Massachusetts Ferry Transportation Compact
Compact Membership Meeting
January 16, 2013
10:30 AM
Lynn City Hall, Room 302
3 City Hall Square
Lynn, Massachusetts
Attendance
Ferry Compact Members:
Name
Clinton Bench
Jim Cowdell
Kimberly Driscoll
Louis Elisa
Andrew Hargens
Wayne Lamson
Bob Fultz
Senator Thomas McGee
James McKenna
Charles Planck
Tom Powers
Jeff Stieb
William Walker
Affiliation
MassDOT Office of Transportation Planning
City of Lynn
City of Salem
Seaport Advisory Council
The Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport)
Woods Hole, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket Steamship
Authority
Town of Hull
Massachusetts General Court
Town of Winthrop
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA)
Boston Harbor Island Alliance
City of New Bedford
Boston’s Best Cruises
Members of the Public who signed in:
Name
Chris Busch
Annette Demchur
Joe Domelowicz
Mike Glasfeld
Paul Hogg
Tom Humphrey
Stephen Jones
Thor Jourgensen
Mimi Lannin
Kathy Winn
Affiliation
Boston Redevelopment Authority
Central Transportation Planning Staff
Assistant to the Town Manager, Town of Winthrop
Bay State Cruise Company
Newburyport Harbormaster
Central Transportation Planning Staff
MBTA Railroad & Ferry Operations
Daily Item
MBTA
City of Salem
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January 16, 2013
Ferry Compact Meeting Summary
Massachusetts Department of Transportation Staff:
Calli Cenizal
Office of Transportation Planning
David Mohler
Office of Transportation Planning, Executive Director
Paul Nelson
Office of Transportation Planning
Meeting Summary
The meeting began with a welcome from Clinton Bench, the Deputy Director of the MassDOT Office of
Transportation Planning. The compact members then introduced themselves, followed by the members
of the audience. Mr. Bench acknowledged there were several new members joining the compact for the
first time: the Boston Harbor Island Alliance, the private ferry operators represented by Boston’s Best
Cruises, and the Town of Provincetown.
Opening Remarks
Senator McGee then welcomed the Compact and audience members and stated that he was glad that
the Compact provides an opportunity to bring people together around the table. He emphasized
transportation’s importance to the economy and recognized the City of Lynn for its important role as a
multimodal hub in the transportation network. Mr. Bench thanked Senator McGee for his work with
Secretary Davey which had eventually led to the creation of this ferry compact.
Overview of “The Way Forward – Transportation Investment in Our Future”
David Mohler, Executive Director of the MassDOT Office of Transportation Planning then gave a brief
overview of “The Way Forward – Transportation Investment for Our Future” plan that was presented to
the State Legislature on Monday, January 15, 2013. Mayor Kimberley Driscoll, City of Salem, said that
the Your Vision, Our Future meetings had been very successful and well attended. She asked if this
financial plan referenced ferries, and also if this group could advocate for any projects in the plan. Mr.
Mohler responded that ferry projects were not included in the document, but that they are supported
as part of the transportation network as a whole. He emphasized that any additional funding sources
that are implemented would free up funding for ferry projects.
James McKenna, Town of Winthrop, commented that he was disappointed that ferry service was not
mentioned the state’s new transportation plan. Mayor Driscoll asked that the group be notified on how
they can be more involved in the state transportation discussion. Senator McGee encouraged all the
members to participate in the ongoing process involving transportation funding and investment. He
suggested that those interested in seeing ferry service incorporated could make it a legislative proposal.
MAP-21 Federal Update
Paul Nelson, Manager of Corridor Planning in the MassDOT Office of Transportation Planning gave an
update on the ferry-related programs under MAP-21, the new federal transportation authorization bill.
In this bill, the Ferry Boat Discretionary program has been changed from a competitive grant program to
a formula-style program. The formula will be based in part on passenger numbers, vehicles carried, and
route miles served. Mr. Nelson stated that while it was hoped that the state sub-allocation amounts
would be available from FHWA in time for this meeting, the budget debates by Congress had held up the
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Ferry Compact Meeting Summary
release of any details. Bob Fultz, from the Town of Hull, asked if the changes would affect existing FBD
grants. Mr. Nelson responded that they would not.
Seaport Advisory Council (2013 Outlook)
Louis Elisa, Seaport Advisory Council, gave a brief presentation on the 2013 outlook for the Seaport
Advisory Council. The Seaport Advisory Council was established in 1995 by Governor Cellucci. He stated
that the Seaport Advisory Council awards approximately $11 million each year primarily to support
intermodal connections and access to the Commonwealth’s deep water ports but also to support the
overall economic viability of maritime communities. These projects have included ferry initiatives,
design and construction of harborwalks, rehabilitation of seawalls, dredging, port security, and training
for city harbor staff. Mr. Elisa pointed out that the Seaport Advisory Council prides itself on being able
to use their small resources to leverage large investments. He stated that the Council has a vetting
process to determine prioritization and that all projects are reviewed through a well-rounded evaluation
process. Mr. Bench added that MassDOT is also addressing shipping activities through the ongoing Ports
Compact. Mr. Nelson asked Mr. Elisa if there was a backlog of projects before the Seaport Advisory
Council. Mr. Elisa responded that there was definitely a backlog of projects and that not all of the
backlog consisted of maritime projects.
