Boat Line Eyes Changes at Oak Bluffs Terminal; Town Hall Deal in Doubt

By JAMES KINSELLA
Gazette Senior Writer

HYANNIS - Steamship Authority governors said yesterday that the boat line may now revise the Oak Bluffs terminal reconstruction project, including possibly dropping plans to relocate the ticket office to the former town hall off Sea View avenue.

SSA general manager Wayne Lamson said that the increased cost of building additional space for vehicle staging on the terminal pier could lead the boat line to set aside the town hall option. Mr. Lamson spoke at the monthly meeting, held yesterday at the Hyannis terminal.

Senior managers have recommended that the boat line at least pursue lengthening and widening the vehicle bridge from the pier onto the ferries, and replacing the dolphins at the ferry slip in Oak Bluffs Mr. Lamson said that work would cost $6 million.

"We have to take care of our dock first," said Vineyard governor and board chairman Marc Hanover of Oak Bluffs. Mr. Hanover said some of the dolphins are leaning over.

The boat line's most recent proposal, which would have involved creating vehicle staging along the North Bluff and moving its ticket operation to the former town hall, was estimated to cost $10 million.

The Oak Bluffs conservation commission has been critical of the part of the plan to build and use part of the coastal bank along the North Bluff for vehicle staging and related landscaping.

In a letter to Mr. Lamson, a group of North Bluff residents also have objected to the staging plan, which they said would diminish the historic value and the quality of life in their neighborhood, as well as "its welcoming appearance and its hospitable functionality as one of the gateways inviting visitors to enjoy what Oak Bluffs has to offer."

Residents also said the proposed staging would require abrupt elevation changes in the coastal bluff, and they claimed the staging would hinder and add to the chaos of traffic flow in the area.

"We also feel this increased convergence of vehicles would augment an already established danger to pedestrians crossing Sea View, and particularly to families with small children, either toddling or seated in carriages and strollers," declared a letter signed by 16 North Bluff residents.

Boat line managers meanwhile have yet to reach an agreement with the Oak Bluffs selectmen to lease part of the former town hall.

Mr. Lamson said SSA officials are scheduled to meet with the selectmen next Tuesday to discuss the project.

The plan to rearrange and increase vehicle staging at the pier is aimed at moving vehicles onto ferries more efficiently and creating a safer and smoother traffic flow in the streets near the pier. The SSA uses the terminal seasonally in addition to the year-round terminal at Vineyard Haven.

The most recent terminal plan calls for demolishing the existing ticket office and comfort station on the eastern side of Sea View avenue, moving most of the ticket operation to the former town hall, putting in three lanes of vehicle staging just to the north, along Sea View avenue extension and widening the pedestrian walkway along the southern edge of the pier.

Boat line engineers have shied away from widening the pier for more vehicle staging, given increased costs, environmental impact and possible permitting difficulties.

But at an informal site visit and meeting with the town conservation commission on June 21, a number of commission members said they wanted the SSA to explore widening the pier rather than disturbing the coastal bank along the North Bluff.

Yesterday, Mr. Lamson said SSA engineers are preparing cost reviews for the prior plan, the new plan that shifts staging to the pier and also an upgrade of just the slip and the vehicle transfer bridge.

Port council member Eric Asendorf of Falmouth said the council, an advisory group, unanimously supports the plan to, at a minimum, repair the slip and transfer bridge.

In other business yesterday:

Mr. Lamson and boat line treasurer Robert Davis reported an improving financial picture at the SSA, whose performance had been lagging behind budget. Through the first five months of the year, the boat line reported an operating loss of about $9 million, about $690,000 worse than expected. But that figure included a book loss of $489,000 taken in May on the sale of the ferry Schamonchi. In that light, Mr. Lamson said, "We're in pretty good shape."

With the June books not yet closed, Mr. Davis said the boat line anticipates operating income of about $2.2 million, off about $120,000. Higher ridership on the fast ferry Flying Cloud, up about 10,000 from last June, was offset by higher fuel and medical insurance costs throughout the boat line. The results place the boat line's financial performance for the first six months at a loss of $6.8 million, about $800,000 worse than expected.

SSA general counsel Steven Sayers said boat line officials will open technical proposals today in Woods Hole from firms interested in providing the boat line with a new fast ferry to replace the Flying Cloud. Mr. Sayers said the committee will later rank the proposals.

Next month, SSA officials will open and review accompanying cost proposals from the firms. Around August 10, Mr. Sayers said, the boat line will issue a staff summary for proposed action based on the various technical and financial proposals. While the reviews will be conducted behind closed doors, the summary will be released to the public. The SSA board is slated to act on the proposal at its next meeting, set for August 18 on Nantucket. The boat line operates its fast ferry on the Hyannis-Nantucket route.

Mr. Lamson said the boat line has been compiling costs resulting from a false bomb threat that led to the closure of Nantucket harbor to ferry traffic last Sunday evening. Both the SSA and Hy-Line, a private ferry company based in Hyannis, canceled trips to and from Nantucket because of the closure. The shutdown stranded dozens of people on the island. Nantucket police subsequently arrested four teenagers - two from Nantucket and two from Connecticut - and charged them with making the bomb threat. No explosives were found aboard SSA or Hy-Line ferries. Mr. Lamson said the boat line is interested in seeking restitution from those responsible.

Murray Scudder, vice president for operations at Hy-Line, said Nantucket police had asked the company for a summary of its losses. The bomb threat was telephoned to the Hy-Line ticket office on Nantucket shortly after 8 p.m. Sunday.