New Nantucket Member Joins Steamship Board; New Ferry Plans Advance

By JULIA WELLS
Gazette Senior Writer

NANTUCKET - A new board member for Nantucket and a new ferry
for the Vineyard - these were the benchmarks of the monthly
Steamship Authority meeting yesterday morning when SSA governors tackled
an array of business for the boat line which is the lifeline to the two
Islands.

Held at the Nantucket Inn, the meeting was sparsely attended and
marked by a tone of quiet solemnity in the absence of Grace S. Grossman,
the Nantucket governor who died last month after a brief illness.

"We can say the Grossmans have been present here for at least
the last 28 years and we will miss their wisdom, their thoughtful
guidance and above all their dedication to the authority," said
Barnstable governor and board chairman Robert O'Brien, who called
for a moment of silence at the outset of the meeting in Mrs.
Grossman's memory.

The board also warmly hailed Flint Ranney, who was appointed by the
Nantucket selectmen on Wednesday night to fill Mrs. Grossman's
unexpired term.

"Welcome - you have a tough act to follow," Mr.
O'Brien said.

Wearing his signature bow tie and socks printed with ACK (the
Nantucket airport call letters) that he said had been a gift from Mrs.
Grossman, Mr. Ranney readily agreed.

"Grace is still looking over my shoulder," he said.

Mr. Ranney has been a member of the SSA port council for the last
two years, and for two years before that he was a member of the boat
line financial advisory board. A year-round resident of Nantucket for
the last 27 years and a lifelong summer resident before that, Mr. Ranney
is a Realtor and the owner of Denby Real Estate on Nantucket.

Yesterday he appeared quietly assertive, calling for senior managers
to report back at the next meeting on the status of the 1997 agreement
between the SSA and the town of Barnstable.

"I'd like Steve [SSA general counsel Steven Sayers] and
Wayne [acting general manager Wayne Lamson] to look into the ‘97
agreement and come back next month with a declaration that we've
satisfied it," Mr. Ranney said.

Signed as part of a complicated deal between the boat line and the
town of Barnstable, the agreement calls for reducing truck traffic on
the Nantucket run and naming an alternative port for freight by the end
of 2003.

Two months ago the port council voted to name New Bedford as the
likely alternative port.

Mr. Ranney also refused to be pushed into an expedited search
process for a new general manager.

Vineyard governor Kathryn A. Roessel urged the board to get going on
the search.

Mr. Lamson, the longtime respected boat line treasurer, was
appointed acting general manager last month in the wake of Fred C.
Raskin's resignation. For the first time in his career, Mr. Lamson
has said he is interested in the permanent job as well.

Ms. Roessel said she wants the search to proceed at a quick pace
because the clock is ticking on her own term, which runs out at the end
of this year. She said she will seek reappointment to another term, but
she admitted there are no guarantees that she will get the appointment.
She said it would be unfair to hand the task of finding a new general
manager to a new Vineyard board member.

"I know there are some feelings that we should slow this
process down, but if we do that we will invariably straddle the timeline
- Wayne has only been appointed for four months," Ms.
Roessel said. Last month a subcommittee was formed to conduct the
search, and yesterday Ms. Roessel ceded her seat on the subcommittee to
Mr. Ranney - but urged the board to advertise now for a new
general manager.

Mr. O'Brien said there is no hurry.

"I don't feel there is any big rush in this thing. If
four months is a problem we can change it to six months or eight
months," he said.

"That doesn't solve the situation of whether it is fair
to Martha's Vineyard," Ms. Roessel said.

Mr. Ranney sided with Mr. O'Brien.

"I don't want to rush into the timeline yet with due
respect because I have a lot to assimilate. I'd like a few minutes
or a month to think about it. I think the subcommittee should have a
meeting and discuss all this," he said.

In the end Ms. Roessel recanted, and Mr. Ranney experienced a
classic moment as the freshman member of the board.

"Who is chairman of this subcommittee?" he asked.

"You are," Mr. O'Brien replied.

"I had no idea, " Mr. Ranney replied with a small smile.

In other business yesterday, the boat line governors also voted
without dissent to advertise for bids for a replacement ferry for the
Islander. Engineering director Carl Walker reported briefly on the
status of the project, which has been two years in the design phase. The
new ferry is planned as a 250-foot double-ender with the capacity to
carry 76 cars and 1,200 passengers. Lift decks on the ferry will allow
more flexibility for carrying cars and trucks. Mr. Walker said the ferry
will do 16 knots and will be compliant with the Americans with
Disabilities Act from bow to stern.

The ferry is expected to cost between $22 million and $25 million,
with delivery expected by April of 2006.

Bid packages are expected to go out sometime next month. The outcome
will be determined by the low bidder.

"On behalf of Martha's Vineyard, thank you for all your
hard work on this project - thank you for listening," Ms.
Roessel told Mr. Walker.

In a midsummer business report yesterday, Mr. Lamson said ridership
continues to be off slightly, but he said revenues are still ahead of
budget projections for the year. Mr. Lamson said a look at the last two
years shows that for 20 out of 24 months, ridership was off from the
previous year. The treasurer expressed no cause for alarm, but said the
numbers will be taken into account when figuring the budget for the
coming year.

Mr. Lamson also praised boat line employees for their hard work and
dedication during the recent breakdown of the Eagle, the conventional
ferry that anchors the Nantucket run. The Eagle went out of service two
weeks ago when she lost a starboard rudder.

"Everybody pitched in," said Mr. Lamson, who circulated
a memorandum among employees thanking them for their work.

Mr. Walker said an early examination of the rudder showed that a
welding failure was a possible cause, but he said the evaluation is
still incomplete. As a safety precaution, both rudders were replaced.

Mr. Walker echoed Mr. Lamson's remarks about the work that
went into repairing the Eagle.

"The vessel and crew did a wonderful job - we got
material from Chicago, got it on trucks, got it into a machine shop in
Fairhaven. . . . It is quite a monumental task to put two new rudders on
a vessel in a week, and we did it in the water in Fairhaven with divers,
not in dry dock," he said.

Mr. Walker said the events underscored the useful purpose of the
Fairhaven maintenance facility, a relatively recent acquisition by the
boat line.

The boat line board also:

* Approved a $70,000 expenditure for improvements to the
telephone and computer reservations system. The upgrade began last week
and results are already evident, Mr. Lamson said.

* Voted to allow Mr. Lamson to refinance some $8 million in
bonds in order to reduce debt payments over the next eight years.