At its October meeting, the Alki Community Council became the second neighborhood council in two nights to go on the record as officially supporting the West Seattle Transportation Coalition. And one mode of transportation was high on the list of the night’s other hot topics:

WEST SEATTLE WATER TAXI: Michelle Allison from King County Councilmember Joe McDermott‘s office visited by request of ACC leadership. She says the 2014 work plan for the Ferry District Board (which McDermott chairs) includes an analysis of the shuttle routes serving the Water Taxi to see if they can be improved and/or restructured in hopes of boosting WT ridership. “That’s something we’re really going to engage the community on … we need to know if we’re losing people because it’s not operating the way it should. What can we do to change it to have you guys use the Water Taxi?” They’ve done some analysis so far and note that people are using it on weekdays to get home FROM Seacrest, but not necessarily for getting TO Seacrest. 63rd/Alki and Admiral/California are hot spots for where people are getting off the shuttle, she notes.

They might ask for opinions on possible alternate routes that could better serve people trying to use the Water Taxi – look for questions like that, “what neighborhood do you live in and would you use the Water Taxi if the shuttle came there?” She also pointed out that the Water Taxi system is not part of Metro. And they also will look at the current “no charge” operation of the shuttle. “The board is really going to wrestle with that,” Allison said (the board is the County Council under another name).

Later, the group discussed formally letting their representatives know that they want Metro and the Water Taxi shuttle to work together.

Speaking of transportation:

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By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

With periodic boat breakdowns continuing to affect King County Water Taxi service, it would seem the two brand-new 250-passenger boats the county plans to build can’t be ready soon enough.

They won’t be ready as soon as hoped for, though – the county has to send the project out to bid a second time, and plans to add to the budget.

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(WSB photo from April 23)
Exactly two months after news that King County would take possession of the Spirit of Kingston and put it on the West Seattle Water Taxi run – the change is about to happen. We just got word from the office of King County Councilmember Joe McDermott that Spirit of Kingston will take over the run starting tomorrow (Saturday), which means that, after three years, 25-year-old Rachel Marie will become a backup boat. Kingston got the 7-year-old SoK through federal grants but scrapped its foot-ferry service and would have had to pay the grants back if this transfer – which brings the boat here almost for free, as explained in our November report – hadn’t happened. More to come.

ADDED 1:39 PM: The county’s official announcement has just arrived via e-mail – read on:

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4:38 PM: Just announced: King County is canceling the West Seattle Water Taxi route for the rest of the night. No formal word yet on the problem, but about 10 minutes before the announcement, Maggie had noted via Twitter that Rachel Marie hadn’t sailed at 4:15 pm and had some mechanical work going on. We’re checking to see if there’s any word yet about the likelihood of service resuming tomorrow morning. After multiple breakdowns, Rachel Marie is to be replaced soon by the newly acquired Spirit of Kingston, but last word from the county was that it wouldn’t happen before mid-May, because they had to finish training, followed by “regulatory inspections.”

6:07 PM: And – Rachel Marie has returned to service, leaving downtown a short time ago, the county has now announced.

This is our closest look yet at Spirit of Kingston, the future West Seattle Water Taxi vessel, since the King County Marine Division took possession last month – it’s been parked behind a fence at the county’s also-new maintenance barge while crews have been in training, but today we happened to be at Seacrest during one of its test runs. We’re checking with the county Department of Transportation to see if there’s an update on when it’ll be put into service to replace the older and breakdown-prone Rachel Marie.

(Tuesday photo by Don Brubeck)
The future West Seattle Water Taxi vessel Spirit of Kingston has been spotted out on at least one test run since arriving at its new home port last week. But while the King County Department of Transportation’s Marine Division was at one point expecting to launch it on the run when the 7-day-a-week schedule takes effect next week, we’re told it won’t happen quite so fast – according to KCDOT and the office of King County Councilmember Joe McDermott, who chairs the county Ferry District Board, they will delay the debut a while, possibly a few weeks, for training. The spring/summer/fall schedule still launches on Monday, though – and you can see it here.

The new West Seattle Water Taxi vessel Spirit of Kingston has arrived on the downtown waterfront and is docked alongside the county’s new maintenance barge. (We noticed it late Friday via MarineTraffic.com, though it’s now listed as “out of range.”) This is the only view we could get today, but you’ll surely see it out and about soon, since it’s scheduled to take over the West Seattle-downtown run by the time the 7-day-a-week schedule kicks in on Monday, April 8th. Spirit of Kingston’s capacity is slightly less than the run’s current vessel, Rachel Marie, but based on ridership averages, that won’t be an issue till the heart of summer, if then. The 8-year-old catamaran was originally purchased for its namesake town with the help of federal grants, and that’s why it could be transferred here basically for free, since Kingston cut its passenger-ferry service and didn’t need it any more. King County, meantime, will use federal grants to pay for two brand-new boats that will start construction soon.

