We, the undersigned community groups of Guemes Island, stand together to insist that Skagit County apply its core values to the current fare proposal for the Guemes Island ferry and to the long-term relationship with island residents.

Skagit County’s 2022-2032 Strategic Plan describes its core values as “collaboration, communication, customer service, diversity, equity, financial stability, inclusion and wellness.” It further clarifies core values as, “They tell our story and focus on HOW we will conduct our business.” The plan also outlines strategic goals including housing affordability, physical, social and emotional well-being and “high standards of customer service that includes transparency and accessibility for all county services and programs.”

The ferry is our bridge to jobs, schools, groceries and other services. We greatly appreciate the crew and the work they do each day to ensure safe and timely service to and from the Island. However, to uphold Skagit County’s values and achieve its strategic goals, significant changes are needed:

1) Great strides toward achieving the values of collaboration, communication and customer service will be made by re-establishing regular engagement between Islanders and the Ferry Division. All other ferry systems in Washington State have recognized citizen advisory ferry committees to address a wide variety of issues including fares. We ask BoCC to reinstate the Guemes Island Ferry Committee per Resolution R2010050 (as amended by R20110382) as it was prior to July 27, 2023.

2) Toward the strategic goal of housing affordability (which includes taxes and other fees, like the Ferry), maintain all current fare categories, including multi-ride passes and the discount, but with a 15% rate increase as previously planned.

During the BoCC work session on fare increases held on November 14th, Captain Rowe said the fare increase for 2025 would be 30%. However, using the proposed fare schedule, seniors will face an average increase of 45%; adults 44%. Adding in the 15% from last year, Islanders are facing a 64-65% increase in two years. This dramatically alters affordability for most Island residents, but especially families and people living on fixed incomes.

Incorporating peak/non-peak season pricing across all categories is resulting in disproportionate fare increases for fulltime island residents and veers the Guemes Ferry away from its “peers”. The Lummi ferry does not use peak/non-peak pricing and Pierce County keeps pricing the same year-round for walk-ons, passengers and bikes, while also offering a “value pass” that doesn’t differentiate between peak/non-peak season for cars/drivers, walk-on’s etc.., but does have a 40-day expiration period. Furthermore, multi-ride discounts are used in all of the ferry systems in the state and according to the KPFF 2023 rate study done for Skagit County, “The multi-ride discount offered by the 2022 Guemes Island Fare Schedule were similar or lower than the level of discount offered by other ferry systems reviewed.”

3) The county’s goal: “ensure high level of customer service that includes transparency and accessibility” is woefully lacking when it comes to the current fare proposal. You can fix this by providing a transparent view of actual costs including credit for all revenue towards the calculation of ferry fares such as federal funding for the ferry, surcharge paid on tickets, and youth ride-free funding.

For transparency, clarify why the 2025 Operating and Maintenance (O&M) expenditures increased by 48.5% over the 2022 actual O&M expenditures. What is driving them? Has there been any attempt to review expenses? Why are you moving forward with an electronic ticketing system that has a 7% fee on gross revenue, adding another $94,000 per year in expenses?

4) Toward the strategic goal of increasing physical and emotional wellbeing, as well as housing affordability, reject the 590% increase for Haz-Mat runs. This will cause undue hardship for the many residents who depend on propane for heating and cooking. Likewise, with the boat and crew already in-service, the extra charge of $582.70 for a second 11:15 AM run is out of operational context and will ensure further back-ups at the busiest time of day especially for the island’s service providers.

5) Maintaining the long-standing after-hours EMS service is vital to Islanders well-being. We cannot rely solely on helicopter service since helicopters are weather dependent and not always available. Skagit County recognizes this, stating in a federal grant application that “helicopter travel is neither the fastest nor the most practical means of transporting patients to the care they need.” We agree!

In total, these actions will help to ensure the continued success of the Guemes Island Ferry in serving its community while aligning more closely with the values and goals set forth in the Skagit County Strategic Plan.

Sincerely,

Dawn Ashbach
President, Guemes Island Historical Society

Kathy Malley
President, Guemes Island Planning Advisory Committee

Gabe Murphy
Chairperson, Guemes Island Ferry Committee