New Nantucket Member Joins Steamship Board; New Ferry Plans Advance

By JULIA WELLS
Gazette Senior Writer

NANTUCKET - A new board member for Nantucket and a new ferry for the Vineyard - these were the benchmarks of the monthly Steamship Authority meeting yesterday morning when SSA governors tackled an array of business for the boat line which is the lifeline to the two Islands.

Held at the Nantucket Inn, the meeting was sparsely attended and marked by a tone of quiet solemnity in the absence of Grace S. Grossman, the Nantucket governor who died last month after a brief illness.

"We can say the Grossmans have been present here for at least the last 28 years and we will miss their wisdom, their thoughtful guidance and above all their dedication to the authority," said Barnstable governor and board chairman Robert O'Brien, who called for a moment of silence at the outset of the meeting in Mrs. Grossman's memory.

The board also warmly hailed Flint Ranney, who was appointed by the Nantucket selectmen on Wednesday night to fill Mrs. Grossman's unexpired term.

"Welcome - you have a tough act to follow," Mr. O'Brien said.

Wearing his signature bow tie and socks printed with ACK (the Nantucket airport call letters) that he said had been a gift from Mrs. Grossman, Mr. Ranney readily agreed.

"Grace is still looking over my shoulder," he said.

Mr. Ranney has been a member of the SSA port council for the last two years, and for two years before that he was a member of the boat line financial advisory board. A year-round resident of Nantucket for the last 27 years and a lifelong summer resident before that, Mr. Ranney is a Realtor and the owner of Denby Real Estate on Nantucket.

Yesterday he appeared quietly assertive, calling for senior managers to report back at the next meeting on the status of the 1997 agreement between the SSA and the town of Barnstable.

"I'd like Steve [SSA general counsel Steven Sayers] and Wayne [acting general manager Wayne Lamson] to look into the ‘97 agreement and come back next month with a declaration that we've satisfied it," Mr. Ranney said.

Signed as part of a complicated deal between the boat line and the town of Barnstable, the agreement calls for reducing truck traffic on the Nantucket run and naming an alternative port for freight by the end of 2003.

Two months ago the port council voted to name New Bedford as the likely alternative port.

Mr. Ranney also refused to be pushed into an expedited search process for a new general manager.

Vineyard governor Kathryn A. Roessel urged the board to get going on the search.

Mr. Lamson, the longtime respected boat line treasurer, was appointed acting general manager last month in the wake of Fred C. Raskin's resignation. For the first time in his career, Mr. Lamson has said he is interested in the permanent job as well.

Ms. Roessel said she wants the search to proceed at a quick pace because the clock is ticking on her own term, which runs out at the end of this year. She said she will seek reappointment to another term, but she admitted there are no guarantees that she will get the appointment. She said it would be unfair to hand the task of finding a new general manager to a new Vineyard board member.

"I know there are some feelings that we should slow this process down, but if we do that we will invariably straddle the timeline - Wayne has only been appointed for four months," Ms. Roessel said. Last month a subcommittee was formed to conduct the search, and yesterday Ms. Roessel ceded her seat on the subcommittee to Mr. Ranney - but urged the board to advertise now for a new general manager.

Mr. O'Brien said there is no hurry.

"I don't feel there is any big rush in this thing. If four months is a problem we can change it to six months or eight months," he said.

"That doesn't solve the situation of whether it is fair to Martha's Vineyard," Ms. Roessel said.

Mr. Ranney sided with Mr. O'Brien.

"I don't want to rush into the timeline yet with due respect because I have a lot to assimilate. I'd like a few minutes or a month to think about it. I think the subcommittee should have a meeting and discuss all this," he said.

In the end Ms. Roessel recanted, and Mr. Ranney experienced a classic moment as the freshman member of the board.

"Who is chairman of this subcommittee?" he asked.

"You are," Mr. O'Brien replied.

"I had no idea, " Mr. Ranney replied with a small smile.

In other business yesterday, the boat line governors also voted without dissent to advertise for bids for a replacement ferry for the Islander. Engineering director Carl Walker reported briefly on the status of the project, which has been two years in the design phase. The new ferry is planned as a 250-foot double-ender with the capacity to carry 76 cars and 1,200 passengers. Lift decks on the ferry will allow more flexibility for carrying cars and trucks. Mr. Walker said the ferry will do 16 knots and will be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act from bow to stern.

The ferry is expected to cost between $22 million and $25 million, with delivery expected by April of 2006.

Bid packages are expected to go out sometime next month. The outcome will be determined by the low bidder.

"On behalf of Martha's Vineyard, thank you for all your hard work on this project - thank you for listening," Ms. Roessel told Mr. Walker.

In a midsummer business report yesterday, Mr. Lamson said ridership continues to be off slightly, but he said revenues are still ahead of budget projections for the year. Mr. Lamson said a look at the last two years shows that for 20 out of 24 months, ridership was off from the previous year. The treasurer expressed no cause for alarm, but said the numbers will be taken into account when figuring the budget for the coming year.

Mr. Lamson also praised boat line employees for their hard work and dedication during the recent breakdown of the Eagle, the conventional ferry that anchors the Nantucket run. The Eagle went out of service two weeks ago when she lost a starboard rudder.

"Everybody pitched in," said Mr. Lamson, who circulated a memorandum among employees thanking them for their work.

Mr. Walker said an early examination of the rudder showed that a welding failure was a possible cause, but he said the evaluation is still incomplete. As a safety precaution, both rudders were replaced.

Mr. Walker echoed Mr. Lamson's remarks about the work that went into repairing the Eagle.

"The vessel and crew did a wonderful job - we got material from Chicago, got it on trucks, got it into a machine shop in Fairhaven. . . . It is quite a monumental task to put two new rudders on a vessel in a week, and we did it in the water in Fairhaven with divers, not in dry dock," he said.

Mr. Walker said the events underscored the useful purpose of the Fairhaven maintenance facility, a relatively recent acquisition by the boat line.

The boat line board also:

* Approved a $70,000 expenditure for improvements to the telephone and computer reservations system. The upgrade began last week and results are already evident, Mr. Lamson said.

* Voted to allow Mr. Lamson to refinance some $8 million in bonds in order to reduce debt payments over the next eight years.