The Jacksonville Port Authority board of directors declined Monday to make a hasty decision on whether or not to continue operating the St. Johns River Ferry.
“There will be no action today on the Mayport ferry as we consider the future of the last operating ferry in Florida,” said JPA Chairman Reginald Gaffney.
“We will exhaust all possible options as we consider its future,” he said.
Port CEO Paul Anderson urged the board to decide whether it wanted to continue to operate the ferry, which has not generated a profit since the JPA took over operations from the City in 2007, or to develop a plan to transition out of operating the ferry.
Anderson cited an engineering report completed by the engineering firm RS&H that stated ferry infrastructure needed about $2.3 million in repairs to its fender system and bulkhead during the 2012 fiscal year and a total of about $5 million over the next two years.
The JPA budgeted $850,000 for capital improvements for the ferry in 2012. It will have to borrow money to cover the unexpected cost of needed repairs. Those costs are in addition to the $600,000 annual operating loss.
“I, personally, could not recommend to this board putting off those infrastructure changes,” said Anderson.
He said the port put off the rehabilitation of its wharf systems at its marine terminals when the project was estimated to cost $5 million, but when the project finally began recently its cost grew to about $31 million.
“We are all protective of the things that remind us of how things used to be in Florida’s past. I am a longtime Florida resident and also seek out the small and quickly diminishing pockets of old Florida that still exist,” said Anderson.
“But the world and our state have changed. To fund something because we have in the past means we are not concerning ourselves with the future. The ferry is an important means of transportation for some and I and our staff understand the attachment to this service,” he said.
Anderson presented the information and asked for the board to give staff direction on how to proceed with the operation of the ferry.
Gaffney plans to schedule a board retreat to develop a plan for the future of the ferry.
“We’ve got to have a model in place to make sure it is going to be a viable part of the port’s business before we spend $3 million on it,” said John Falconetti, whose appointment to the board by Gov. Rick Scott awaits state Senate approval.
Two members of the public asked for time to develop a plan to ease the financial burden on the port.
“I’m asking for one year to work with elected officials to spread the pain,” said Elaine Brown, who served as a Jacksonville City Council member from 1999-2007 and is working with current Council member Bill Gulliford to create a Beaches task force to save the ferry.
“Meetings are just starting. The private sector and elected officials haven’t had a chance to weigh in,” said Brown.
Heckscher Drive Community Club Inc. President Bobby Taylor told the board that 77 people attended a recent club meeting to talk about the possibility of losing the ferry.
“There is no silver bullet for this. We need a multiagency effort,” said Taylor.
“You are dealing with long-term neglect, but if this board will work with the community and its stakeholders. We can find a solution,” said Taylor.
Anderson explained that the hardship caused by the operation of the ferry affects other projects, including the Mile Point navigational issue.
While the JPA learned that President Barack Obama’s 2012 budget didn’t include funding for the Mile Point preconstruction engineering and design phase, it was able to have language included in the recent U.S. Senate Omnibus bill
to allow it to advance its share of the funding for the phase, $500,000, to allow the project to continue.
The Mile Point project is in the feasibility study phase and awaits the Chief of Engineers Report in March.
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