PORT TOWNSEND — Two Port Townsend companies have expressed interest in operating a passenger ferry between Port Townsend and Seattle for the Port of Port Townsend.
Both Puget Sound Express and Salish Sea Transportation LLC responded to a request for services prior to the deadline Friday and were interviewed by port personnel Tuesday.
Pete and Sherry Hanke of Puget Sound Express run a tourist ferry between Port Townsend and Friday Harbor while Salish Sea is owned by Roger Slade and Bob Wise.
“They are both excellent candidates,” said port Director Larry Crockett.
Originally, port staff had expected to bring a recommendation to the commissioners Wednesday night, but the candidates are both so impressive that more time will be needed to make a choice, Crockett said.
The next step in the selection process will be for port staff to develop a matrix of requirements and capabilities and use that data to select one of the two applicants, Crockett said, with a staff recommendation possible in two weeks at the earliest.
“We got two excellent proposals,” said port Deputy Director Jim Pivarnik.
“The commissioners are going to make a very tough decision.”
The port hopes to select an operator in November and expects that the successful candidate will be part of the process of designing and building the boat that will be used on the route.
“We want to make sure we design the right boat,” Pivarnik said.
“We want the operator on board so quickly so they are in on the design, can help us determine what kind of facilities are needed and how to make these improvements.”
Pivarnik said both operators are technologically savvy and will use social media to promote the service.
“Bob Wise designs apps for the iPad and the iPhone,” Pivarnik said of one of the operators.
“He came up with the idea to develop a Port Townsend ferry app where you could go on your phone, make a reservation and charge your credit card.”
The ferry is scheduled to begin operation in the summer of 2013 and would “start small,” Pivarnik said.
“We may only run a few days a week and then let the business grow,” he said.
The port does not expect the ferry to serve commuters and will be more focused on getting people from Seattle to Port Townsend than vice versa.
“This is more an excursion boat than a method of transit; it is all about bringing wealth to the community,” Pivarnik said.
In August, the port received a $1.3 million U.S. Department of Transportation grant for the construction of a foot ferry to provide service between Port Townsend and Seattle.
Commissioners decided that, while the port would build and own the boat, it would contract out its operation.
Crockett had said that if no operators expressed interest, the project would be abandoned.
Pivarnik compared the project to the port constructing a building in the Boat Haven for a marine trade to run its business.
“We have told the operators that we will continue to be their partners and help them where we can, like securing grants for expansion,” Pivarnik said.
“But we have made it very clear that we are not going to subsidize this.”
nce the operator is selected, port officials hope to hold community meetings beginning the first of the year to determine what people want from the service and from the boat itself, while providing the operator with a certain level of autonomy.
“The worst thing we can do is to ask a local business to do something that is not profitable for them,” Pivarnik said.
“We are not going to micromanage their business.”
The initial idea was to run the service once or twice a day with a 49-passenger capacity, with a one-way fare at about $20 or $25.
The port hopes to put out bids for boat construction after the first of the year, and building the boat should take about eight months.
The port has not yet solicited bids, but it has already heard from “three very capable” local boat builders, Crockett said.
He said the port cannot require the builder to be local. Instead, it must accept the lowest qualified bid for construction.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