Ferry Compact Memorandum of Understanding
Mr. Bench introduced the most recent draft of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the
Compact. He stated that some of the changes since it was last presented to the Compact include an
increase of the meetings to quarterly and the addition of a three more members, as mentioned at the
beginning of the meeting. Mr. Fultz asked why the Town of Hingham was not included as a member. The
Jim Cowdell, City of Lynn, asked the same about Quincy. Mr. Bench responded that the Compact is
meant to represent a cross-section of the Ferry community and that MassDOT had identified
institutional stakeholders and municipalities that were operating their own service, but that towns that
were served by the MBTA would have their interests represented by the MBTA. He stated that
regardless of their membership status on the Compact, any community is welcome to attend and
participate in these meetings. He also suggested that the MOU could be amended to identify any of
these towns in the “Whereas” clauses.
Mayor Driscoll commented that the group should see the MOU as a more general document, and that
all interested groups and municipalities can still participate. Mr. Elisa stated that these groups should
still be mentioned in the MOU even if they’re not signatories. He specified that Fall River, the EOEEA and
DCR should all be included or referenced in some way. Mr. Cowdell asked if the group needed to take
formal action. Mr. Bench responded that a formal vote was not necessary but he asked for a sense of
consensus from the body on the document. There was a general consensus from the Compact
members.
Jeff Stieb, City of New Bedford, asked if the 7th Whereas clause referring to air quality could be changed
to say that the ferries have a positive impact on air quality. Mr. Nelson suggested revising the wording to
say “...can have a beneficial impact,” which the group approved.
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Ferry Compact Meeting Summary
Mr. Hargens asked if there could be additional language addressing the potential of congestion relief
provided by ferries.
Mr. Elisa asked if he could submit more specific written comments. Mr. Bench said that it was best that
the MOU was signed as soon as possible, so comments need to be incorporated now so that we can
send the document around for signatures of the chief officials.
Technical Services Contract
Mr. Nelson presented the draft technical services scope of work to be carried out by the Central
Transportation Planning Staff (CTPS) on behalf of the Ferry Compact. The scope was primarily divided
into two sections, one which describes overall data gathering and inventory of the ferry network, and
the second which is more open-ended for future technical assistance as requested by the group.
Mayor Driscoll commented on Task 1.3, suggesting that we ensure that the literature review is grounded
in actual information gathered from the operators and organizations rather than what’s available on the
internet. She said that it would be better to get information on the costs, frequency of service and other
elements directly from the carriers.
Mr. Elisa added that the analysis of impacts on ferry service should also reflect the ongoing changes in
the rest of the transportation network, as those changes could shift trips onto/away from the ferry
network. He pointed out that this could be mentioned in Task 1.1.
Senator McGee commented that alternative fuel options should be considered, as the changing costs
could impact the affordability of ferry operations. Mr. Nelson responded that this could be created as a
new sub-task, or it could possibly be relocated within work carried out by other agencies.
Mr. Fultz asked if air quality-related funds could be used, since this ferry network is primarily within the
Eastern Massachusetts non-attainment air quality conformity area.
Mr. McKenna commented that the municipality-run services are different and unique from the towns
that are served by the MBTA ferry service. This compact will help these towns to collaborate on services
that have been previously differentiated by the different operating systems.
William Walker, Boston’s Best Cruises, commented that the scope should also look at environmental
and safety restrictions on ferry capacity in Boston Harbor and other congested routes. Mr. Nelson asked
if the network evaluation should include consideration of capacity constraints. Mr. Walker stated that it
should at least be taken into consideration.
Charles Planck, MBTA, commented that the scope should look at the possibility of fare integration, since
the ferry network connects a variety of trips and many different types of passengers.
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Ferry Compact Meeting Summary
Mr. Bench stated that the MassDOT Planning staff would review the scope of work and resolve the
group’s comments and distribute it to the group within three weeks for a last round of feedback. He
added that the revisions would definitely clarify the standards for the research conducted.
Mayor Driscoll suggested to staff that a conference call or webinar on the scope would be useful when
reconciling people’s comments. She said that the City was happy to share any information they have
gathered for the data collection.
It was determined that the next meeting of the Ferry Compact would be on March 20 in Winthrop.
The meeting concluded at 12:30 PM.
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