As the Island’s busiest time of year approaches, a final decision is brewing over the transfer of the Chappy Ferry license from longtime owners Peter Wells and Sally Snipes to current captain Brian Scall.
While Scall received a wave of support from residents of Chappaquiddick, the smaller island a part of Edgartown, during a public hearing on Monday, it wasn’t unanimous. Some Chappaquiddick residents continued to call for more transparency and raised caution over the proposed ownership structure.
Around 60 Edgartown residents packed into the town hall meeting room, spilling out into the hallway, early this week for the hearing on the potential transfer of the Chappy Ferry license. In the end, a final decision after the hour-long discussion wasn’t made, and the Edgartown Select Board decided to return to the matter on May 26 after town staff conducted background checks and reviewed issues raised by the Chappy Ferry Steering Committee, such as updating the license and more information on who the investors are.
The select board is the licensing body for the Chappy Ferry and any major changes, like rate adjustments or license transfer, need to be heard at a public hearing and approved by them. The transfer of the license has also been a focus of discourse on Chappaquiddick because the ferry is the only year-round way to leave and go to the island.
Scall emphasized to the crowd and select board members the extent of his outreach to the community, from a meet and greet at the Chappaquiddick Community Center to talking with the Chappaquiddick Wampanoag Tribe. He also said “safe and reliable service” was his priority, but he still has “room to improve.” He also said Wells and Snipes, current owners of the Chappy Ferry, and the captains and crews of the ferry service have “surpassed their obligations to the town for 19 years.”
“Today, I’m asking you to let me continue that service,” he said, hoping to be able to “begin the next chapter” of the ferry.
Wells and Snipes backed Scall at the meeting.
“We ask that you grant the transfer of the license, so we can go home,” Wells said.
Chappy Ferry captains also voiced support for their fellow mariner.
“Give this man a chance for the next two years to show you what he can do,” George Fisher, one of the captains at the meeting, said. The ferry license was renewed to Wells and Snipes in 2023 for a five-year term and the transfer would fill the remaining time.
Art Smadbeck, select board chair, highlighted that the town received numerous letters in support of the license transfer, and many residents vocalized their approval at the meeting.
“I see in Brian the future of the ferry,” Donna Eonas, Chappaquiddick resident, said.
While there wasn’t opposition to Scall himself, concerns were raised over future ferry operations.
Rick Schifter, a member of the Chappy Ferry Steering Committee, which is an advisory group to the select board regarding the ferry, highlighted that the license would actually be transferred to Chappy Ferry LLC. While Scall is a part of the business, formed on April 20, according to the state’s business entity database, there’s lingering uncertainty on who his financial backers are. Scall hasn’t disclosed these investors, and he’s cited a nondisclosure agreement as the reason during meetings with the steering committee.
“This would be the first time that ownership of the ferry is being divorced from the operator of the ferry,” Schifter said. He recommended the board wait two weeks to gather the information they need. Wells and Snipes were sole owners and operators.
Members of the steering committee, including Dana Strayton and Thomas Tilghman, also called for amendments to the 1993 license to modernize it, such as codification of rates for Chappaquiddick residents and increased transparency.
Carmin Reiss, incoming president of the Chappaquiddick Island Association who spoke as an individual, called the transfer proposal “an application for a monopoly license” for a service Chappaquiddick relies upon. She also raised issues about “out-of-state” investors owning the ferry, expressing doubt that Scall would be given “complete control” of business decisions as a “minority investor.”
“The potential for abuse of monopoly power against the totally captive population on Chappaquiddick is obvious,” Reiss said. She also called for increased oversight of the ferry by the town and availability of data from the ferry service, which she had previously highlighted to The Times as items people who took a survey from her organization also wanted.
Still, more residents echoed the call to give Scall a chance.
“Let’s take a risk, but let’s also realize that this board has a lot of resources behind it,” Woody Filley, Chappaquiddick resident, said, highlighting that the select board won’t “sell this town down a river.”
Town officials were also scheduled to meet Tuesday in executive session about the Chappy Ferry, according to the agenda.
Town officials agreed to return to the matter of the Chappy Ferry after Memorial Day.