The Chappy Ferry will be changing hands after the Edgartown select board unanimously approved the transfer of the license to Brian Scall Tuesday.
The board cited support from town residents when making its decision to transfer the license from Peter Wells and Sally Snipes, who have owned and operated the ferry service for more than 20 years, to Mr. Scall and a small group of investors.
The decision caps months of debate about the license, though the board plans to revisit the terms of the license in 2028 after Mr. Scall has time to get used to running the lone transportation on and off Chappaquiddick.
“I think that there are some additional questions that need to get answered before everything gets signed, but I’m in favor of transferring motions to buy,” said select board member Julia Tarka.
Mr. Scall has worked as a captain for the ferry service for nearly two years and first raised buying the ferry for just shy of $3 million in March. The town had been vetting the proposal and town administrator James Hagerty asked that the approval of the license transfer be contingent upon a final legal review.
The license has been a hot button issue for years, and Chappy residents and members of the Chappy Ferry steering committee have all voiced discontent for how the ferry service governance is set up.
Mr. Scall said that he doesn’t plan on making any big changes to the service.
“I hope that we can just first keep the service going and build upon what Peter and Sally have already done for 20 years,” said Mr. Scall. “Hopefully through that we’ll be able to implement little updates along the way to slowly improve the service”
Transparency over the deal, the investors and fare increases has been one of the main concerns raised during past hearings.
Mr. Scall has provided information about the buyers to the town, the select board and the town lawyers as requested.
“The town has done an incredible amount of due diligence over the past couple weeks, and even before that, to make sure that the people of Edgartown and Chappaquiddick are protected,” he said.
The select board, considering suggestions brought up during a hearing on May 11, decided to approve the transfer of the license on the condition that the terms are reconsidered in 2028 when the license expires and after Mr. Scall has been given two years to operate the ferry under the approved agreement.
According to Mr. Scall, upkeep and repair operations are already well underway. The seawall on the Edgartown side of the ferry has been resheeted and over the next couple of months Mr. Scall plans to gather more data and implement measures to better understand the flow of traffic, he said.
Additionally, Mr. Scall is looking to upgrade the Chappaquiddick Ferry website to provide people more information in real time.
“We need a way to allow people to understand tides and traffic and things like that, so those are going to be things we’ll be working on as we move forward,” he said.
Mr. Wells was happy about the select board’s decision to transfer the license to Mr. Scall.
“I hope he’s successful and gets to do all the stuff he dreams about doing,” said Mr. Wells.
This article appears in May 29, 2026.
Congratulations to Brian. I hope he will have a warm and constructive relationship with all Chappy residents–including the summer residents who did not have a say but are deeply concerned with the ferry’s operations. James Hagerty’s point about a legal review is well taken. Just a reminder that every paper the town’s elected and unelected people reviewed is a public record which should be made available for everybody to review.