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Current Announcements:
The next AICAB meeting is scheduled for September 12th at: 7:00 p.m., at the Anderson Island Community Club
Please join us. The agenda is not yet set.
Note: Prior meeting minutes can be found here: http://www.aicab.org/documents/index.html#Minutes.
Ferry Issues:
Your ferry-related comments and suggestions are welcome and may be sent via email to the Ferry Committee at aiferry@hotmail.com. To receive ferry service announcements please send your email address to aiferry@hotmail.com
Steilacoom II Vessel Charter Agreement between Pierce County and the State:
Click here to view the agreement: 20080118_SteilacoomII_vesselCharterAgreement.pdf
July Ferry Committee Report:
The Pierce County Ferry Committee met June 19, 2008. Issues discussed included:
- Safety: Drivers are reminded to drive safely while boarding. Pay attention to pedestrians, ferry crew, and the railroad crossing. Drivers should not be using cell phones or smoking while boarding. Monday, June 15th, a ferry passenger noticed a kayaker signaling for help. The crew were notified and proceeded to rescue the kayaker; his vessel was submerged and lost. Thank you ferry crew!
- Minus tides (approx. -4 ft) are anticipated for July 2, 3, 4 near midday. Large trucks, RVs and those towing trailers should board morning or later runs.
- An extra ferry run will depart Steilacoom on July 4 at 1 pm. Immediately following departure, the Steilacoom Fourth of July parade will cross the ferry entrance. Look for sandwich boards directing traffic awaiting the 2:10 ferry or check the PC ferry website for a map: http://www.co.pierce.wa.us/pc/abtus/ourorg/pwu/ferry/ferrymain.htm
- Parking: Mark Bona (PC intern) has begun a study of parking for islanders in Steilacoom.
- PC Ferry anticipates that the reader board showing ferry location and ETA will be operational sometime in Fall 2008. New AICAB Ferry Committee Chair Jim McLean is the AICAB rep on the Pierce-County assembled team that's specifying the future Ferry Information Display System. The first meeting of the group should be in late July. Details should be available at our next AICAB meeting.
- PC Ferry expects to have their on-line customer satisfaction survey available July 1, 2008. The survey should take only 3-4 minutes to complete.
- The Christine Anderson must go back into dry dock by the end of September for regularly scheduled repairs. Mike Esher anticipates use of S/V Rhododendron during that dry dock period.
Prior Ferry Report, May 2008:
Peak season ferry ticket rates are in effect as of May 15. This summer the ferry operator plans to increase the time that a loading aide will be present in the Steilacoom loading area to provide rider information and direct vehicle loading during peak times. They also intend to have an officer on-board the ferry for a limited trial basis during peak times, which will issue citations for infractions of county and coast guard regulations. The county is asking that we give priority to purchasing tickets on-line or at the Island General Store kiosk (and you can help by cutting or folding down the size of tickets printed on-line to something the ticket taker can handle with his free hand). They are again requesting that everyone turn off vehicle lights at night while boarding the ferry, and during very low tide periods check with the dock before loading longer vehicles (trailers, RVs, low slung cars, etc) since they may be denied boarding due to severe ramp angles.
New "No Parking" signs will be erected at the Steilacoom loading lanes. After they are in place, the ferry operator will be authorized to immediately tow vehicles left unattended in the loading lanes if they obstruct ferry loading. The planned electronic Readerboard for the Steilacoom dock area has been approved and should be in place by November 2008. It will be integrated with a new ferry tracking system, which will allow riders in the loading lanes to have the latest information on ferry schedules and more.
The state has requested that the county allow it to continue the lease of one of the county ferries until 2010 while they have a more suitable vessel built. The county is in the process of negotiating new terms and conditions for the extended lease which will likely include a swap of the ferries so that the newer Steilacoom II could be permanently returned to Anderson Island service in September 2008, when the Christine Anderson goes into drydock for repairs and upgrades. Ferry committee recommended conditions for the lease were approved by AICAB at its May meeting. Questions concerning the lease or any of the planned changes can be emailed to aiferry@hotmail.com .
