More money for ferry

PALMER — Asked for $600,000 to insure the embattled M/V Susitna ferry, the Mat-Su Borough Assembly punted, setting up Tuesday as a decision point.

“I hope that this body is prepared to make some hard choices come Tuesday,” Assemblyman Ron Arvin said at the assembly’s Aug. 21 meeting. “Tuesday’s going to be a defining moment for me on the ferry and I hope it is for others as well.”

The borough had insured the M/V Susitna through a company that insures vessels while they’re still in dry dock and being built. That policy expires Aug. 31 and the company won’t renew it.

“They know that the boat is no longer in the shipyard and that it’s in Ward’s Cove (in Ketchikan),” said Borough Finance Director Tammy Clayton.

The $600,000 figure represents a full year of insurance on the $60 million the borough estimates it would have to pay to replace the M/V Susitna were it destroyed. But the borough couldn’t find anyone to go month-to-month without it costing an extra $15,000.

“I’m not sure if they will require more than one month,” Clayton told the assembly. “They might require quarterly or something like that.”

Borough Manager John Moosey said that with vessel’s uncertain future, he understands the assembly’s reticence to pay for a year’s worth of insurance.

“We do not know where we are going to be two months from now,” Moosey said. “We may only need it for three or four months, which is certainly my hope.”

He said he believes the borough would be reimbursed for whatever portion of the insurance it doesn’t need. But the borough would be tying up $600,000 until the Susitna was gone.

Assemblyman Jim Colver tried to reduce the amount the borough was authorized to spend to the cost of one month’s insurance. That attempt failed when only assemblyman Darcie Salmon voted with Colver on the idea.

Assemblyman Warren Keogh asked what would happen if the borough brought the ship up from Ketchikan, parked it on the Point MacKenzie beach and damaged its hulls in the process.

“Would our insurance cover that problem?” Keogh asked.

Clayton said it probably wouldn’t, given that it’s been widely reported that there is a danger of damaging the ship if it’s driven up on the beach.

Arvin asked staff what it had for a Plan B if the assembly decided to decline to insure the Susitna.

“If we say ‘no’ I’d like to know what the alternative is, please, because I’m not ready to say ‘yes,’” Arvin said.

Moosey reminded the assembly that he had warned them insurance would be going up and explained that the measure was coming to the assembly with just a couple weeks left before insurance lapsed because he and staff had been shopping around for the best rate and searching for a carrier willing to go month-to-month. But, to answer the question, he said there isn’t really a Plan B.

“We would park it and then make sure we attend prayer meeting every Wednesday,” he joked.

Eventually the assembly voted to put the measure off until this coming Tuesday.

Afterward, Assemblyman Warren Keogh moved to direct Moosey to put the vessel up for sale through a broker and list it on the federal surplus registry. He was the only one voting in favor of that proposition.

Contact reporter Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.