SSA raises rates, but not on Islanders

The Steamship Authority’s board came to Martha’s Vineyard Wednesday evening and approved its first rate hike in four years, sparing Islanders the increases that were floated a month earlier.

Not so for those visiting the Island during the season. Vehicle drivers will see an increase of $12.50, for a total of $162 round-trip, freight haulers will have to fork over an extra 12.5 percent for an on-season trip, and day-trippers parking in Falmouth on a weekend during the summer will pay $20 to park.

The increase in fares will raise approximately $7 million in revenues, which treasurer Gerard Murphy said is needed because the margin between revenues and expenses is thin and relies on passenger traffic, which can be unpredictable.

“That was such a good presentation,” Moira Tierney, New Bedford’s representative on the board, said. “You really dumbed it down for those of use who need it that way.”

The board approved the rate hike unanimously after being razzed by the audience at MVRHS Performing Arts Center for refusing to take public comment before the vote.

It was cold inside the PAC, and the SSA board got a mostly chilly reception from the approximately 40 people scattered throughout the auditorium.

In a subsequent unanimous vote, the board also approved a $105.2 million budget for 2019. The board had more discussion earlier this year on whether to tune televisions away from the political fare of CNN and Fox News than it did on the 4.4 percent budget increase for 2019. The increase is largely the result of expected fuel increases and payroll increases driven by collective bargaining, Murphy told the board.

During the public comment period that closed Tuesday’s meeting, Vineyarders took shots at the terminal design in Woods Hole and urged the SSA to do more to curb traffic to the Island.

In an embarrassing moment, Martha’s Vineyard representative Marc Hanover scoffed at Anna Edey of West Tisbury, who asked why the SSA spends $1.5 million on advertising. “Why do you need to advertise?” she asked. “We don’t want to attract any more people to the Vineyard.”

Businesses, not ratepayers, should be paying to lure visitors, she said.

“That number is totally inaccurate,” Hanover said, indicating it was closer to $200,000.

Moments later, general manager Bob Davis and Murphy scrambled to produce the number, with Davis saying the Steamship Authority spends $1.3 million per year on advertising because it has competition from services like the Island Queen and Hy-Line.

Earlier, Dean Rosenthal of Edgartown and board member Maura Tierney got into an exchange over the SSA’s responsibility to limit traffic to the Island. Tierney said it was the Island’s responsibility, and Rosenthal said the SSA should be part of the conversation.

“Does the board think we have a limited infrastructure here on the Island?” Rosenthal asked.

Several board members nodded their heads in agreement.

“What is too much for the Steamship and this Island? Because there is a limit,” Rosenthal said. “I mean at some point, I don’t know how long it goes on for.”

As he continued and Tierney whispered to board chairman Rob Ranney, Rosenthal got miffed: “Excuse me, sir, are you paying attention?”

Tierney responded, “I was asking, ‘Was that an Island problem versus a Steamship Authority problem?”

“You know it’s not an Island problem,” Rosenthal responded. “Because you’re basically saying, ‘We’ll take over as many cars as make reservations and as many cars as want to come’…”

“If Martha’s Vineyard wants to control its growth …” Tierney said before being interrupted.

“You’re kidding me, right, you can’t be serious,” Rosenthal said. “There’s a limit, and it’s not our responsibility for drawing tens of thousands of tourists that come every year.”

Hanover said the SSA can’t discriminate.

“I felt dismissed,” Rosenthal told Tierney as she attempted to apologize outside the meeting.

Molly Cabral of Vineyard Haven urged the board to listen to the voices, particularly those in Woods Hole, critical of the design of a new terminal building. She said it would block views of Woods Hole passage, Penzance Point and the Elizabeth Islands. “For us Vineyarders that’s our welcome, you’re here,” she said. “It’s the view and to obliterate it, I think, it’s just criminal. It’s awful. You say you’re the lifeline to the Islands, but I don’t think the lifeline should be a noose around Woods Hole’s neck.”

Edey also criticized the lack of solar panels on the proposed terminal. “The only way we’re going to avoid total disaster with the global warming gases is if we stop using fossil fuels,” she said. “This is something that is totally achievable.”

Earlier in the meeting, Davis said the SSA held two meetings and would consider the feedback, saying there were a variety of comments “both favorable and unfavorable.”

Leon Braithwaite, Dukes County commissioner, praised the board for reconsidering the 10-fare pass, and several speakers were complimentary of SSA spokesman Sean Driscoll. Earlier in the meeting, Driscoll pointed out that the SSA now has a Facebook page and a Twitter handle to communicate with customers.

Another bright spot came earlier in the meeting, when Davis announced longtime SSA employee Bridget Tobin, who started with the Steamship Authority in 1974, is retiring as Oak Bluffs terminal manager. “You truly are an example of the best of what the Steamship Authority has to offer,” Davis said.

Tobin received an enthusiastic standing ovation, with one audience member shouting out, “Put her on the board.”

Tobin will be returning to work next summer, Davis said.

In other business, the schedule was set for reservation openings. Headstart reservations by mail and Internet will be Jan. 8 through Jan. 14; the general opening date for Martha’s Vineyard will be Jan. 22-28. This year Nantucket reservations will be open earlier to ease the burden on the Steamship Authority’s computer servers after last year’s debacle with the SSA’s website crashing on the first day of reservations, Davis said.

“If we can take steps to manage demand, the system will run better,” he said.

The board approved a $788,853 contract for a drydock and overhaul of the MV Woods Hole. It also authorized a $979,646 contract to overhaul the engines in the MV Iyanough, which is the fast ferry on the Nantucket line.

A $241,500 for a change order on the Woods Hole waterway reconstruction is to pay for fill to be hauled away. That amount will not affect the overall project budget, because the SSA has spent less than expected to remove contaminated soil, Davis said.

The consultant hired to do an overview of the management of the SSA, HMS Consulting, is working on its final report, which will be released in November. Speed is less critical than ensuring accuracy, Davis said.