Pierce Transit and Ferry Schedules Aligned as of June 1st
The annoying sight of the Pierce Transit bus pulling away, just as the ferry docks in Steilacoom, will soon be improved. Requests to Pierce Transit for changes to provide a more compatible schedule, started with Chuck Hinds and the AICAB ferry committee nearly two years ago and followed up by the AI Community Planning Board for the past year, have finally paid off. Pierce Transit has approved a schedule change which will make several bus runs in both the morning and afternoon schedule compatible with the ferry arrival times. The changes go into effect June 1st, 2008.
2008-04-28 Official release from the Pierce County Ferry Administrator's office:
PIERCE COUNTY TO MAINTAIN RELIABLE SERVICE TO ANDERSON AND
KETRON ISLANDS WHILE HELPING STATE WITH SERVICE CRISIS
For the last several months Washington State Ferries has leased the Steilacoom II ferry from the Pierce County Department of Public Works and Utilities for use at Port Townsend and has determined that the 50 car, 300 passenger vessel is not suited for the conditions of the Port Townsend route. At the time of the lease it was hoped that the configuration of the vessel would prove to be satisfactory thereby saving them design and construction time and cost by building Steilacoom style ferries.
The State has searched around for a solution and believes that another larger style vessel is a better fit. The new style boat is being designed and construction should start this fall. The new ferries are proposed to be available by April of 2010 according to the State.
The State has also looked for a temporary vessel to rent to provide service but has been unsuccessful in locating or securing a vessel other than the vessel being provided by Pierce County. The State has asked to extend the time frame to lease a vessel from Pierce County until 2010.
Mr. Brian Ziegler, Director of Pierce County Public Works and Utilities wants to assure Anderson and Ketron Island residents that top notch service without long interruptions is our first priority. To ensure this:
* The Christine Anderson is reliable and even with a single engine trouble we can run on one engine.
* NC Mechanics is on-call to immediately respond to any mechanical problems if they should arise.
* Lease provisions provide for the fact that the Steilacoom II can be immediately recalled if we experience any long term problems.
* The Hiyu will be a backup beginning in July.
Pierce County was going to bring the Steilacoom II back in September when the Christine Anderson goes in for dry-docking. The Steilacoom II will stay with Pierce County and the Christine Anderson will be refurbished with contributing State monies and then go to Port Townsend for up to 19 months.
As with our contractual arrangement on the Steilacoom II, we will retain the ability to bring the Christine Anderson back if needed while at the same time, we will have the Hiyu available as a backup.
Other ferry-related issues:
12/2/2007 Letter to Councilmember Dick Muri (DOC file) requesting the County do something about the ferry-fare revenues being lost due to poor collection practices, both human and mechanical.
Letter to Pierce County Public Works approving proposed 2008 Rate Schedule (See the "Old Business" section of the October Meeting Minutes for the final discussion of this issue.)
Letter to Pierce County Councilmember Dick Muri requesting a change in vehicle ferry fare category from "20 feet-and-under" to "Under 21 feet" (See the "Old Business" section of the October Meeting Minutes for the final discussion of this issue.)
Pierce County's proposed 2008 fare increase
Ferry committee memorandum to Pierce County
Camera SurveillanceRequests for grants have been submitted by the County to purchase cameras for monitoring the dock waiting facility and the ferry loading lanes on the island.
Multi-County Permanent Burn Ban
Rule Change for King, Pierce, and Snohomish Counties:- Beginning July 1, 2008, no more burning of land-clearing debris.
- Beginning July 1, 2010, no more burning of residential yard waste.
- Wood smoke is a health hazard and a nuisance. See: www.pscleanair.org/actions/outdoorfires
- Fires are dangerous and can spread.
