Boat Line Eyes Changes at Oak Bluffs Terminal; Town Hall Deal in
Doubt

By JAMES KINSELLA
Gazette Senior Writer

HYANNIS - Steamship Authority governors said yesterday that
the boat line may now revise the Oak Bluffs terminal reconstruction
project, including possibly dropping plans to relocate the ticket office
to the former town hall off Sea View avenue.

SSA general manager Wayne Lamson said that the increased cost of
building additional space for vehicle staging on the terminal pier could
lead the boat line to set aside the town hall option. Mr. Lamson spoke
at the monthly meeting, held yesterday at the Hyannis terminal.

Senior managers have recommended that the boat line at least pursue
lengthening and widening the vehicle bridge from the pier onto the
ferries, and replacing the dolphins at the ferry slip in Oak Bluffs Mr.
Lamson said that work would cost $6 million.

"We have to take care of our dock first," said Vineyard
governor and board chairman Marc Hanover of Oak Bluffs. Mr. Hanover said
some of the dolphins are leaning over.

The boat line's most recent proposal, which would have
involved creating vehicle staging along the North Bluff and moving its
ticket operation to the former town hall, was estimated to cost $10
million.

The Oak Bluffs conservation commission has been critical of the part
of the plan to build and use part of the coastal bank along the North
Bluff for vehicle staging and related landscaping.

In a letter to Mr. Lamson, a group of North Bluff residents also
have objected to the staging plan, which they said would diminish the
historic value and the quality of life in their neighborhood, as well as
"its welcoming appearance and its hospitable functionality as one
of the gateways inviting visitors to enjoy what Oak Bluffs has to
offer."

Residents also said the proposed staging would require abrupt
elevation changes in the coastal bluff, and they claimed the staging
would hinder and add to the chaos of traffic flow in the area.

"We also feel this increased convergence of vehicles would
augment an already established danger to pedestrians crossing Sea View,
and particularly to families with small children, either toddling or
seated in carriages and strollers," declared a letter signed by 16
North Bluff residents.

Boat line managers meanwhile have yet to reach an agreement with the
Oak Bluffs selectmen to lease part of the former town hall.

Mr. Lamson said SSA officials are scheduled to meet with the
selectmen next Tuesday to discuss the project.

The plan to rearrange and increase vehicle staging at the pier is
aimed at moving vehicles onto ferries more efficiently and creating a
safer and smoother traffic flow in the streets near the pier. The SSA
uses the terminal seasonally in addition to the year-round terminal at
Vineyard Haven.

The most recent terminal plan calls for demolishing the existing
ticket office and comfort station on the eastern side of Sea View
avenue, moving most of the ticket operation to the former town hall,
putting in three lanes of vehicle staging just to the north, along Sea
View avenue extension and widening the pedestrian walkway along the
southern edge of the pier.

Boat line engineers have shied away from widening the pier for more
vehicle staging, given increased costs, environmental impact and
possible permitting difficulties.

But at an informal site visit and meeting with the town conservation
commission on June 21, a number of commission members said they wanted
the SSA to explore widening the pier rather than disturbing the coastal
bank along the North Bluff.

Yesterday, Mr. Lamson said SSA engineers are preparing cost reviews
for the prior plan, the new plan that shifts staging to the pier and
also an upgrade of just the slip and the vehicle transfer bridge.

Port council member Eric Asendorf of Falmouth said the council, an
advisory group, unanimously supports the plan to, at a minimum, repair
the slip and transfer bridge.

In other business yesterday:

Mr. Lamson and boat line treasurer Robert Davis reported an
improving financial picture at the SSA, whose performance had been
lagging behind budget. Through the first five months of the year, the
boat line reported an operating loss of about $9 million, about $690,000
worse than expected. But that figure included a book loss of $489,000
taken in May on the sale of the ferry Schamonchi. In that light, Mr.
Lamson said, "We're in pretty good shape."

With the June books not yet closed, Mr. Davis said the boat line
anticipates operating income of about $2.2 million, off about $120,000.
Higher ridership on the fast ferry Flying Cloud, up about 10,000 from
last June, was offset by higher fuel and medical insurance costs
throughout the boat line. The results place the boat line's
financial performance for the first six months at a loss of $6.8
million, about $800,000 worse than expected.

SSA general counsel Steven Sayers said boat line officials
will open technical proposals today in Woods Hole from firms interested
in providing the boat line with a new fast ferry to replace the Flying
Cloud. Mr. Sayers said the committee will later rank the proposals.

Next month, SSA officials will open and review accompanying cost
proposals from the firms. Around August 10, Mr. Sayers said, the boat
line will issue a staff summary for proposed action based on the various
technical and financial proposals. While the reviews will be conducted
behind closed doors, the summary will be released to the public. The SSA
board is slated to act on the proposal at its next meeting, set for
August 18 on Nantucket. The boat line operates its fast ferry on the
Hyannis-Nantucket route.

Mr. Lamson said the boat line has been compiling costs
resulting from a false bomb threat that led to the closure of Nantucket
harbor to ferry traffic last Sunday evening. Both the SSA and Hy-Line, a
private ferry company based in Hyannis, canceled trips to and from
Nantucket because of the closure. The shutdown stranded dozens of people
on the island. Nantucket police subsequently arrested four teenagers
- two from Nantucket and two from Connecticut - and charged
them with making the bomb threat. No explosives were found aboard SSA or
Hy-Line ferries. Mr. Lamson said the boat line is interested in seeking
restitution from those responsible.

Murray Scudder, vice president for operations at Hy-Line, said
Nantucket police had asked the company for a summary of its losses. The
bomb threat was telephoned to the Hy-Line ticket office on Nantucket
shortly after 8 p.m. Sunday.