Keeping King County's tiny Navy afloat
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Monday, September 28, 2009
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Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Demeroutis VP Labor Relations at Crowley - marinelink.com
Crowley Maritime Corporation announced that effective October 1, Steve Demeroutis will assume the role of vice president, labor relations, replacing Jerry Dowd who is retiring after 25 years of service. Demeroutis is domiciled in Jacksonville and reports to Bill Pennella, vice chairman and executive vice president.
In his new position, Demeroutis will be responsible for the development and implementation of Crowley's overall labor strategy. He will also oversee contract negotiations, union relationships and the day-to-day administration of collective bargaining agreements throughout the entire Crowley organization and will have functional responsibility for labor relations for all Crowley subsidiaries. Reporting to Demeroutis will be both East and West Coast labor functions.
Demeroutis joined Crowley in 2007 as director, labor relations. He has more than 15 years of experience in labor relations including his prior position as vice president, United Inland Group of the International Organization of Masters, Mates and Pilots. He served as a trustee for several different employee health and benefits plans and has conducted educational seminars for the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans. He received his Master's license in 1986 and sailed as Master and First Class Pilot with the Washington State ferries.
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OPED - Kitsap Sun
MY TURN | Ferry Riders Should Be Grateful for Taxpayers' Help
BELFAIR — Reader submitted
This commentary is solely my opinion and not that of the Washington Transportation Commission (of which I am a member) or any elected official; I am not an elected official, nor am I likely to ever be one.
Your paper frequently publishes news and commentary regarding the Washington State Ferries (WSF) and the news articles are generally pretty accurate. Your opinion pieces are sometimes on track, but last Wednesday’s community columnist — complaining about ferry service, high rates, inadequate taxpayer subsidy, and ill treatment of Bremerton — needs some help connecting the dots. Let me try.
First, most of us on the west side of Puget Sound chose to live here. There are many reasons for our choice — our job, favorable surroundings, family ties, and, for many, the lower cost of housing. Second, crossing water, whether by bridge or by ferry, costs much more than crossing land. Watercraft that move people and automobiles are so expensive to operate that the general public could not afford fares high enough to safely run the system as a private operation. That is why the State took over the ferry system from Black Ball in the 1950s. Third, the ferry system received a large state subsidy from the Motor Vehicle Excise Tax (MVET) until voters, including a large majority on the Kitsap Peninsula, made clear in supporting I-695 they did not want to pay that tax. Voter decisions have consequences. Repeal of the MVET cost WSF 58 percent of its operating support and 70 percent of its capital support. It has struggled ever since.
With that kind of loss, the State had to make changes. It could reduce service, it could increase fares, or it could shift money from funds primarily used to build and maintain highways. It chose to do a little of all those things. Fares have increased substantially — perhaps as much as 70 percent over the last 10 years — an increase which doesn’t cover the fuel cost inflation we have experienced over much shorter periods of time. WSF also has received an increased share of gas taxes over the last 10 years. That is testament to the effectiveness of elected representatives from this area in the State Senate and House — most members of the Legislature are not from ferry-dependent counties. Every dollar that goes to the ferry system could have been spent on highway projects in large population centers like Spokane, Seattle, or Vancouver, USA .
Is the ferry system receiving its “fair share”? State fuel tax revenue received by the Department of Transportation (WSDOT) funds construction and major repairs to all state highways, bridges and other state transportation facilities. That is the WSDOT Capital Budget. Of that capital budget about 6 percent ($285 million), is allocated for ferries and terminals over the next 2 years (2009-2011). In addition to the Capital Budget WSDOT has an Operations and Maintenance budget, which also comes primarily from fuel taxes. Of the total statewide WSDOT operations and maintenance budget fully 37 percent ($400 million) is allocated to ferries. That is a lot of money and a large portion of the entire transportation budget. Yet it is not enough.
WSF has just enough fully functioning ferries to serve the existing schedule. Any glitch causes a reshuffling and those routes with the most demand will get first crack at the most ferry capacity. Fares are high, but don’t cover even 70 percent of operating costs — the remainder of operating costs and all capital costs (i.e. money for building ferries and retrofitting terminals) comes from fuel taxes.
Contrary to the belief of some, the Transportation Commission is a group concerned about keeping the system running in the absence of sufficient money coming from elsewhere. And that is true even though 4 of the 7 members do not live in the Puget Sound area — indeed, only 2 of us ride ferries frequently.
It is time for people to get real. Transportation, like any other public or private service, costs money. Ferries cost more than most any other form of surface transportation. People on this side of the water have long opposed another bridge. Voters who want lower taxes need to recognize there are consequences of lower taxes. Every day people consciously or unconsciously decide whether the benefits they enjoy from living on the west side of the water are worth the inevitable transportation costs and inherent inconveniences. Looking for scapegoats is a time honored human endeavor — however, it does interfere with rational thinking and, worse, it produces no answers. People on this side of the water or who live on islands should enjoy their beautiful surroundings, experience the area opportunities, appreciate the cheaper housing, recognize their taxes are relatively low, appreciate the benefits of lower population, and be thankful that other taxpayers are helping them.
