Borough still deciding whether to repair ferry

PALMER — Since taking possession of the M/V Susitna, the Mat-Su Borough has spent more than $2 million on moorage fees and maintenance costs to dock the vessel in Ketchikan.

But damage the vessel incurred during a record-breaking January rainstorm that dropped 10.42 inches of rain on Southeast Alaska in two-days will ratchet up those costs, between $500,000 and $1 million, borough officials have said.

The vessel’s inner workings were damaged when rain also poured into the vertical exhaust pipes of the ferry where it is docked in Ward Cove, an unincorporated community north of Ketchikan.

Borough Manager John Moosey said the borough is still debating whether it will invest in making the necessary repairs.

“I have not made a determination yet on how to move forward at this time,” he said.

An insurance policy for the boat has a $250,000 deductible, so it remains up in the air how much of the final bill to taxpayers might be.

These costs are in addition to the ferry’s $72-million price tag, which was absorbed by the Department of Defense, thanks to help from then-U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens. If the borough cannot sell the ferry, it may have to repay some portion of this total, too.

Plans for a ferry route between Point Mac and Anchorage have not materialized. Since a proposed landing site on the Anchorage side of the Knik Arm was rejected, the ferry has been mothballed. Proposed buyers ranging from Pacific island nations to agricultural projects in South America have expressed interest in the one-of-a-kind craft, Moosey said.

The borough did spend about $12.3 million in Federal Transit Administration funds to build a ferry terminal, which now has no ferry, but contains the Port MacKenzie offices. The federal government demanded the borough repay that money late last year.

At least part of the high cost of fixing the ferry arises from its unique design, Moosey said. The ferry is much more compact than other vessels, which makes access to some mechanisms is difficult.

Since the rainstorm, contractors responsible for watching the ferry have since covered the exhaust tubes with plastic buckets to keep additional rain out, officials said. Moosey said that it was the sheer freakish amount of rain, and not the ferry design, which caused the damage. The ferry had no problem with rain for several years prior to the record storm, Moosey pointed out.

“I don’t want anyone to think, that ‘Oh, if we’d had plastic buckets on the stacks, this wouldn’t have happened,’” he said.

The last significant development involved $20,000 provided by a prospective buyer for sea trials in January, and that offer remains on the table, Moosey said.

“It will certainly have an impact on our ability to move forward, and at what price,” he said.

Any decision about the future of the ferry will be made in consultation with the assembly meeting in open session, Moosey said. During budget deliberations, assembly members met in executive session at least once to discuss the ferry.

Contact Brian O’Connor at 352-2269, brian.oconnor@frontiersman.com, or on Twitter @reporterbriano.