to March 2016 from the Coast Guard and will get its Dry-Dock then, most likely at Fairhaven. The WSF has budgeted $170, for this, which includes inspections, cleaning and repainting of the hull up to the rub-rails, and maintenance on the propellers and rudders. It could be surplussed at any time, certainly upon the activation of the new 144. The HIYU deserves a further look when it comes to Fairhaven. The 10 member Independent Committee s HIYU report was not read by most of those concerned. Comments made by Officials show a lack of due diligence and understanding of the report. The HIYU report was 80% about Ferries in General, 20% about the HIYU, this report needs to be read in depth by LIFAC and all concerned. The members of the Independent Committee are available for clarifications as this is a complex issue that involves multiple contingencies. State Ferry Ridership. Overall State Ferry ridership increased by between 3 and 3.5% overall, depending on interpretation, in Ridership to the San Juan Islands increased about 10 percent. The Ferry s asked the States Statistic s keepers for the reason, the answer; California is moving to Washington State. With the local rebound in Real Estate values, which is beginning to affect Lummi Island, the longest local Ferry lines ever in the Summer of 2015, and the obvious increase in Tourism, we very likely are next. Federal Funding of Ferries In a recent issue of Work Boat Magazine, it was explained that the previous granting mechanisms, like Tiger Transportation Grants are going away in Replacing them

9 are new requirements that all Federal Grants for new Ferries are to be given, only, where the Ferries operate within Urban Areas. While Skagit County qualifies, as theirs lands in Anacortes proper, Whatcom County does not, as both landings are rural. A further requirement is that qualifying Ferries be built by Minority Contractors. Considering the above lack of possible grants, and the new County Districting, and uncertainty of the Lummi Marina Project, the likelihood of the County building a new Ferry is quite remote. The other previous used vessel options need to be revisited. Jim Dickinson

10 2/2/16 To: LIFAC From: Mike Skehan, 2040 Granger Wy, Lummi Is Subject: Summary of Comments made during Open Session 2/2/16 1. Name and Address 2. Background: 30 years of LOS Comp Plan and Sub Area Plan mention 513 trips per capita Poorly understood and never applied to any decision making 3. LOS in general is Volume over Capacity V/C measured in the PM Peak to classify roads and intersections to determine how full it is or level of delay (LOS A- F) 4. Lummi Island Ferry is averaging less than 50% full in winter and to 55% in the summer All Day. PM peak is not measured. 5. The Revised County Comp Plan (draft) will likely be adopted this summer and lots of detail has been removed, moving towards general goals and policies towards funding future transportation improvements over the next 20 years. 6. Chapter 6 of the Comp Plan deals with Concurrency and LOS. 7. Bottom Line: Lummi Island development is limited to about 1500 dwelling units and a peak population of about 3000 based on water resource estimates and desire to maintain Rural Character, which is roughly a 50% increase. This is what gave us 5 Acre building lots, except those platted before 1979 (non- conforming) and it s unsure how many of those are actually buildable lots (ref: Hunters Park Sub- Division). 8. OFM population estimates are what are used in all COG planning, so we should not try to re- invent the wheel. 9. LIFAC should continue to find meaningful definitions of what kind of service we want, and how to measure and apply that in planning for the next replacement boat. THIS IS A LONG TERM PROJECT, but one we must get in line for, with all the other transportation needs in the County that don t meet concurrency.

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