The Kitsap Transit Board of Commissioners Tuesday unanimously approved plans to build a high-speed, low-wake boat that may help revive foot ferry service across Puget Sound.
The resolution authorizes staff members to spend up to $5.35 million of federal funds to complete the Rich Passage Wake Study, which was launched five years ago in the hopes of creating a vessel that could shave time off the trip to Seattle without destroying the shoreline.
“In order to preserve the benefits of the completed research and design work and substantial expenditures made to date, it is necessary to complete the final phase of the research by actually constructing and operating the prototype vessel,” the resolution states.
In 2004, Kitsap Transit enlisted Pacific International Engineering to design a low-wake boat and test its impact on the sensitive shorelines east of Sinclair Inlet. Different boats have been tested during the five-year process, including the M/V Spirit and what was known as Research Vessel Three last year.
Kitsap Transit officials said they have completed a general design for the prototype and received a bid for building such a boat from All American Marine and its naval architect Teknicraft, which could begin work on the vessel in May or June of this year and complete it 12 months later.
To pay for the prototype, Kitsap Transit already has $3.65 in federal funds, has since been awarded $1.4 million more, and is also anticipating receipt of $2.45 million more in federal stimulus funds, or the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). All of those funds have been “earmarked for prototype vessel design, vessel construction, test operations and dock improvements.”
During the public comments portion of the meeting, Poulsbo City Councilwoman Betty Erickson told the board she was concerned because the prototype vessel appeared to be a hydrofoil, which she said would not be very successful in Puget Sound waters due to the amount of log debris.
“I support Kitsap Transit’s initiative in trying to get Passenger-only ferry (POF) back, (but I feel the endeavor) is incredibly dependent on the boat, and we have to get the right one,” Erickson said, asking if the agency had sought “independent vetting” of the prototype’s design. “My greatest fear is that this will fail.”
“We think this is the right boat, and we have to have faith that it is,” said Dick Hayes, executive director of Kitsap Transit, explaining that the prototype was actually a “partial hydrofoil” which had been tested extensively in Puget Sound waters and could handle “almost any kind of collision (with debris) I can think of.”
Poulsbo Mayor Kathryn Quade said “there has been a lot of controversy lately over where Kitsap Transit spends its money,” and asked Hayes to verify that none of the funds could be used to “restore service cuts.” Hayes confirmed that they could not.
South Kitsap Commissioner Charlotte Garrido asked what would happen if the prototype failed — “What do we do then?”
Port Orchard Mayor Lary Coppola said his city would “always welcome the prospect of a new boat.”
Hayes said he believed the boat would work, but if not, “we could always use the vessel (for the foot ferry route) between Bremerton and Port Orchard. It is too much boat for (that route), but we’ve been dealing for a long time with too little boat.”
Bainbridge Island Mayor Darlene Kordonowy asked if there had been any “value engineering” completed for the project and if so, was there any documentation of it available.
“When the vessel is on the water, people will be complaining, and I would like some documentation of how thorough we have been,” Kordonowy said.
Hayes said he had “three file folders of such documentation” that could be provided if necessary, and that his agency would be scheduling “another round of public meetings once the boat is received.”
Will Maupin, Bremerton City Councilman, said he felt it was “absolutely essential we move forward, and fellow councilwoman Carol Arends agreed. “We’re about as close as we’re going to get, and we need to do something about this.”
The board then voted unanimously to approve the resolution.
During early phases of the project, Phil Osbourne of PI Engineering said his group began the study because there was significant interest in reviving the fast ferry runs through Rich Passage, which were halted due to complaints from shoreline property owners, who ultimately filed a lawsuit.
“The conclusion is that the state-run ferries had a substantial impact on the beaches, making the condition of the beach unacceptable to the property owners,” Osbourne said, explaining that the current study, which began in 2004, is focusing on the wakes created by the boats.
While wakes are less of a problem in deeper sections of Puget Sound, he said in Rich Passage’s narrow and shallow areas, the waves created “get amplified by the bottom topography and tidal currents,” wreaking havoc on the shoreline.
