BY DAN ROSENHEIM
Confronted with a choice between slow-growth fiscal conservatism and more rapid ferry service expansion, top Water Emergency Transportation Authority staff now advocate for the latter—even if it could mean pressing for new subsidies.
WETA Executive Director Nina Rannells told the agency’s November board meeting that, after re-examining financial projections, she favors forging ahead with four major projects requiring imminent action.
“A month ago, I heard the board say, ‘We think we should be fiscally prudent, but let’s figure out how we can do everything,’” Rannells said. “And we do think we can move forward and do all the things we have in process.”
The four key projects include:
- Service to a new ferry terminal at Seaplane Lagoon, on the site of Alameda’s former Naval Air station. Among three options for the service, Rannells is now endorsing the most ambitious and expensive choice, a six-trip daily service that would shift peak-period runs to Seaplane from the existing Alameda Main Street terminal. This plan, estimated to add a net new $2.3 million to WETA’s operating budget over five years, would require a new boat and would add new direct runs from downtown San Francisco to Oakland.
- Regular shuttle service between downtown San Francisco and Mission Bay, scheduled to begin in January 2022. WETA has been asked to contribute $25 million toward the $50 million cost of a new terminal, which it would recoup from RM3 funds if and when they become available. The agency would buy the equivalent of 1.5 small boats for this run.
- Treasure Island shuttle to Downtown San Francisco. Although WETA says it is responsible neither for capital nor operating costs of the shuttle, the agency would provide the equivalent of another 1.5 small boats for this run.
- Fleet Expansion. WETA would exercise an option with Mavrik Marine to order a new 300-passenger, high-speed vessel next spring, at a cost of $15 million.
The more aggressive approach represents a shift for Rannells, who as recently as October appeared to favor a more cautious spending plan, saying the agency couldn’t fund all four projects without additional monies.
“We’ve scrubbed our numbers,” Rannells said following the board’s November meeting. “We think we can move forward and expand service.”
In essence, Rannells said she is making a bet that funds from Regional Measure 3, currently tied up in court, will become available. And if, after two years, that money has not materialized, there will be time to reconsider the budget.
But even with RM3 money, Rannells said she will seek additional state funding for the three small boats that would service Mission Bay and Treasure Island. If one or more of the boats used alternative energy sources, rather than diesel fuel, Rannells said WETA might qualify for a grant from a state program called TIRCP (Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program).
Interestingly, it was members of the board this time who sounded the more cautionary notes. Only three of five board members were in attendance at the meeting—Jim Wunderman and Nicholas Josefowitz were absent—and those three appeared to endorse the proposals for Seaplane Lagoon and buying a new Mavrik boat. But all three members present—chair Jody Breckenridge and members Anthony Intintoli and Jeff DelBono—expressed hesitation about Mission Bay and Treasure Island.
“I think each one of these projects is important to the region,” said DelBono, an Alameda resident and member of the International Association of Firefighters. “But I still have heartburn over Mission Bay [and the $25 million commitment]. And with Treasure Island, we’ve asked for certain [information] and they haven’t been back here. So I am with Seaplane Lagoon and with the fleet expansion; I don’t think I’m quite there yet on Mission Bay or Treasure Island.”
Among other things, DelBono wondered whether the Mission Bay terminal construction, which is being overseen by the Port of San Francisco, would be subject to the same kind of agreement with organized labor that WETA characteristically uses on such projects.
Intintoli and Breckenridge also stopped short of committing to Mission Bay and Treasure Island, specifically citing a lack of clarity about both capital and operating funding for Treasure Island ferry service.
“I fully expected we would have those things in place, and we don’t have them,” Intintoli said. “So I wouldn’t be able at this time to vote yes or no.”
“I concur with the other directors,” said Breckenridge. “I would like to see something from San Francisco. Seaplane Lagoon is ready to go. I concur with the statements about Mission Bay and Treasure Island.”
In view of these concerns, it seems likely the board will vote to approve Seaplane Lagoon at its December meeting and the Mavrik boat not long after. The timetable for the other two items, though, remains less clear.
