Responding to a public outcry over a proposal to close its reservations office near the airport, the Steamship Authority has come up with a plan to offer the same services at a counter in the airport terminal.

At its September meeting in Nantucket last Tuesday, the SSA Board directed General Manager Wayne C. Lamson to negotiate a five-year lease with the Martha’s Vineyard Airport Commission for counter and office space so it can continue to offer walk-in service for Island residents in the middle of the Island.

Since the SSA’s current landlord announced that it would be terminating the lease for the present Martha’s Vineyard Reservation Office in January 2012, the SSA has received calls and letters from residents urging it to keep an airport-area location. The SSA originally proposed consolidating all services at its terminals in Vineyard Haven and Oak Bluffs.

Based on community opposition, the SSA put out a request for proposals for alternative space. The authority said it received three proposals: one for an office at Mariner’s Landing in the Triangle Area of Edgartown; one for a yet-to-be-constructed building near the Mobil station at the Martha’s Vineyard Airport Business Park; and a third for space in an existing building at the business park. Lease amounts ranged from a $2,100 to $3,500 a month.

Meanwhile, the SSA had been continuing to investigate the feasibility of relocating the reservation office into the terminal building at the airport. Mr. Lamson told board members that counter space available near the rental car agency counter would accommodate two clerks to conduct in-person reservation transactions. A small room at the other end of the terminal could also be used by at least three telephone clerks and a supervisor, he said.

Although the lease still has to be approved by the Airport Commission, Mr. Lamson said he expected it would cost less than $2,000 per month, including utilities, over a five-year term. The SSA is currently paying more than $2,200 per month, plus utilities.