By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

A fair amount of Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth news was part of this afternoon’s Washington State Ferries online community meeting.

If you missed it, you have a chance to catch the second session tomorrow (Thursday, February 13). Or, you can read our recap of the toplines. For one, WSF external-relations director John Vezina said that while there’s still no date for restoration of full 3-boat service on the Triangle Route, an update of the 2-boat schedule is coming this summer.

First, Vezina said, look for “community engagement” this spring, seeking public input before the new schedule is finalized. A consultant has been working on the rewrite.

And as recently announced, WSF is ready to go to the wider community with its plan to design a Fauntleroy dock replacement that’s longer and larger – holding “at least a full boat” worth of cars – but which, Vezina said, avoids encroaching on Cove Park to the north.

He noted the plan for a February 24-March 21 online “open house” about it. But, as terminal-engineering director David Sowers pointed out during the meeting’s Q&A section, it’s not slated to be built before the end of the decade; a more immediate part of the project will be the signalization of the Fauntleroy Way intersection with the end of the dock, scheduled for construction later this year.

In systemwide updates from the meeting, which started with about half an hour of presentations before going to almost an hour and a half of Q&A, WSF boss Steve Nevey said this year is “off to a strong start” after 2024’s highlights, such as these:

They’re particularly proud of the one recent week in which they made 100 percent of scheduled sailings – 2,728 in all. Asked in Q&A what he saw as the main reason(s) for the improvement, Nevey answered, “Building back our workforce.”

Chief of Staff Nicole McIntosh had offered some details on that, saying they had a good “bench” of people training to move up to roles like mates and captains, important because 20 percent of their vessel employees are within five years of retirement eligibility, and an even-higher percentage of shoreside employees. Nevey also spoke about “culture change” within WSF, saying they’re working on six areas of improvement – quality of life, cohesion, employee engagement, levels of accountability, human resources, and communication practices.

Asked if automation was expected to gain increased use at WSF, leading to a smaller workforce, Nevey said that’s not feasible, for reasons such as the myriad safety roles that onboard personnel are tasked with, along with their regular duties. And in response to a question about how DEI factors into WSF hiring, Vezina said flatly that it’s vital – “you cannot operate a service like ours with just straight white men” – they need to be able to recruit the best and brightest from every demographic, from “all of Washington.”

Another question inspired by the changes in Washington, D.C. – does WSF rely on federal funding? Answer: It’s 19 percent of the system’s current funding, so “they’re monitoring very closely” what’s happening in the other Washington. (WSF’s budget, incidentally, is just under $1.5 billion this biennium, it was noted.)

About half that sum goes to capital costs, and a big one in the years ahead will be building new boats to replace the aging WSF fleet. On April 7, they’ll open the bids for five new boats; three “qualified shipbuilders” are working on those bids now. The Legislature, which determines WSF’s budget, also will continue paying for extra Vashon Island Water Taxi service while the WSF Triangle Route remains at reduced service levels.

About 200 people had logged in by the meeting’s start, it was announced; you can check out the 6 pm Wednesday edition by registering for the link here.