Read more: http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2009/sep/20/my-turn-ferry-riders-should-be-grateful-for-help/#ixzz0RrB2V0Xw
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Sunday, September 20, 2009
State Exploring the Idea of Selling Naming Rights for Ferries - Kitsap Sun
State transportation officials are appraising whether the corporate zeal to buy naming rights might extend to ferry boats and terminals.
From Safeco Field to Kitsap Sun Pavilion, sports venues are known for the company names they take on. Washington State Ferries, facing a $3.5 billion shortfall over the next 22 years, wants to get in on the act.
A long-term ferry financing study completed in February for the state Transportation Commission concluded that “ancillary” revenues, including vessel and terminal naming rights, wouldn’t put much of a dent in operating costs, but should be explored anyway “given the magnitude of WSF’s financial crisis and the need to identify new sources of revenue.”
The study recommended that a detailed analysis be performed. The Legislature put a proviso in the budget in April directing the Transportation Commission to conduct one, and in August it chose TB-Rogstad Consulting for the job.
Traci Brewer-Rogstad, principal and executive director of the company, said a report is due to the Legislature in January and she wants to present it to the Transportation Commission at its Oct. 21-22 meeting.
Time is short, Brewer-Rogstad said, because there’s a 64-car ferry being built at Todd Shipyards in Seattle and it doesn’t have a name. It will be delivered to the Port Townsend-Keystone route next summer.
Naming rights would mean more than just getting a company’s name painted on the hull, said Brewer-Rogstad, a former Washington State Ferries executive. One idea is to continue with the traditional Native American names and attach a sponsorship to them. For a certain number of years, for example, a ferry could be named the MV Illahee sponsored by Puget Sound Energy, or the Illahee sponsored by Detroit, which is building the new boat’s engines. Blocks of space on the boat could be guaranteed to the company for advertising, its name could go on the WSF Web site and schedules.
“You’re no longer just selling a name but marketing a package,” said Brewer-Rogstad, whose firm is earning about $5,000 for the study. “They get their name out there on multiple venues. It’s just not on a boat going to Port Townsend, which is very low-profile.” Selling ferry sponsorships is uncharted territory. The only thing close is a trio of Oklahoma City boats. The city, in exchange for locally based Devon Energy paying $2 million to build the 50-passenger boats, allowed the company’s name on them for 15 years. They weren’t meant to be marketing tools.
“The primary motivation was to provide the funds necessary to build the boats so the boats would be able to play a role in enhancing continued development of this river,” Devon spokesman Chip Minty said. “They move up and down the Oklahoma River, which is an emerging focal point in Oklahoma City for development.”
The Devon Discover, Devon Explorer and Devon Pioneer aren’t ferries but tour boats aimed at tourists, Minty said.
Ferries wouldn’t land a company’s name on TV, radio and in the newspapers as regularly as stadiums do, which is main appeal, said Chris Foy, president of General Sports Alliances, a Denver sports marketing firm that specializes in naming rights.
“When you look at an entity such as a ferry boat, you have a significant void in the editorial media coverage traditionally tied to naming rights platforms,” he said. “Unless the boat sinks, there would not be any kind of media coverage.”
Still, ferries could be attractive because of the high traffic volume, Foy said, and they provide an interesting platform for promotional opportunities, like a VIP club.
The tradition of giving ferries Indian names goes back to at least the 1930s. The state, which took over the ferry system from Puget Sound Navigation Company in 1951, agreed to continue the practice in 1958 after catching flak from Native Americans and history buffs for naming its first new boat the Evergreen State.
Sen. Tim Sheldon, D-Potlatch, sponsored a bill last legislative session that included tribes among those that should be consulted about new ferry names. It also added that “when naming or renaming state ferry vessels, the commission shall consider selling the naming rights and make recommendations to the legislature.”
The House didn’t like that part, and the bill never got passed.
“In Olympia they had trouble with the bill,” Sheldon said. “Some legislators thought this cheapens a state icon. I don’t think so. It’s just a business decision and riders will appreciate it if we can lower their cost and get them a newer and better terminal or better service.”
By Ed Friedrich
Saturday, September 19, 200
Count Rep. Sherry Appleton, D-Poulsbo, among those against selling ferry naming rights. Putting advertising inside the boats was one thing, but this would be too much.
“This is Puget Sound, this is where people come to get on our ferries,” she said. “It’s huge for tourism, it’s huge for commuters. To name ferries or have them sponsored by a corporation is just not what people really want.”
Sheldon said the Muckleshoot Tribe in Auburn is interested in having a ferry named after it. Tribe Chief Executive Officer Jerry Henke couldn’t be reached last week for comment.
Russell Steele, CEO of the Suquamish Tribe, said naming rights is an interesting concept, but not something the tribe would pursue at this point.
“Most people on the ferries are the same people every day, and I think the people of Kitsap County know who we are,” Steele said. “We do other things to reach out to new markets already. At this point I don’t think it’s something we’d consider.”
Read more: http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2009/sep/19/state-exploring-the-idea-of-selling-ferry-naming/#ixzz0RgRyJhYX
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