A town advisory committee in Edgartown is asking the select board to hold off on approving the change in ownership for the Chappy Ferry in order to address underlying concerns about the license agreement.
The Chappaquiddick Ferry steering committee voted 5-4 on Tuesday to recommend delaying the application, which is set to go before the select board at a public hearing on May 11. Several steering committee members said that the lack of transparency around the investor group looking to purchase the ferry was one of the driving factors.
“We don’t know who they are, and the Chappy ferry is a monopoly,” committee member Bill Brine said during Tuesday’s meeting. “It’s a monopoly that is controlling over a billion dollars worth of public and private property. We’ve got to know who these people are and what they’re all about. We can’t just have a blind company running our ferry.”
The committee has been talking for the last several weeks about the proposed sale by Peter Wells and Sally Snipes to Brian Scall.
Mr. Scall, who has captained the ferry for the past year, is planning to purchase the company and take over the license with the help of an investor group. The lack of disclosure around the finances of the deal has been concerning to some Chappy residents.
Mr. Scall has been resistant to disclosing too much about the deal before the paperwork is signed.
“Once we get to the point of signing a license, there will be more that the town asks of us in regards to certain things like that, but as for a public disclosure of that, I’m not willing to disclose that at this time,” said Mr. Scall, who has been working at and operating the ferry over the past year to better understand the business.
James Hagerty, the Edgartown town administrator, noted that a background check by a third party was being conducted on Mr. Scall and the investor group after Mr. Scall agreed to share information about the investors with the select board confidentially.
“The town procured a third party to do a full investigation on [Brian Scall], as well as the respective organization, slash investors,” said Mr. Hagerty. “We are waiting for those results. I don’t expect anything stunning.”
According to Mr. Hagerty, the comprehensive background check will dive into the business history of Mr. Scall, the company and its investor group.
Other committee members worried that the investor group could change after the sale.
“I just think that it’s too easy for [the investors] to change who runs [the ferry],” said Tom Tilghman, another steering committee member. “All it takes is a vote of three people.”
Mr. Scall assured the steering committee that he, along with the group of investors, expect to run and operate the ferry for the next 20 to 25 years.
With that long timeline, some steering committee members felt there was enough time to slow down the process to ensure a positive outcome for the town.
“There’s no rush to get this done,” said Mr. Brine.
But Mr. Scall and Mr. Wells said that isn’t true. Mr. Wells, who has owned and operated the ferry alongside Ms. Snipes for almost 20 years, argued that making the sale sooner would give Mr. Scall the opportunity to own the business in the summer, when the ferry makes most of its money for the entire year.
“Time is of the essence,” said Mr. Wells. “Brian isn’t [currently] running the ferry. Sally and I still own it. We pay all the bills, and we are using the incoming revenue to pay those bills. The sooner Brian owns it, the sooner he gets that revenue, which is going to get him through next winter.”
Mr. Scall said he hopes to make upgrades and provide general maintenance to the boats, the ramps, the gantries, the sea walls and the buildings in the next two years. Based on assessments made by himself, Mr. Wells, Ms. Snipes and the ferry captains, Mr. Scall plans to spend approximately $100,000 on capital improvements over that time. Mr. Scall’s priority during that time is to maintain safety and avoid unnecessary disruptions during summer months.
“Safety is the utmost thing,” Mr. Scall said during a meeting last week. “We start putting performance standards in. One of my first fears is that all of a sudden I’m rushing my captains and rushing my mates to try to get things done.”
Committee members also expressed their views about who should be in control of fare adjustments. Technically, all fare adjustments fall under select board authority, said Mr. Hagerty. Mr. Scall said that the purchase, which he said was going to be $2.9 million, would have no effect on ticket prices.
Another topic of note was the addition of a third ferry, which according to Mr. Scall is a long way away.
“I’d love to see it come down the road, but, you know, it’s a massive capital expenditure, so there’s a lot of factors,” said Mr. Scall.
This article appears in May 8, 2026.
Classic Chappy.
I think it’s fair to want to know who exactly this “investor group” is when it involves what is essentially a utility.