- Responses to smoke complaints tie up fire department resources intended for 911 responses.
Collection of Household Appliances:
The AI dump facility does not accept appliances, furniture, computers, or computer monitors. If you have any of these things to discard, there are people on the island who will take them and properly dispose of them in Tacoma for a small fee. Please contact any member of the AICAB by phone or by emailing andersonaicab @ yahoo.com, or look for the cards of those who provide this service posted on the bulletin board just outside the Island General Store's north entryway.List of AICAB Projects Completed to Date is available:
In reply to frequent inquiries regarding AICAB projects and activities, the following document contains a summary of the main issues addressed since the inception of the AICAB: AICAB_ProjectsCompletedToDate (DOC)
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Please help us keep you informed of County developments and AICAB news
If you wish to receive AICAB news via email, (meeting announcements, general updates, and special notifications of County and/or AICAB developments) please send us your email address at Andersonaicab @ yahoo.com.AICAB Meetings are monthly:
Meetings are held on the second Friday of every month at 7:00pm in the Community Club; if there are no pressing matters for a monthly meeting, that meeting will be cancelled. Exceptions are quarterly meetings which will be held unless circumstances prevent them from being held. The quarterly meetings will be held on the second Friday of each of the following months: January, April, July, and October. Issues from earlier months that were not time-sensitive will be attended to at quarterly meetings.
Speakup Forms:
Speak-up forms are now available on-line. Click here to download/view. Note: if you have trouble getting the document, try right-clicking on the link and selecting "Save Target As" (IE browser) or "Save link as" (Firefox/Mozilla/Netscape browser) to save it to your own computer's hard drive.
AICAB Members
Erik Hodge (Chair), Ed Stephenson (Vice Chair), Anthony Tognazzini (Treasurer), Jim McLean (Secretary), Randy Anderson, Dianne Avey, Linda Buix, Marshel Ivie, David McGoldrick, Sunny Pepin.
About the AICAB:
On May 18th, 2004 the Anderson Island Citizens' Advisory Board was established by vote of the Pierce County Council, ordinance no. 2004-25. The Anderson Island Citizens' Advisory Board (AICAB) serves in an advisory capacity to the Pierce County Council and Pierce County Executive. The purpose of the AICAB is to facilitate a structured two-way communication process between the County and island residents regarding significant issues affecting the community within Pierce County's jurisdiction. Issues include, but are not limited to, land use, environmental regulations, infrastructure, schools, ferry service, and public safety. The goal of the AICAB is to assure that all views are considered by conveying island viewpoints and opinions, including minority views, on significant issues affecting the island.
The duties of the AICAB members as set forth in Pierce County ordinance No. 2004-25 include:
A. Provide a forum for island residents, property owners and business owners to communicate concerns;
B. Articulate issues of concern and forward to the Pierce County Council and/or the Pierce County Executive;
C. Devise a recommended plan of action for resolution of island concerns;
D. Update island residents, property owners and business owners regarding issues of concern and Pierce County's responses;
E. Invite Pierce County representatives to participate in regular "town hall" type meetings to discuss island concerns; and
F. Forward recommendations and suggested solutions to the appropriate Pierce County official(s).
The AICAB consists of 10 voting members, (appointed by the Pierce County Executive and confirmed by the Pierce County Council), drawn from each of the following island organizations: Anderson Island Association, Anderson Island Community Club, Anderson Island Historical Society, Anderson Island Elementary School Booster Club, Anderson Island Park and Recreation District, Anderson Island Fire and Rescue District, Anderson Island Quality of Life Committee, Anderson Island Crime Task Force, Tanner Electric Cooperative, and Riviera Community Club.
The AICAB meets monthly on the second Friday of the month at 7:00pm at the Anderson Island Community Clubhouse. The public is welcome at all meetings. Speakup Forms are available in the AICAB box located on the exterior wall of the Island General Store.
For additional information please contact the AICAB through Andersonaicab @ yahoo.com
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