Steamship Authority governors agreed this week to transfer a lease the boat line holds on four acres at the airport business park to the county, which is eyeing the property for a possible renewable energy project.

The 20-year lease from the airport, SSA general counsel Steven Sayers said costs $30,000 a year, expires in 2019 with an option to renew for a further 20 years.

Discussion about the transfer took place at the monthly SSA meeting held in Oak Bluffs on Tuesday.

Mr. Sayers said the property is not in use by the SSA. “We have not done anything with the property,” he said. “The original idea was that it could be used as an emergency staging and parking area in case of hurricanes or other problems.”

The county commission is considering several uses for the property including space to store records, and also backhoes and other equipment. John Alley, a member of the county commission and airport commission who attended the meeting, said the land could also be a candidate for a solar panel project the county is considering.

The lease transfer still needs approval from the airport commission.

In other business Tuesday, SSA governors said the Island reservation office, currently housed in a building near the entrance to the airport, is expected to move to a new space in the airport terminal building by the end of January.

Discussion about the Vineyard office has been back and forth since late this summer when the SSA learned that it would lose the lease on the building where the office is currently housed. Early discussion focused on possibly closing the office given the fact that many people now use the Internet to book ferry passage, but some Islanders protested and the decision was made to keep the office.

Falmouth governor and board chairman Robert Marshall reminded all present Tuesday that the gesture is an act of good will, not good business planning.

General manager Wayne Lamson has said the SSA could save $200,000 a year by eliminating the Island office and consolidating reservations in Mashpee.

“This is a nonrevenue-producing accommodation for the people of the Island,” Mr. Marshall said. “So when we are beaten on for our lack of commitment to expense control let the record show that this is part of it.”

Management reported August travel on ferries to the Island was off, with passenger numbers down eight per cent and automobiles down 5.4 per cent. Mr. Lamson said the decrease was due primarily to Hurricane Irene during the last weekend in August. Commercial truck traffic was up 1.9 per cent for the month.

Total operating revenues and other income for the month were off $666,000 from budget projections, while operating expenses were also $106,000 lower than projected. Through August boat line operating revenues and other income was off $946,000 from budget projections, while operating expenses and fixed charges were $2.48 million lower than projected. Net operating income through August was $8.3 million, $1.1 million more than projected.

Finally, Oak Bluffs selectman Mike Santoro spoke at the meeting, asking the governors to consider opening the Oak Bluffs terminal a little earlier, a week before Memorial Day.

“It’s a great, beautiful terminal and we’d love to get more use out of it,” he said.

But Mr. Lamson said weather and cost considerations weigh against an earlier opening of the terminal, which underwent a complete refurbishment this year.

“If we open it any earlier we’re adding cost to the operation because everything can be operated out of Vineyard Haven more efficiently,” Mr. Lamson said. “We’re also more prone to cancellations that time of year.”

Mr. Santoro also complained about the number of cancellations at Oak Bluffs this summer due to weather and sea conditions, when boats were redirected to Vineyard Haven. The Oak Bluffs wharf lies directly on Nantucket Sound and is far more exposed during storms than the Vineyard Haven terminal.

Tisbury selectman Jeff Kristal, who also attended the meeting, touched on the sensitive rivalry between the business organizations in the two port towns over ferry schedules.

“I’d love to see more cancellations in the summer,” Mr. Kristal said.

“The last thing we want to be involved in is a civil war,” said Mr. Marshall.