Fewer Ferry Service Hours, Higher Fares?

Could ferry users (Lummi Islanders and non-islanders alike)  be facing less service and higher fares in the near future? At the first meeting of the County Council’s new Lummi Island Ferry Advisory Committee on May 21, 2012, Mike McKenzie (who was elected chairman of the committee at that meeting) noted that Public Works’ next report [...]

Large Load Trucks Prohibited During Low Tides

Public Works just posted a new schedule for when large trucks (over 40,000 GVW) will be prohibited from using the ferry, due to “less than zero” tide conditions.  This is to reduce damage to the docks. Please read this table — there are a lot of hours during many days in April-August where high-weight trucks [...]

Photo-essay on Whatcom Chief & Crew

Excellent interviews and photos in this photo-essay about the Whatcom Chief and crew, by Keenan Royal (thanks to Mike McKenzie for the link). Our crew provide excellent and essential service on the Whatcom County ferry system.  They work hard, are considerate (even under some rather trying circumstances) and sure know how to pack in the [...]

County Council Approves Adding Fender Pile at Fairhaven

This County Council action appears to have slipped by under the radar here on the Island. The County apparently is taking steps to make it safer for the Whatcom Chief to dock in Fairhaven. From a report by the Council office of County Council actions taken at their 1/24/2012 meeting: 6. Request authorization for the [...]

Public Works 2011-11-22 Response to Ferry Task Force Recommendations

Here’s Frank Abart’s  written response to the Ferry Task Force’s recommendations. Mr. Abart presented portions of this response at the Public Works Council committee meeting on 2011-11-22.  (All seven Council members were present.)  Mr. Abart’s full written report was posted by Nancy Ging on the Ferry Document Archive site, to ensure islanders’ ability to retrieve [...]

The Ferry Returns to Service 9/30/2011

If all goes well, our ferry will return to service this Friday, September 30th at 5:40 a.m.—-Hooray! To get the details, read the press release from Whatcom County Public Works:        Lummi Island Ferry Returns to Service    

Major Dry Dock Parking Changes (?)

Below is an email from Pat Dunn (email is part of the public record, as it went to all task force members) with some hearsay / information about dry dock. I’ve emailed Frank Abart for confirmation or refutation, but I know that we all have been planning for months based on past dry dock experiences [...]

July 11 Draft Ferry Task Force Recommendations

                Please use the July 20 updated recommendations instead of the July 11th ones below. Here are the Ferry Task Force’s draft recommendations as of their July 11, 2011 meeting, in pdf format.  Items still remaining to be agreed upon should be determined at the July 18th meeting [...]

Would You Like Drydock in the Spring?

A note from Colleen: Riley Starks, of the Willows Inn, is looking for support for a Spring drydock, rather than continuing to pull the ferry in September for maintenance. When I moved here 20 years ago, drydock was in always in May, and it seemed to work much better for all the folks that wanted [...]

Public Comments: Draft Cost-Cutting Recommendations

Here are some of the comments about the draft recommendations (by topic) made by community members last Monday, June 20th, Task Force meeting and at  the June 22 LICA meeting.  Some comments have been consolidated, for the sake of brevity. Cost-savings ideas Administrative services reduce administrative service costs, including Frank Abart’s percent salary; think Abart’s [...]