<p>General manager Robert Davis continues to please the boat line board of governors, who gave him high grades in his second annual performance review Tuesday on Nantucket.</p>
NANTUCKET --- Steamship Authority general manager Robert Davis continues to please the boat line board of governors, who gave him high grades in his second annual performance review during Tuesday’s SSA meeting at the Nantucket Whaling Museum.
“I think he’s doing a great job,” said Barnstable governor Robert Jones, who chairs the board and gave Mr. Jones an overall grade of 92.
Freight ferry Sankaty plies Vineyard route.
Freight ferry Sankaty plies Vineyard route.
Nantucket governor Robert Ranney rated Mr. Davis 96 per cent.
“As good as he is, there’s always room for improvement,” Mr. Ranney said.
The lowest ratings Mr. Davis received from board members who attended Tuesday’s meeting were 85 per cent from Falmouth governor Kathryn Wilson and 90 per cent from Vineyard governor Marc Hanover. Moira Tierney of New Bedford, who was absent, has not submitted an evaluation, according to SSA director of communications Sean Driscoll.
The port council, a group of appointed representatives from each of the port towns the boat line serves, had already provided a 90 per cent overall rating for Mr. Davis’s performance for the year that began in July 2018.
After an executive session following the public meeting Tuesday, the SSA board voted unanimously to approve a three per cent raise for Mr. Davis.
Mr. Davis had declined to take a pay increase at the beginning of his second year with the boat line, continuing at his starting salary of $175,000, Mr. Driscoll said. This year’s raise is retroactive to the beginning of his contract year on July 1.
In other business Tuesday, the boat line moved closer to raising auto and some parking rates in 2020 as board members reviewed the draft budget for next year.
Treasurer/comptroller Mark Rozum told the board the SSA is about $5 million short of the $7 million it needs to break even on a $111 million annual operating budget for the coming year.
Because the Martha’s Vineyard route costs the boat line more than Nantucket service, more than $4 million of the shortfall is planned to come from increases in Vineyard fares, while the rest will fall on Nantucket travelers.
The proposed Vineyard increases range from $5 on excursion fares designed to provide affordable passage for Islanders — to $19 more each way for standard auto fares on summer weekends.
Motorcycle fares also will increase, Mr. Rozum said, because today’s motorcycles take up about as much freight deck space as cars do.
Board members will vote on the proposed fare schedule at their monthly meeting on the Vineyard on Oct. 15.
Mr. Davis said at that meeting he would report to the board of governors on the Sept. 19 public hearing in Falmouth, at which residents challenged the boat line’s plan to resume a 5:30 a.m. freight boat from Woods Hole to Vineyard Haven next summer.
The board voted this week to approve the proposed 2020 schedule for the Nantucket route, but are holding off on the Vineyard decision until October.
General manager Robert Davis will get a three per cent raise on his $175,000 annual salary.
General manager Robert Davis will get a three per cent raise on his $175,000 annual salary.
The meeting included the first of what are contracted to be quarterly visits from the SSA’s consulting team of John Sainsbury, of HMS Consulting, and ocean engineer Matthew Lankowski of Glosten.
The two led the board through a slide show noting the boat line’s progress on the strategic initiatives laid out by HMS/Glosten in last year’s comprehensive review of boat line operations.
Several key managers, in both new and existing positions, have been hired in the wake of the review. Two new positions filled earlier this year are those of director of marine operations Mark Amundsen and health, safety, quality and environment manager Angela Sampson.
“She’s doing a great job hitting the ground running on this HSQE implementation,” Mr. Lankowski said of Ms. Sampson’s work.
The boat line is also “right-sizing” its engineering department with additional hires, Mr. Lankowski said, including a project engineer whose job will include working up requests for proposals from shipyards to work on SSA ferries.
Having a dedicated engineer to prepare the RFPs well in advance of the need for work should help the boat line to get more bids from shipyards, Mr. Davis said.
With six months lead time on the RFP for drydocking the Island Home this winter, just one shipyard, Thames of New London, placed a bid to do the work.
Shipyards need more advance notice to place competitive bids, Mr. Davis told the board.
“They want to fill up their docks . . . so they’ll commit as soon as possible,” he said.
Comments
For countless years the
Bob EdgartownFor countless years the Marthas Vineyard route subsidized the Nantucket route. It would be nice if the VINEYARD route received a little payback from those 20 or 30 years when the VINEYARD was covering the Nantucket route.
