Steamship Authority governors hold their monthly meeting on the Vineyard this week with a full agenda, including ongoing discussion about the Woods Hole terminal project and an update on an independent review of operations that began this past summer.
The meeting begins at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School Performing Arts Center.
The $60 million-plus Woods Hole terminal project is in the design phase. The large glass edifice planned by architects as the new terminal building drew sharp criticism at open meetings held last week both in Falmouth and on the Vineyard. Among other things, Vineyard and Woods Hole residents are raising concerns about a design that they say clashes with the character of surrounding village, and the decision to not pursue some kind of alternative energy use such as solar panels. Concerns are also being raised about plans to open up the third slip in Woods Hole for full use, potentially increasing traffic on the Vineyard route. Until now use of the slip has been restricted under an agreement with Woods Hole neighbors.
The independent review of operations has been under way since July with Seattle-based HMS Consulting.
Boat line governors came under pressure to commission the review after an unprecedented series of breakdowns late last spring threw operations into turmoil, alarming among Islanders about the state-chartered boat line that is their lifeline. The boat line is paying HMS $217,976 to conduct the review, which was expected to take 12 weeks and cover five general areas: vessel operations, fleet maintenance, management structure, public communications and IT systems.
The SSA will also be a topic of discussion at a meeting of the Martha’s Vineyard Commission on Thursday night.
Commission executive director Adam Turner said SSA general manager Robert Davis has been invited to attend thee meeting, as part of a broader examination by the MVC of carrying capacity to the Island.
Mr. Turner emphasized that the meeting is not a public hearing.
“It’s information gathering, not a policy discussion” he said. “We want to better understand the Steamship Authority, so we are going to ask questions about numbers, how things are decided etc. Our goal is to get all this information as we prepare to have a discussion in the coming weeks on growth and character.”
The commission meeting begins at 7 p.m. in the Olde Stone Building in Oak Bluffs.
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