Let ferry users pay

their own way

I sent the following letter to each member of the King County Council regarding the taxes that will be levied to support the creation of the new ferry district and surprisingly, received only one reply - from Regan Dunn, the only member who voted against the entire proposal.

Isn't is nice that our council representatives are so responsive to our concerns?

Dear Council Member,

I have a number of questions and concerns regarding the formation of this district and wonder if you asked the following questions before instituting this unnecessary new taxing district.

- Is this a necessary expenditure of tax dollars?

- Is there overwhelming public demand for passenger ferry service?

- Is there overwhelming public benefit?

- Who will benefit from this service?

Could this tax levy fund more mass (bus) transit service routes throughout the county making it easier for county residents to use Metro?

Does the county have more experience in operating passenger ferry service than the State of Washington and private enterprise?

This is not a step forward. The so-called Mosquito Fleet was a private operation, not funded with public monies. If passenger service is an economically viable and efficient enterprise, the State Ferry System would continue or expand current service.

I strongly object to subsidizing ferry riders - especially with my property taxes. Let those who choose to ride ferries pay their own way or let them walk onto vehicle ferries. As I see it, those who will benefit the most are Vashon Island residents and those who live east of Lake Washington. Why not institute more bus routes to take people where they work?

I believe this is patently unfair to ask the majority of county residents to shoulder this burden by way of property tax assessment. Ferry service, unlike most mass transit, i.e. buses, is not for the masses and benefits only a few.

Further, this issue received little publicity and certainly no direct notification to county residents who have to foot the bill.

There were several supportive letters to the editor in last week's paper, but did those writers really consider the actual number of riders that will benefit and overall cost to run and maintain a new infrastructure? On a typical day will all county residents be subsidizing 100 riders a day? 300? And exactly what experience does King County have in purchasing and maintaining ferries, building and maintaining docks (the county can barely keep up with road maintenance, let alone docks and large commercial vessels).

What about environmental review and concern for placement of dock facilities and pollution from fuel in sensitive Puget Sound waters that support salmon and shellfish? This entire scheme has received too little citizen input and not enough council outreach. I urge taxpayers to ask how the benefit will outweigh the cost and contact your council members with your concerns and thoughts.

On a separate note, does anyone proof the paper before printing? Since when is florist spelled with an 'e', as in the photo caption about the new Shadowlands restaurant? I consistently notice a bevy of spelling errors each week. When I worked for the Highline Times, there were dedicated proofreaders for the Robinson papers. But that was before MS Word and spell check.

Gretchen Flickinger

Fauntleroy