SSA Board Sinks New Bedford Ferry Plan; Shaky Financial Footing
Collapses Proposal

By JULIA WELLS
Gazette Senior Writer

In a 2-1 vote that left Vineyard Steamship Authority governor J.B.
Riggs Parker visibly seething, the SSA board yesterday killed a trial
high-speed ferry project between New Bedford and the Vineyard that would
have cost $10 million over the next three years.

"A $10 million investment over three years with no market
study? This is not the right deal or the right time," said
Falmouth SSA governor Galen Robbins.

"Considering that we are in an economic downturn and that we
are at war, it's not business as usual. I feel we should take our
time and not rush into anything," said Nantucket governor Grace
Grossman.

The comments came at the monthly boat line meeting held in Woods
Hole.

Seasoned politicians said later that it was the most rancorous
public session they had ever attended. Vineyard resident Art Flathers
told one person to shut up and made an obscene gesture with his middle
finger to another. The meeting was marked by a tense moment when Mr.
Parker broke board parliamentary rules and gave the floor to New Bedford
city solicitor George Leontire in mid-discussion among board members
just before the vote. Mr. Robbins and Mrs. Grossman raised a vocal
protest, but Mr. Parker told them to "be quiet" and then
urged Mr. Leontire to speak louder.

The events left many in the room visibly shaken.

The boat line board plowed its way through a packed agenda,
approving a plan to replace the pilot freight program between New
Bedford and the Vineyard with a Steamship Authority-run program next
year using the freight vessel Katama. A $59.7 million operating budget
and a corresponding $3.2 million rate increase for the coming year were
also approved. The rate increase will include a hefty increase on the
excursion fares - off-season excursion fares on the Vineyard run
will go up from $35 to $48. A proposal to change the rules for the fares
was not adopted; the fares will still include two adults and two
children.

But the central piece of business at the meeting was the
controversial fast ferry project.

The high-speed ferry project has been under discussion for a number
of months. The proposal that finally came before the board for a vote
called for the SSA to lease a high-speed passenger ferry from Boston
Harbor Cruises for $100,000 a month for a minimum of three years, to
replace the passenger ferry Schamonchi. At the end of three years the
SSA would have the option to buy the boat for $7 million. The ferry cost
$8.5 million to build.

Mr. Robbins and Mrs. Grossman staked out their position against
enormous political pressure. A large group of Vineyard and Falmouth
politicians attended the meeting in high spirits after strong votes by
Falmouth and Vineyard selectmen to endorse the high-speed ferry project
earlier in the week. The Falmouth selectmen voted unanimously to support
the project on Tuesday night, and one night later Vineyard public
officials voted 16-5 to support the project. Mr. Parker and Mr. Leontire
staged last-minute promotional shows in Falmouth and the Vineyard in an
effort to shape the votes.

A financial analysis of the high-speed ferry project prepared
earlier in the week by boat line acting general manager and treasurer
Wayne Lamson was kept under wraps and not shown to Vineyard selectmen
until the last minute. Instead, the selectmen were shown a report
prepared by Mr. Leontire that used only the most optimistic numbers from
Mr. Lamson's report.

Yesterday Mr. Robbins in effect blew the whistle on the promotional
campaign that wooed the selectmen with Mr. Leontire's work instead
of the solid and balanced report put forward by Mr. Lamson.

At the outset of the meeting, one Falmouth selectman underscored the
sequence of events. "We voted largely on George's
presentation. After now seeing the report by Mr. Lamson, I can
understand it if the board needs to look at possibly waiting a year to
make it work," said selectman Carey Murphy.

Mr. Robbins methodically dismantled Mr. Leontire's proposal
and then anchored his own comments about the project in the report by
Mr. Lamson, which found that the project is likely to lose between
$900,000 and $1.7 million. Mr. Robbins noted that passenger projections
for the project are uncertain at best and based on an unscientific
survey. Using the numbers from the survey, Mr. Robbins concluded that
the high-speed ferry would not carry any more passengers than the
Schamonchi.

"This is an unscientific survey that we did, but guess what
- that's all we have. [Based on the information we have], we
can expect to carry approximately 90,000 passengers - the same as
we are doing today. It would not take one car out of Woods Hole and it
would double the loss to $1.7 million," Mr. Robbins said.

Unswerving with his own message about fiscal responsibility and
careful analysis of the facts, the Falmouth member noted that the
details of the project were developed in about 20 short days. He also
said it is a fallacy to call the project a pilot. "This cannot be
a test. You don't invest $10 million and call it a test," he
said.

Mr. Parker had another view: "I support this experiment. I
think it is a sound business opportunity and it is also a reasonable
business risk. I call upon my colleagues to join me in supporting this
experiment.

"It has the unanimous support of the Falmouth selectmen. It
has the support of the All-Island Selectmen who represent six towns. It
has the wide support of Martha's Vineyard. This authority is in
financial difficulty. We need to expand; we need that stability."

In the end the vote was 2-1. "Well, that settles the
matter," declared an angry Mr. Parker.

Mr. Leontire also raised his voice in protest.

"I have no problem with any politician voting against any
proposal, but you've got to have the guts to say why," he
told Mr. Robbins.

Mrs. Grossman lambasted Mr. Leontire for his bullying approach.

A handful of Vineyard officials expressed outrage at the outcome of
the vote, but more than one also praised Mr. Robbins.

"If I had heard you last night, I would have voted
differently," Tisbury selectman Tom Pachico told Mr. Robbins. Mr.
Pachico voted in favor of the ferry project.

Others said they were offended by the tone of the meeting.

"This has been the most distasteful public meeting I have ever
attended - I am shocked and think that the New Bedford methods for
doing business amount to nothing less than political thuggery,"
said Virginia Jones, a member of the West Tisbury planning board and
longtime waterfront businesswoman.

In the end Woods Hole activist Frank Shephard appeared to offer a
bit of an olive branch.

"I am obviously not a happy camper today, but hopefully we are
still talking to each other because compared to what is happening on a
national level - this is a tempest in a teapot, as it were,"
he said. "The people of the Cape and Islands are just trying to
find some consensus."

Tisbury businessman Steve Bernier picked up on the theme. "We
need to conduct ourselves civilly and appropriately," he told the
boat line members.

Mr. Bernier also addressed Mr. Robbins: "I don't know
you from a hole in the wall, but what you spoke about today had a lot to
do with truth and prudence and reasonableness. I appreciate it, and I
hope the people of Falmouth appreciate it." He continued:

"I am asking the three of you to put down your swords. The
climate is now getting odd and uncomfortable. I ask for prudence -
can we wait one more summer, can Falmouth be patient with us while we
use our energy and our talents to come up with a better plan? Please,
let's put the swords down - all of us."

The remarks drew applause from many, including Mr. Robbins and Mrs.
Grossman. Mr. Parker sat silently.

"Bravo, Mr. Bernier," Mrs. Grossman said.