GOP of Island County – Community Forum on Ferries

GOP of Island County Hosts A Community Forum

Impacts of the Washington State Ferry System on Whidbey Island and other Communities

This community forum is being sponsored by GOP of Island County (an independent political action committee) as a public service to Whidbey Island and other neighborhoods impacted by the Washington State Ferry System. This is a bi-partisan, non-political forum designed to provide up-to-date information to residents on the current status of the ferry system, wait times, service capabilities, as well as deliveries of the new boats currently under construction to name a few topics.

Date of the Forum —- Thursday, November 13th from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm.

Location —- Trinity Lutheran Church, Freeland, Washington.

Invited Speakers —-                      

• Trinity Lutheran Church Pastor Jim Lindes — confirmed.
• Megan Cotton – senior policy advisor – transportation with the Washington State Governor’s Office — confirmed.
• John Vezina, assistant secretary, Washington State Ferries — confirmed.
• State Senator Ron Muzzall – 10th Legislative District — confirmed.
• State Representative Clyde Shavers – 10th Legislative District — invited.
• State Representative Dave Paul – 10th Legislative District — invited.
• Jack Schwab, Chair, Coupeville Ferry Advisory Committee — confirmed.
• Tom Eckhart, Maritime Academy graduate and professional engineer — confirmed.
• Lynn Murphy, major account executive with Puget Power Energy Company, will be in attendance — confirmed.

Before the question-and-answer portion of the forum begins, the speakers will provide a brief overview of their activities with the ferry system and their perspective of where ferry service is at.

Topics to Address —-    The following is a partial list of possible topics to address during the forum.

• Status of current ferry system – boats in service, changes in service, anticipated delays due to maintenance, etc.
• Current status of new ferries under construction, information on how the ferries will operate and be recharged, delivery times, etc.
• How are crew shortages being addressed? Union negotiations to resolve these issues and secure the proper personnel?
• What is being done to address current delays and backlogs?
• What is the estimate of the number of vehicles waiting now for service as opposed to three and five years ago? What steps are being taken to address this increase?
• Based on the Growth Management Act’s expected population growth for our area, what steps are being taken to support that growth?
• What are the factors that have increased ferry cancelations over the past five years? What is the impact on wait times due to these cancellations? What is being done to address these factors?
• What is the electricity demands for serving the new ferries currently under contract to be constructed?
• What are the peak power requirements for the ferries and is there sufficient available of power to serve them?
• What sources of power generation will be used to meet the needs of the ferries as well as the growing demand once natural gas/propane is no longer available.