PORT TOWNSEND – City and tourism marketing officials are taking a survey to determine how the state-initiated loss of car-ferry service is affecting the local economy.
The online survey, on the city of Port Townsend Web site at www.cityofpt.us, is taking responses through 5 p.m. Thursday.
The information will be passed along to state lawmakers to back up possible pleas for state help to mitigate the loss of the vehicle ferry, said City Manager David Timmons.
Timmons initiated the survey last week through the city Lodging Tax Advisory Committee and city-contracted tourism Marketing Coordinator Hattie Dixon.
He said it was primarily in response to state Department of Transportation officials.
DOT leaders asked for such information during a special Nov. 26 Seattle meeting, which was attended by city Planning Director Rick Sepler, lawmakers from the North Olympic Peninsula and Whidbey Island, and representatives of the state’s top shipbuilders.
Some of those shipbuilders said they could rebuild a new ferry in a year.
State Secretary of Transportation Paula J. Hammond pulled the Steel Electrics out of service after one of the vessels that has served the Port Townsend-Keystone route, the MV Quinault, was found to have extensive corrosion on the interior of its keel.
Less than a week after Hammond’s Nov. 20 announcement, a passenger-only ferry, the Snohomish, took over the run.
Ferries officials said one of the vessels would be repaired by the end of January,
City Councilwoman Laurie Medlicott, who chairs the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee, was highly skeptical.
“Anybody who thinks there is going to be a boat back in February, I’ve got some beach front property in Arizona for sale,” she said Tuesday.
Timmons said that, in the meantime, the city’s information could help the city seek assistance from the state.
“They want to know what the business impacts are now,” Timmons said.
“We can get the report and share the information with [Gov. Chris Gregoire] and our legislators.”
“Basically, it’s to come up with a plan to decide how they can help.”
Timmons said the city also may seek state financial support.
The lack of a vehicle ferry has affected tourism, through the loss of north-of-the-border tourists riding high on a strong Canadian dollar, Timmons said.
In addition, he said, “We know the [Port Townsend] paper mill has a half-dozen deliveries to the north via the ferry. Now they have to drive around and that’s five more hours of driving time.”
