April 16, 2007 — To grant an exclusive ferry franchise or not to grant an exclusive ferry franchise — that was the question senators asked frequently during Monday's Rules and Judiciary Committee meeting.
The committee considered a bill giving one local company an exclusive 15-year service agreement. Despite concerns, however, a majority of the committee's members supported it, and the bill will now go up for a final vote during this week's full Senate session.
Voting in favor of the bill were Sens. Carlton "Ital" Dowe, Shawn-Michael Malone, Usie R. Richards, James Weber III, Celestino A. White Sr. and Alvin L. Williams. Sen. Carmen M. Wesselhoft abstained, saying that the agreement should have been put out to bid so other ferry companies could have the opportunity to submit alternate proposals.
Wesselhoft's comments were echoed by non-committee members Sens. Louis P. Hill and Ronald E. Russell, who also questioned whether the Legislature should "get into the habit" of granting exclusive franchises to companies without going through the proper channels, such as the Department of Property and Procurement's bidding process.
Hill also asked whether the Legislature should approve the agreement if the V.I. Port Authority (VIPA) governing board — which would have jurisdiction over the ports of arrival and departure — has not yet acted on it.
"There are numerous ferry companies in this territory — how was this one chosen?" Hill asked. "This is about doing something that follows the regular government process. So, if we're going to bypass that for one company, how many others are we going to bypass it for? Should the Senate, on its own, grant franchises? Is that the right approach to public policy?"
The rest of the committee didn't share Hill's concerns, however. Other senators said the agreement would provide residents with reliable ferry service between St. Thomas and St. Croix.
"Senator, the ferry companies were all here, and they all owe the V.I. Port Authority a lot of money," said White, a co-sponsor of the bill.
Richards, another co-sponsor, said the agreement has been in the works for the past year, since the last ferry operator, Island Lynx, ran aground on financial troubles. The bill's main draw is that it would give the new operator, V.I. SeaTrans, better access to the federal funds needed to subsidize the cost of a new boat and other expenses. (See "Senate Committee Approves Long-term Ferry-Service Agreement.")
"Our concern is offering reliable permanent ferry transportation between St. Thomas and St. Croix, and we are acting well within our authority in securing these services for the people of the Virgin Islands," Richards said.
Addressing concerns raised earlier this month by representatives of the Public Services Commission, Richards also sponsored an amendment to the bill that outlines which entities will be responsible for regulating and setting rates for the new operation.
According to the amendment, VIPA will administer the franchise regarding use of the ports and setting certain fees for passenger and freight service. As with other publicly run ferry services, however, the PSC will have final say on ferry schedules and passenger and commuter fees, along with boat and equipment maintenance.
The amendment requires the PSC to adopt the first set of fee and time schedules 30 days after the bill gets signed into law.
In other action Monday, the committee approved bills that would:
— reprogram $2.9 million set aside for the defunct Carifest Theme Park project for the construction of the Leonardo "Nardo" Trotman Drive on St. Thomas;
— require that individuals appointed for government boards and commissions may not be employed by the board for which they serve;
— authorize the governor to implement flex-time, or staggered, work schedules for employees and promulgate rules and regulations for the flex-time policy;
— allow the director of Personnel to sign off on all notices of personnel action (NOPAs) and terminations or suspensions for non-exempt, classified government employees;
— appropriate $400,000 a year for three years to the Department of Education for the summer science and humanities enrichment program; and
— require the V.I. Housing Finance Authority and the Department of Housing, Parks and Recreation to make quarterly reports to the Legislature regarding the status of available-housing opportunities in the territory.
Present during Monday's meeting were Sens. Dowe, Malone, Richards, Weber, Wesselhoft, White and Williams, along with non-committee members Hill and Russell.
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