In spite of a tumultuous first three years as Vineyard Steamship
Authority governor, Kathryn A. Roessel wants more.
On Wednesday Ms. Roessel submitted a letter to the Dukes County
commissioners, formally seeking reappointment to the high-profile
volunteer position. Her current three-year term expires at the end of
the December.
With a contract that expired more than a year ago and no real end in sight at the bargaining table, tension has begun to escalate between management and vessel workers at the Steamship Authority.
Union workers picketed SSA terminals on both sides of the sound over Memorial Day weekend, waving signs that put the spotlight on a simmering and now long-running dispute over manning levels, wages and retirement benefits.
SSA Management Sets a Course for Collision on Security Measures
By JULIA WELLS Gazette Senior Writer
Turning a deaf ear on the growing uproar among Islanders over a
controversial new policy that will bar people from staying in their cars
on board ferries, senior managers at the Steamship Authority announced
flatly this week that the policy is expected to go into effect sometime
later this month.
HYANNIS - In the latest skirmish in the continuing battle between the Tisbury board of selectmen and the Steamship Authority, the port council yesterday backed a boat line plan to shift three summer trips from Vineyard Haven to Oak Bluffs.
The decision by the council, which advises the SSA board of governors, came over the bitter protests of council member and Tisbury selectman Thomas W. Pachico and fellow selectman Tristan Israel. The council voted 5-1, with Mr. Pachico dissenting and Nantucket member Nathaniel Lowell absent, to back the SSA plan.
Steamship Authority chairman Marc Hanover was not looking for
support from the Dukes County Commission Wednesday in his continuing
battle with the Tisbury board of selectmen over ferry fee money. But he
got it anyway.
Sparking a fresh war of words between the Steamship Authority and
the town of Tisbury, the Vineyard boat line governor said yesterday he
may call for the state attorney general to look into how the town plans
to use its ferry fee revenues.
Facing the possibility of up to $1 million in unplanned fuel costs, Steamship Authority management is taking a hard look at slowing down its ferries to and from Martha's Vineyard as a way to cut costs.
SSA General manager Wayne Lamson said yesterday that reducing speeds would be "at the top of our list" for reining in operating costs at the boat line.
The Steamship Authority has forecasted operating expenses this year of $63.5 million.
Striking a far more conciliatory tone, the Tisbury selectmen stood
their ground this week in opposing a set of proposed Steamship Authority
schedule changes for next year, also calling on boat line leaders to
play a role in creating a better traffic layout at the Vineyard Haven
terminal.
NANTUCKET - The Steamship Authority is considering loosening
restrictions on the transfer of regular tickets, as well as on the
10-ticket discount books that are a staple of ferry travel for Vineyard
residents.
At present, the boat line restricts the use of regular tickets and
of the 10-ticket books to their buyers.
