After more than two years and dozens of different designs, Steamship Authority governors voted Tuesday to develop a single-story ticket building at the Woods Hole terminal and convert the nearby freight storage shed to a two-story utility building.

“We’re hoping that will open up some additional views of the harbor,” boat line general manager Robert Davis said.

Board of governors met Tuesday in Falmouth.

Louisa Hufstader

Board of governors met Tuesday in Falmouth.

Louisa Hufstader

The single-story ticket office will stay within the footprint of previous designs, he added, and may be moved 15 to 20 feet to the north, depending on the location of existing storm water management pipes underground.

Falmouth and Martha’s Vineyard residents alike have consistently rejected more than two dozen two-story buildings proposed by BIA.studio architects. Many also requested the Steamship Authority add solar panels to the project.

The design concept approved Tuesday solves both issues by adding solar panels to the roofs of the single-story building and adjacent shuttle bus bays. Mr. Davis said an estimated 50 per cent of the building’s energy will come from the sun.

To keep the ticket building low, Mr. Davis said, the architects designed a behind-the-scenes room with a raised floor to protect the mechanical equipment electricity, telephone and other systems.

The two-story utility building nearby will house equipment, resources and activities that had been planned for the second floor of the ticket building, among them employee locker and break rooms, a lost and found room and a multi-purpose room for training.

Mr. Davis said change orders for the many revised building designs have already totaled about $750,000.

Including the change orders and converting the freight storage shed, the two-building solution will cost the boat line about $3.8 million more than if the SSA had gone ahead with one of the two-story concepts proposed in 2017, said Chris Iwerks of BIA.studio, architects of the sweeping $60 million Woods Hole terminal redesign.

“We have committed to this level of capital expenditure to satisfy our neighbors,” said New Bedford governor Moira Tierney.

“I think it would be nice if we got some recognition for the fact that we spent a lot of money hearing and implementing the requests, largely, of your constituency,” Ms. Tierney said, indicating Falmouth governor Kathryn Wilson.

“A lot of people are going to have to get on the boat to pay for that, but this is a 50-year project,” Mr. Davis said. “We need to be good neighbors.”

The vote authorizes the single-story building and two-story utility building for the Woods Hole terminal unless the boat line is unable to get the required permits for the change, in which case the SSA will proceed with a two-story design.

It will be at least three and a half more years before the terminal work is completed, Mr. Iwerks told the board and boat line officials.

Also Tuesday, treasurer/comptroller Mark Rozum told the board that boat line traffic numbers for October were sharply affected by last month’s northeasters.

Weather-related cancellations kept up to 20,000 people from traveling to the Islands, Mr. Rozum said, and 19,000 of them would have been Vineyard-bound.

Vehicle traffic for the month was down 5,000 cars and about 1,000 freight vehicles over 2018, Mr. Rozum said. “We’re probably looking at more than a million dollars in [lost] revenue.”

In other business, governors voted to adopt a new mission statement. The SSA’s first such guiding document since the 1990s, the statement outlining the boat line’s priorities was a top recommendation from last year’s comprehensive review of operations conducted by maritime consultants HMS/Glosten.

Crafted after a series of open house meetings in port towns and a public comment period in July and August, the new statement reads: “Our mission is to operate a safe, efficient, and reliable transportation system for the islands of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket with a commitment to sustainability, accessibility, our port communities, and public engagement.”

Communications director Sean Driscoll said the statement will be added to the Steamship Authority website and letterhead and become the foundation for the strategic plan to be developed in 2020.

Governors granted a request from Hyannis Harbor Tours Inc., which operates the Hy-Line ferries, to add 16 more Nantucket trips to its winter schedule, and voted to allow the Island Commuter Corporation, which operates the Island Queen, to add more June sailings between Falmouth and Oak Bluffs.

Mr. Davis announced that ferry Capt. Paul Hennessy, a 29-year SSA veteran, has accepted the position of assistant port captain that was vacated when George Monteiro was promoted to port captain in August.

Board members heard an update on progress at the Woods Hole terminal and approved change orders for $301,581 to BIA.studio for additional engineering costs occasioned by complications in Slip 3 construction, including soil liquefaction that caused the bulkhead to shift, and $271,563 to terminal contractor Jay Cashman, Inc., for barges to stage construction equipment that won’t fit on the limited available space.

They also approved $400,727 for diesel engine parts and spares for the M/V Eagle, which is due for an engine overhaul. Board members also received, and made no changes to the boat line’s proposed timeline for 2020 and 2021 vehicle reservations.

Head start reservations for May 15 through Oct. 20 will be open by mail and internet only from Jan. 7 through Jan. 13. Active members of the Islander preferred or Islander preferred excursion program may make up to five reservations during this period. Up to three of those reservations are transferable, with transfers due to the SSA by May 15 or 30 days before travel, whichever is earlier.

Internet-only general reservations on the Martha’s Vineyard route open up from Jan. 21 through Jan. 27, one week later than those for Nantucket.

On the first two days of internet-only bookings (Jan. 21-22 for the Vineyard and Jan. 14-15 for Nantucket) the SSA is extending its reservation office hours. Normally open daily from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., the offices will be staffed from 5 a.m. to 6 a.m. to assist customers making online reservations.

Telephone reservations for both routes open Jan. 28. Fall reservations, by telephone, mail and internet, open June 15 and bookings for early 2021 will open Oct. 25, 2020.

Reservation-only periods for vehicles on the Vineyard route will be May 21 through May 26; Fridays through Mondays from June 19 through Sept 7; June 30 through July 2; August 25, Sept. 8, Oct. 9 and Oct. 12.

During reservation-only periods, the Martha’s Vineyard blue line standby program is open to active Islander preferred or Islander preferred excursion participants who do not already have confirmed reservations, or are willing to give up their confirmed reservations to go standby.

The next board meeting is Dec. 17 at 10 a.m. at the Falmouth administration building. It will be the final regular meeting of 2019.