The Chappy Ferry, the only year-round transportation service that goes between Edgartown and Chappaquiddick, is slated to potentially change hands for the first time in nearly 20 years.
But before the license can be transferred from longtime owner Peter Wells and Sally Snipes, the applicant, Chappy Ferry captain and Edgartown resident Brian Scall, must undergo a public hearing with the Edgartown Select Board, scheduled for May 11. Members of the Chappaquiddick community are eyeing this as an opportunity to demand more transparency at the ferry line, and an advisory board to the ferry wants to delay the official vote next week to allow for further discussion.
The Chappaquiddick Island Association, an organization that promotes the welfare of the smaller island, ahead of the hearing with the potential new owner, issued a report on April 20 that looked over the operations of the Chappy Ferry and made various recommendations, such as alternative ownership models outside of a commercial operator. The report also laid out challenges ahead, including needing a clearer capital plan to adapt infrastructure to rising sea levels.
“There is a lot of disparity in opinion for what a best solution would be,” Carmin Reiss, incoming president of the Chappaquiddick Association, told The Times in regard to the ownership model.
But a survey conducted by the association at the end of summer in 2025, filled out by 231 individuals, nearly all year-round and seasonal Chappaquiddick residents, shone a light on how the community actually feels about the ferry, which many rely on daily. (The report states Chappaquiddick is estimated to have a population of 253). More than half of the respondents approved of the level of services provided by the ferry, and Scall’s pending ownership was mostly viewed with favor or neutrally. Reiss said the Chappy Ferry has provided “excellent service” to residents over the years, especially when it acts as an emergency transportation system, including for first responders and in transporting residents who urgently need to access Martha’s Vineyard Hospital.
“It is the lifeline for Chappaquiddick,” Reiss said.
According to the survey, around half of the respondents were displeased by the amount of publicly available data there is, such as financial data and determination of discount rates, and by the select board’s oversight of the ferry service.
The ferry transports thousands of passengers each year across the 527-foot stretch of water between the smaller island and Edgartown. The business is one of the oldest on the Island, operating since at least 1807, when a rowboat was used to cross the channel. While the business is privately owned, it operates under a license awarded by the Edgartown Select Board and needs approval from town officials before major changes are made, such as rate increases or transfers of ownership.
As a private company, details of its internal workings are not as open to the public as are those of the Steamship Authority, which is a quasi-public entity established by the state.
There remain concerns, according to the survey, from some Chappaquiddick residents about a desire for clearer criteria for discounted rates. Brian Scall has been undergoing a series of public meetings with the Chappy steering committee, which acts as an advisory body regarding the ferry. At the meetings, he said it was difficult to clearly define who should get a discount, since different criteria can be used, such as people’s primary residences. He has also declined to disclose who his financial backers are.
Scall told The Times that “calls for transparency are nothing new in today’s society.”
“The idea of transparency comes because people still do not 100 percent understand that the Chappy Ferry is and has always been a private entity,” Scall said in an email. “It’s actually one of the oldest if not [the] oldest waterfront businesses on the Island. Requiring a private business to share its finances is unheard of, and if we asked any of the people who are calling for this to show their own personal finances, they would object.”
So far, Scall has shown a willingness to listen to community members, according to Chappaquiddick residents who completed the survey. Outside of the steering committee meetings, Scall held a meet-and-greet at the Chappaquiddick Community Center last month.
Reiss was insistent in an interview with The Times that the board needs to do its due diligence for any potential buyer. She said that who operates the ferry could impact fares and services. She also said this was why codifying fare increase formulas and ensuring emergency services remain was important.
“Brian seems to be a good guy, but what in the license protects against a bad guy?” Reiss said.
Art Smadbeck, who has served on the Edgartown Select Board since 1991, argued that “many aspects of the ferry are already subject to public oversight.”
“Changes to schedules or fares require review and approval by the select board in a duly noticed public meeting, with an opportunity for public input,” Smadbeck said. “At the same time, we recognize the community’s interest in greater clarity around decisionmaking and in how the ferry will address long-term challenges, such as sea level rise and resiliency.”
Smadbeck said the ferry runs on a “longstanding public-private framework,” in which the town owns the land where the ferry operates and the board “retains regulatory authority” through the license issued by the board; a private operator is responsible for the daily operations.
“This arrangement has been in place for decades, and is governed by both contract and state law,” Smadbeck said. The license also empowers the board to conduct an emergency takeover of the ferry, with an option to buy, if public safety and convenience are jeopardized.
Smadbeck called the upcoming hearing an “important public forum” for the select board to evaluate Scall, and welcomed public engagement.
“Any consideration of expanded transparency or changes to the governance structure would need to occur within the bounds of the existing agreement, applicable law, and ultimately be policy decisions for the select board,” he said.
The steering committee at a meeting on Tuesday, however, voted 5-4 to recommend that the select board delay the vote on the license transfer, though this is ultimately up to the board.