Pinellas Commission Ends Ferry Agreement; Cross Bay Ferry In Jeopardy

PINELLAS COUNTY, FL — Pinellas County commissioners are demanding a seat at the table when it comes to negotiating an interlocal agreement for the Cross Bay Ferry.

As a result, on Tuesday, they directed County Administrator Barry Burton to provide written notice terminating the interlocal agreement for the ferry service with Hillsborough County and the cities of St. Petersburg and Tampa.

As stated in the agreement signed by all four parties last September, the written notice submitted by June 1 terminating the agreement will open the door for all four parties to hash out a new interlocal agreement for the Cross Bay Ferry by the Aug. 15 deadline, Burton said.

While all the Pinellas commissioners said they're in favor of a ferry service between Tampa and St. Petersburg, they want more details on the cost of operating the ferry service, a timeline for the ferry service to become self-sustaining so the cities and counties no longer have to subsidize it, a long-term plan on for expanding the and a closer look at other funding sources such as grants and federal funds.

Commissioners said they feel as if they've been left out of the process although Pinellas County pays the same subsidy of $190,000 that the other three partners provide.

They noted that the original interlocal agreement came before them for approval last September, just days before the deadline to sign the four-year contract for ferry service from Tampa to St. Petersburg. They said that didn't give them enough time to thoroughly explore the plan.

"We want to be escorted to the dance, not invited to the dance after it's already started," Commissioner Rene Flowers said at Tuesday's commission meeting.

Despite the commission's assertion that the termination notice was only intended to reopen contract negotiations, commissioners were bombarded with emails from residents alarmed that the commission wanted to permanently scuttle the ferry service.

"I did receive over 200 emails, which is a record of some sort," Commissioner Pat Gerard said. "The understanding of the public is we're voting to get out of the contract, which technically we are."

In hindsight, she wondered if the commission should have hosted a public meeting so residents understood their motivation is to reopen negotiations.

"I'm concerned about the misinterpretation of what we are doing, No. 1, and, No. 2, I've been on the receiving end of all of those emails Commissioner Gerard mentioned," Commissioner Janet Long said. "Some of them were directed at me personally and became quite inflammatory."

Long said she wasn't opposed to having the Cross Bay Ferry service.

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"My comments were intended to say I will not support the ferry if we are not able to open up the contract," she said. "I didn't think we were voting to end it (the interlocal agreement). I thought we were voting to amend it so we could have a seat at the table to discuss some of the very same things that we were talking about last year at, oh, by the way, the 11th hour. We had no time to share with anybody what our concerns were or what our wishes were going forward."

During that meeting in September, Long recalled asking Matt Miiller, president HMS Ferries, which owns and operates the Cross Bay Ferry, about the possibility of converting the ferries to electric power.

"Every time I have met with their representatives, I have talked about the desire to really be thoughtful and forward-thinking about how we amend this contract to include some of the newer technologies that are very quickly becoming realities in terms of how these ferries are powered," she said. "It is ridiculous in 2022 to think about using antiquated technology to move the ferries through the water. There are other places in the world that are using the new technologies, that are moving toward electric or hybrid-powered engines, and I think we should be doing that too."

Commissioner Kathleen Peters, however, had no qualms about expressing her doubts moving forward with the interlocal agreement.

"This is not transportation. This is entertainment," she said.

By subsidizing the ferry, Peters said, "We're taking away money from people who are having trouble buying groceries and we're giving it to people who are going to hockey games, who are paying a lot of money for hockey tickets. And the fact that we're subsidizing entertainment, I have a problem with that. If we're subsidizing transportation, that's different."

She said the ferry service was intended to be an alternate mode of transportation that would relieve contested roadways.

"This is not taking cars off the road at the heaviest time of traffic because it (the ferry service) runs weekends and evenings," she said. "I'm not saying the ferry should go away. It seems to be a very profitable business for this company, but I just don't believe the taxpayers who are struggling now should be subsidizing wealthy people's entertainment. If they want to talk transit and how they're going to do transit, that's a different conversation."

Flowers said all the parties to the interlocal agreement need to sit at the same table rather than hear details from representatives of HMS Ferries at separate board meetings.

"I would like to have all of the players dynamically in the same room, hearing and seeing the same thing," she said.

As part of that discussion, Flowers said she'd like a plan in place for the ferry service to become self-sufficient so the county can use those subsidy funds for other transportation projects.

Commissioner Dave Eggers suggested those funds could be used to help establish a ferry service on the Intracoastal Waterway to benefit other PInellas County communities, not just St. Petersburg.

"I clearly think it would be irresponsible of us to just sign this thing (interlocal agreement) for four more years or however long if there's not some kind of strategic plan that talks about where we want to be five or 10 years from now," Peters said. "I didn't say I wouldn't support the ferry. I love the ferry but I want to have a seat at the table when we negotiate how we move forward."

The Pinellas commission's demands come just 10 days after the ferry's seasonal service ended and HMS Ferries announced record-breaking ridership with 62,130 riders from October to May 1. That's 10,000 more riders than the ferry's previous record, said Miller.

But Miller said the Cross Bay Ferry hasn't reached profitability.

"The ferry is part of a mass transit system that, until it's permanent, will need some kind of subsidy," he said. "HMS will have to absorb a significant operating loss. "

This is especially true because fuel is three times the cost of what it was last year, and the cost of labor and insurance has gone up, he said. So, it is impossible to provide a profit/loss statement.

"If the county wants to open up the agreement, so be it," he said. "It will help us recoup our losses."

"Just legally, you should know that when you withdraw from the interlocal agreement, the terms of the operating agreement automatically expire," said HMS Ferries representative Ed Turanchik. "So, absent the governments figuring out how to do this, there won't be ferry service next year because there is no basis to proceed, so there is a risk here."

Additionally, it would negate the $5 federal grant HMS Ferries secured by U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor to purchase a ferry, allowing the Cross Bay Ferry to operate without subsidies, he said. As a condition of the grant, HMS Ferries must have an existing system operating.

He noted that HMS Ferries is also taking a leap of faith.

"This year HMS lost considerable revenue under the operating agreement," Turanchik said. "As Mr. Miller said, they're willing to take that loss but if the operating agreement gets reopened, a lot of things will change. The fact is, if you withdraw, we're on a path for nothing to happen."

Flower took exception to Turanchik's, noting that terminating the agreement only opens the contract up for renegotiation. The commission has until Aug. 15 to make a decision.

Flowers noted that both Miller and Turanchik addressed the commission phone.

"No one thought it was important enough to be here today, just like the last time," she said. "You all need to have somebody here, not over the phone, you need to have somebody here if it's that important to you. I'm happy for the ferry, but please don't try to back me into a corner."