Three Vashon civic leaders testified last week in favor of a bill that could revive a fleet of passenger-only ferry service across Washington State, including Vashon.

The bill, HB 1923, would allow counties, ports and others to form passenger-only ferry service districts, a kind of taxing authority, and expand the places where those districts are allowed to exist across the state. It would also create a state piggy bank to fund those districts through capital grants, operating grants, and feasibility study grants.

The bill is dubbed the “Mosquito Fleet Act,” hearkening back to the Puget Sound mosquito fleet of the late 19th and early 20th century. A host of private transportation companies ran passengers all around the Sound and its waterways during that time, but it ceased as automobile ownership rose and ferries became bigger and built to accommodate cars.

More than two dozen testifiers, including three Vashon civic leaders, testified during a state legislative hearing for a bill, arguing the bill would bolster ferry-dependent communities, provide an alternative to Washington State Ferries dependency and give islands like Vashon more room to breathe during an emergency.

Amid a state budget crunch, though, convincing legislators to fund the passenger ferry accounts may be difficult, and that’s assuming the bill is passed.

What’s next? The House Transportation Committee will enter executive session this week to decide whether to advance the bill out of committee.

Putting new boats on the water

The bill’s sponsor, 23rd LD Rep. Greg Nance, represents north Kitsap County and Bainbridge Island. 34th district Reps. Joe Fitzgibbon and Brianna Thomas, who represent Vashon and West Seattle, co-sponsored the bill.

Hundreds of thousands of Washingtonians rely on the ferries for jobs, education and healthcare, Nance said, but “we are entering year six of WSF service cuts and cancellations,” he said, despite “round-the-clock” work by WSF to return the system to full service.

While ferry communities wait for new hybrid-electric boats, scheduled to arrive in years, HB 1923 “is the fastest and cheapest way to put new boats on the water,” Nance said during a Feb. 19 meeting of the legislature’s House Transportation committee.

He pointed to success for Kitsap County’s passenger-only ferries and said this bill would expand that kind of service across not just the Puget Sound but even the entire state — suggesting passenger-only ferries in Grey’s Harbor, Lake Washington or even along the Columbia River.

Vashon Islanders for Ferry Action director Amy Drayer recollected conversations with passengers on the Vashon – Downtown Seattle foot ferry, in which she heard how they use the foot ferry to get medical care or to shave hours off their commute, Drayer said.

Rep. Julia Reed told Drayer that expanding ferry districts across the region with state money could lead to the legislators having to make tough calls about where to allocate cash — which could involve slashing existing subsidies for service like Vashon’s midday foot ferry sailings. “Is that a concern you all have discussed?” she asked Drayer.

“We do not want to set up a conflict where we’re robbing Peter to pay Paul,” Drayer said. “We will leave those discussions to the legislature. But we are looking at partnerships that wouldn’t just augment us, but allow for more communities to benefit from our routes.”

Vashon Indivisible founder and environmental activist Kevin Jones heralded the opportunity to move people around state waterways without relying on gas-guzzling, carbon dioxide-belching vehicles. He pointed to analysis by islander Rob Briggs finding 30% higher emissions for trips taken on WSF ferries versus the Vashon – Seattle water taxi.

VashonBePrepared President Vicky de Monterey Richoux pointed to the island’s needs in the event of a catastrophe. Adding passenger-only service expands the island’s emergency capabilities, crucial if WSF service is disrupted by damaged docks, unavailable crews or boats pulled out of service for emergency use elsewhere.

It would also provide an alternative to WSF for the more than 200 kids travelling to Vashon schools who must be reunited with their families on the mainland during such a disaster, she said.

There was one voice of dissent: Testifier Donna Sandstrom, executive director of regional nonprofit “The Whale Trail” shared concern for the endangered southern resident orcas.

A fleet of new ships operating in the orca’s critical habitat means creating “chaos” for the whales, who are starting to return to the Puget Sound area thanks to efforts to reduce underwater noise disturbance, Sandstrom said. (Southern residents hunt for fish using echolocation.)

Sandstrom said the bill should contain provisions managing the growth of the passenger-only ferries, collecting fees to support fish and wildlife marine patrols, and requiring vessel operators to be trained to navigate safely around southern residents.

In an interview, Nance called Sandstrom’s concerns and suggestions “very well founded” and said he spoke with her after the hearing to learn more.

He said he’ll commit to ensuring the mosquito fleet vessels would use advanced whale trackers to steer clear of orcas, and investigate engine and propeller designs that create less noise pollution. Further, he said, vessels would be directed to slow down when navigating waters frequented by orcas, especially during seasons of peak orca activity.

Budget squeeze

Transportation efforts like the Mosquito Fleet Act face a daunting budget shortfall this legislative session.

Washington state projects a budget shortfall of several billion dollars over the next four years, according to various state sources. The transportation budget alone faces a shortfall of around $1 billion, thanks in part to declining revenue and increasing project costs.

The matter came up repeatedly during HB 1923’s committee hearing.

“I’m not questioning that ferry service is essential,” said Rep. Reed. “My concern is about the viability of the state to fund … longer-run ferry service at multiple locations, given … the current way we subsidize and invest in county ferries. … Are ports ready to put money into operating and maintaining these services?”

Once you start offering a service, she said, it’s painful and disruptive to people to have to retract it.

There will be “a series of difficult conversations” in the transportation committee, Nance said in an interview: “We’re facing tough headwinds, to be sure, and this program would be a much simpler pitch if we were flush with cash.”

But Nance cast the service as a lifeline and a priority for communities still waiting on much bigger — and costlier — hybrid-electric ferries.

“We need to make the most proven use of limited dollars … and you can actually go buy passenger-only ferries today, and take delivery within days rather than years,” he said.

A 149-capacity passenger-only ferry might run $4 to $6 million, he said, or $8 to $15 million for a new electric vessel. For the cost per passenger, that’s a deal compared to the $400 million price tag for each of WSF’s new vessels.

Nance is asking for $50 million in the budget for the passenger ferry grants, but he pointed out that the bill allows communities to launch passenger-only ferry districts even if the state doesn’t authorize grant money to help them.