(Photo courtesy King County Ferry Board chair Joe McDermott’s office)
One week ago, we reported on the King County Ferry Board’s Executive Committee agreeing to accept the Spirit of Kingston and the recommendation that it take over the West Seattle Water Taxi run once it arrives. This afternoon, the county announced the Ferry Board has finalized the deal, and the move should happen when 7-day-a-week service resumes in a few weeks:

The Spirit of Kingston, the 65-foot catamaran that once ferried passengers between Kingston and Seattle, is about to become part of the King County Ferry District’s fleet of water taxis. The District unanimously voted today to acquire the eight year-old vessel at no purchase cost through an agreement with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) – the agency that originally provided grant funding to the Port of Kingston to purchase the vessel.

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More news from the King County Ferry District, including a followup on part of this morning’s report:

The Ferry District board chair, West Seattle’s County Councilmember Joe McDermott, shared the view from his office as the county’s new maintenance and moorage barge arrived from Tacoma – that’s it on the center-left side of the photo. It’s 40′ by 120′ and was built mostly in Portland, then towed to Tacoma for the final phase of work. It has a few more weeks of work to go, hooking up utilities and so on, before it’s ready for use.

This afternoon, the Ferry Board’s executive committee approved the letter we mentioned this morning, officially accepting the transfer of the Spirit of Kingston, no longer needed after a passenger run ended between Seattle and Kingston. It’s an 8-year-old, 65-foot catamaran that was at first proposed to be used as a Water Taxi backup, though, checking Ferry District meeting records, we note Marine Division staff recommended that it become the primary West Seattle vessel. (We’ll check on where that stands.)

The two older boats on the West Seattle and Vashon Water Taxi runs don’t have to hang on too much longer; the executive committee also was briefed this afternoon on the county’s plan to put out RFPs (requests for proposals) by month’s end for two new aluminum catamarans with capacity up to 250 passengers. An earlier step in the process drew qualified responses from Bellingham’s All American Marine and a team led by Seattle’s Kvichak Marine, according to the newest Water Taxi newsletter. If the process proceeds as planned, the first boat may be delivered in the third quarter of next year, with the second one a few months later. The current boats are leased, not owned.

(August 2011 photo of Spirit of Kingston at Seattle dock, by Oran Viriyincy, via Flickr)
Two notes this morning about the King County Ferry District, the agency responsible for the Water Taxi. First, its board’s Executive Committee meets this afternoon, and will consider a resolution to formalize and finalize bringing the Spirit of Kingston (backstory here and here) into the fleet as a virtually free backup.

Second – the Legislature is considering a bill, co-sponsored by local State Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon, that would kill the Ferry District (as well as the county Flood Control District) and consolidate operations into the rest of county government. But that’s a good thing, local County Councilmember Joe McDermott tells WSB:

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For the second time in less than a month, the West Seattle Water Taxi run’s regular vessel Rachel Marie is out for repairs, so the county has just announced that Melissa Ann will handle the run tomorrow. It in turn will be replaced on the Vashon run by the Victoria Clipper. You might recall that the county’s been working on getting a new backup boat, the Spirit of Kingston, which was built with a federal grant that would enable it to be transferred here since its original owners don’t need it any more. It may be just a few weeks away – Kingston Community News reports that it’s about to leave that community for a week-long “pre-transfer survey” in Port Townsend; last time we checked with King County Councilmember and Ferry Board chair Joe McDermott‘s office, that was one of the last steps before delivering the boat here.

If you are thinking about taking the West Seattle Water Taxi tomorrow morning just in case the I-5/Beacon Hill ramp closures bring extra bridge backup – just a reminder, you can’t; both Water Taxi runs are out of service on Presidents Day.

P.S. 7-day-a-week WT service resumes April 8th.

Just in from King County:

Due to a mechanical issue on the Rachel Marie Tuesday night, there will be no water taxi service on the West Seattle route for Wednesday morning, February 13. Normal service will resume beginning with the 3:45 pm departure on Wednesday afternoon from Pier 50.

(WSB file photo of the West Seattle Water Taxi, May 2011)
There’s scheduling news from today’s meeting of the King County Ferry District Board – county councilmembers wearing their marine hats, overseeing West Seattle and Vashon Water Taxi operations. First, one small tweak that local families say will make a big difference; second, a big-picture commitment that should be a relief to local professional sports fans. Details on both, ahead:

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(August 2011 photo of Spirit of Kingston at Seattle dock, by Oran Viriyincy, via Flickr)
Two weeks ago, we reported on the King County Ferry District‘s move to express interest in a federally funded boat no longer needed by its current owners. We’ve just followed up on the status of the Spirit of Kingston’s future – and it appears the boat is an almost sure bet to come be part of the King County Water Taxi system.