Remember that the SSA is run
T Bone Oak BluffsRemember that the SSA is run by a bean counter. He can move numbers between Nantucket and the Vineyard with the click of a mouse. I highly doubt, if you dig deep into how expenses were allocated, that Nantucket is truly subsidizing MV.
Keep in mind that the SSA is
islandgirl islandKeep in mind that the SSA is a state created and sanctioned monopoly whose enabling legislation states that the purpose is to move people and necessaries back and forth between the islands and the mainland. It is NOT to create new empires and to encourage tourism ($1 M in the budget we hear) or to continually build newer, bigger, more techie boats and resort type terminals. The function is to serve the islands. The MV route takes 45 inutes -- do we really need vessels which provide all sorts of visitor experiences plus every amenity? No, we need more boats like the GOVERNOR which run effortlessly and with least disturbance back and forth carrying what we need. Keep everything very simple and have boats which are identical and efficient so that there ar cost savings and economies of scale. If I plan to travel I do not need -- or want -- a cruise vessel, I want a vessel like the ISLANDER or the GOVERNOR -- not something like the ISLAND HOME or the WOODS HOLE which are incredibly expensive and heavy maintenance. Ditto for terminals -- a place to sit and restrooms as well as ticket sales. Do we need more? Absolutely not. Should we pay for more? Absolutely not. Will the SSA listen and act to our wishes? Absolutely not!
Island girl, you are so right
Lorraine EdgartownIsland girl, you are so right. The original mandate of the SA has been forgotten. It is not their mandate to encourage the use of the island as an ATM machine for people. Simple vessels that can haul freight and people at the least cost is what is needed. I have taken ferries all over the world and am not unaware of the use and problems of marine vessels.
Right on Sistah !!!!!!!!
Bob EdgRight on Sistah !!!!!!!!
I totally agree.
Ken ChilmarkI totally agree.
Perhaps you would like to
John Cape CodPerhaps you would like to eliminate the SSA and be linked to the mainland by bridge instead and experience real traffic congestion and serious overdevelopment like the Cape has had since the Canal bridges were built. MV and Nantucket have been heavily marketed as a summer destination for decades by the Chambers of Commerce and business's alike, so constantly blaming the SSA for all the issue's that occur on the islands is ridiculous. I have never had any issues with the SSA as I almost always use a bike for transportation when I visit the Islands and expect delays when weather conditions impact service. As far as having more ferries like the Governor good luck with that when it's 20 degree's outside and snowing and you are lucky to be somewhat warm if you have a vehicle. Sorry but the Islands are victim's of there own marketing success resulting in overdevelopment over the decades and will continue on as big money Real Estate continues to support the economy.
Since the SSA is saying that
Corn Fused vineyard havenSince the SSA is saying that motorcycles take up as much space as a car....I hope that they are prepared for the consequences of motorcycle owners who will insist on having and using that much space.
Utter nonsense that a
R Scott Patterson EdgartownUtter nonsense that a motorcycle takes up the same space as a car, I just got off the boat with my bike and I was put in a corner no car could have parked in.
This is what happens when you
Yup EdgThis is what happens when you have a closed market. Well, we picked how much we’d like to make this year, so we’ll just increase what we charge to achieve that. What choice do people have but to pay it? There’s no competition to balance. The enormous increases will be paid by non-Islanders (people who don’t vote here). Pretty smart from a group that shows questionable competence regularly.
Also, what’s with all this breathless “ohh, can we give him more than a 100?” over Davis? It’s kind of weird and uncomfortable. You really can’t come up with ANYTHING that could be improved upon? What about finding ways to reduce costs?
Never forget the Steamship
William EdgNever forget the Steamship motto from Marty Nadler: "We're not happy until you're not happy". Plenty of that to go around. There is also the much older saying to whom I do not know to credit: "The Steamship Authority has No Authority Over Steamships". True statement.
i want to thank the SSA for a
akcrabber chilmarki want to thank the SSA for a job well done this summer. I had a lot of dental work done this summer and I never had to change a appointment due to lack of boat space and I ALWAYS got back on an earlier boat!
We have been visiting MV for
Dave Snyder Jefferson, MarylandWe have been visiting MV for many years and the Islander was just fine, and the coffee reminded me of my time in the Army. I wonder if the board members take the fairy to Nantucket or fly, as this would save money. Fly or fairy; they should pay for their ticket like the rest of us, "No free ride for anyone"
If they were 'Fairy's' they
Mike WTIf they were 'Fairy's' they may be able to fly already, so why take the boat.
Most of us take the Ferry
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