TU: PolitiJax: City Council trying to bridge gap for Mayport ferry

[Patricia M. McBride]

You will have to weigh in on this.  I favor some sort of temporary solution until a permanent one can be found to keep the ferry in operation, but I know others feel differently about who should do it!

 

March 13, 2012

A Jacksonville City Council panel trying to keep the St. Johns River Ferry in business is looking closer for grants that might help bridge its budget gap.

And members said Monday the Jacksonville Port Authority could have tried harder to do the same, after Mayport resident Mikki Baldwin pointed out a fund that might help cover fuel costs.

“If they were attuned to continuing to operate the ferry, why in the world wouldn’t they find that, instead of waiting for a common citizen who got passionate,” said Councilman Bill Gulliford, who chairs the ferry committee.

Port spokeswoman Nancy Rubin said the agency did land other grant money that helped the ferry.

The port decided recently to stop ferry operations Sept. 30, saying the service needs a $680,000 operating subsidy and faces millions of dollars in possible maintenance costs.

Gulliford said it will be important to find another entity that can quickly take responsibility for the ferry and begin seeking funding, whether it’s through state and federal programs, contributions from neighboring counties or tourism agencies who might be convinced that Florida A1A — which includes the ferry crossing — has enough value as a tourism corridor that the ferry should be maintained.

The committee meets again March 22 at 4 p.m.

Read more at Jacksonville.com: http://jacksonville.com/news/florida/2012-03-13/story/politijax-cit...