The Kitsap Sun reports that the Spirit of Kingston – which discontinued the Kingston-Seattle foot-ferry service for which it procured the boat – has passed a resolution to transfer it to King County. Transferring it means the Port of Kingston won’t have to pay back the $2 million-plus in federal grants that paid for the boat, which is slightly smaller, and much newer (7 years vs. almost 25 years). Now, King County just has to finalize the deal; that won’t happen before the first of the year, according to Michelle Allison, legislative assistant to County Councilmember Joe McDermott, chair of the King County Ferry District Board. She says he has formally sent the board-authorized letter of interest to the Federal Transit Administration, and a meeting between King County Marine Division and FTA is coming up, but one more KC Ferry Board vote is needed “to finalize the asset transfer.” The date for that is not yet set. As noted in our report from last month, the Spirit of Kingston would likely be used as a backup to both King County’s current leased boats and its future new boats (which also are being funded with federal grant money).

(August 2011 photo of Spirit of Kingston at Seattle dock, by Oran Viriyincy, via Flickr)
Right after the holiday weekend, the King County Ferry District Board will consider taking a step toward acquiring a third boat at little or no cost – even before it builds its own two new boats for West Seattle and Vashon Water Taxi service. This was first reported by KUOW, and we have since followed up with the office of County Councilmember Joe McDermott, who chairs the board. The boat is the 65-foot catamaran Spirit of Kingston, now idle after Kingston-Seattle foot-ferry service ceased. Here’s what McDermott legislative aide Michelle Allison tells WSB:

The Port of Kingston recently discontinued service from Kingston to Seattle and announced they would no longer be a passenger ferry service provider. Their primary vessel, the Spirit of Kingston, is available for transfer to another public agency with no capital cost outlay to that entity. The vessel was purchased for 2 million dollars using Federal Transit Administration (FTA) funding. The vessel is certified to carry 147 passengers and a crew of three. Due to the FTA investment, there may be an opportunity to obtain the vessel at no cost to the King County Ferry District (KCFD).

The Marine Division (KCMD) has evaluated the costs and potential savings associated with obtaining a third vessel and found that in addition to improving operational and service reliability, the addition of the Spirit of Kingston to the KCFD fleet would reduce overall expenses over the next five years and beyond.

Specifically, KCMD is recommending that Spirit of Kingston be brought into the KCFD fleet as the primary West Seattle Water Taxi vessel, and move the Rachel Marie into back-up vessel service. When the new vessels are constructed, the Spirit of Kingston would be moved into back-up vessel service. This approach increases reliability and is anticipated to save more than $425,000 on lease and rental expenses over the next five years.

Last week the Executive Committee passed a motion supporting the Chair in writing a letter of interest that would be submitted to the FTA. The full Board will weigh in on November 26th. If the full Board supports the motion, the Chair will then write the letter to the FTA. The final decision is up to the FTA but would also require one more action of the Board to approve the transfer of the asset. … As you know, we are currently running a two-boat, two-route operation so the option of a third boat as a back-up vessel with no capital cost to the Ferry District is very appealing.

Port Townsend had been interested in the Spirit of Kingston, but is reported to have shelved its plan for a foot ferry to Seattle, so King County may not have any competition if it finalizes interest in the boat.

Rachel Marie, as Water Taxi riders know, has had multiple problems in recent months. The Spirit of Kingston is slightly smaller – 65 feet compared to RM’s 77 feet – but much newer, built in 2005, while RM (as noted in this WSB report before the county leased it in 2010) was built in 1988. According to a detailed briefing paper that Allison also provided (you can read it here), the district has three options for deploying Spirit of Kingston if it’s obtained – including saving even more money in 2014, by letting one of its current vessel leases expire 9 months before the newly built boats come into service.

County Executive Dow Constantine also unveiled his budget plan today – and the county Department of Transportation calls our attention to the fact it includes the previously announced funding for new water-taxi vessels:

The 2013-14 biennial budget submitted today by King County Executive Dow Constantine includes $12.5 million for the design and construction of two new water taxis, subject to approval by the King County Ferry District. Federal grants will cover 80 percent of the total cost of the vessels with the balance coming from Ferry District revenues.

The County’s Marine Division currently operates passenger-only ferry service from downtown Seattle to West Seattle and Vashon Island using two twenty-plus year-old leased vessels that require frequent maintenance. The new boats are expected to carry between 225 and 250 passengers each.

Following approval of the budget, a request for proposals focused on vessel performance specifications will be issued. The county will then evaluate the proposals to determine which shipyard will construct the boats. The Marine Division anticipates issuing an award for construction of both vessels in early 2013.

The Marine Division expects delivery of the first vessel in early to mid-2014 with delivery of the second vessel expected by mid 2014.

A reminder from the West Seattle Water Taxi: It’ll have evening runs next Monday and Thursday for the Seahawks and Huskies games. The county says it’ll have extended evening service for all such games until the end of the summer/fall schedule on October 28th.