A City Council committee charged with looking at options to keep the St. Johns River Ferry afloat approved a bill Thursday to create a ferry commission, reports Daily Record news partner WJXT Channel 4.
The full Council still must approve the commission, which would include seven non-paid members of the general public appointed by the Council and the mayor.
It would either operate the ferry or engage a private-public entity to operate it, according to Channel 4.
The ferry links Florida A1A across the St. Johns River at Mayport.
The commission would receive funding from public or private sources and apply for grants, an issue also being looked at by the Council Ad Hoc Committee on Funding the St. Johns River Ferry.
“Who operates the ferry?” said Council member and committee Chair Bill Gulliford in the Channel 4 report.
“If you don’t solve that issue, then the rest of it becomes superfluous because some entity has to operate it, and nobody’s hands are up. The
(Jacksonville) Port Authority doesn’t want it, the (Jacksonville Transportation Authority) doesn’t want it, the state surely doesn’t want it back. Consequently, who runs it?”
Gulliford proposed the ferry commission bill.
The Jacksonville Port Authority currently funds the service, but decided to end its support Sept. 30. The JPA cited operating costs of about $680,000 a year and another estimated $4 million in needed repairs.
The JPA previously announced it will no longer be responsible for operating the ferry after Sept. 30, when it will terminate its contract at the end of the fiscal year.
The port has said it hopes to support the ferry but said it can no longer afford the upkeep of the vessel or the capital improvements needed.
On behalf of the City, Florida Department of Transportation workers surveyed ferry riders Thursday to see how much the boat is being used and why, according to Channel 4.
“We have lots of counts of cars using the ferry, but we don’t understand why they are on there, where they are coming from and going to,” FDOT surveyor Thomas Hill said.
Findings will be presented later.
According to Channel 4, Maurice Daniels, who uses the ferry three times a week, says he would pay more than the $5 fare, but he thinks the City should shell over the money to keep it running.
“We got this football team and we happen to be paying them millions and millions of dollars. Why not pay it here at the ferry to keep it going and keep everybody happy in the city,” Daniels said.
The ferry has been around since 1948, according to Channel 4.