Fishers Island Ferry District seeks funds for new ramp, bigger boat

The Fishers Island Ferry District is looking to replace one of its boat ramps and build a new ferry, with costs projected to top $20 million. 

The boat ramp project is slated for the upcoming fall and the lowest bid cost $2.7 million. Geb Cook, Fishers Island Ferry District manager, said the district had only $1.1 million set aside.

A bond petition resolution for $1.6 million to help finance the ramp will be up for vote on the Town Board’s agenda on Tuesday, Feb. 24.

Mr. Cook said a new ferry and upgraded boat ramp would replace infrastructure that dates back to the 1970s and 1980s, respectively.

Fishers Island, located seven miles southeast of Connecticut’s coast, is governed by Southold Town and has roughly 250 year-round residents. The 4.2-square-mile island is accessible by boat only from New London, Conn., after transferring from the Cross Sound Ferry.

Fishers Island Town Justice Kate Stevens, who was elected to the Town Board last November, told The Suffolk Times “both projects are essential to … transportation infrastructure” on the island.

The ramp was evaluated by structural engineers two years ago and was deemed to have three to five years remaining life expectancy at the time, Mr. Cook said. 

“This ramp is an alternate ramp that is used weekly on a regular basis. It’s our go-to ramp in storm situations where the wind is out of the north or the west,” Mr. Cook said. “And we can’t use the main ramp in those conditions.”

It is also primarily used by the North Star ferry, which is chartered by outside contractors, such as trucks carrying asphalt needed to pave the island’s airport also utilize the North Star ferry. “Our ferry cannot accommodate all the concrete that is needed for the foundations that build these houses,” Mr. Cook said. He noted that about 10 homes are currently being built on the island. 

He expressed the ferry district’s interest in pursuing coastal resiliency funds to help mitigate costs for the boat ramp. 

The new ferry would replace the district’s older, smaller ferry, built in 1977, that cannot accommodate the traffic the district needs to accommodate, Mr. Cook said. 

Maintenance costs for the ferries have increased over the last five years, totaling about $700,000 annually, Mr. Cook said. Unlike the Cross Sound Ferry, The Fishers Island Ferry District does not have its own shipyard and repair service, Ms. Stevens said.

“Keeping the 50-year old Munnatawket running is costly and time-consuming,” Ms. Stevens explained.

In 2024, the district applied for a federal grant but funding “was pulled” under the new presidential administration, he added. The district has mockups of a ferry design ready to go that could be built and in service within two years of signing a contract once funding is secured. 

If the district sold the Munnatawket, Mr. Cook said it could receive somewhere between $800,000 and $1 million. A new ferry could cost between $18 million and $21 million, with labor costs and tariffs factored into the projection. 

Southold Town Supervisor Al Krupski posited that the Suffolk County Legislature’s budget review office take a look at the district’s financials to see what the best way forward would be to fund the projects, whether that includes an increased rate for fares or increase in property taxes in the ferry district. 

“It seems like the ferries just aren’t subsidized properly,” Mr. Krupski said. “This is a real need if you’re an island. If you’re Shelter Island, or if you’re Fishers Island, or if you’re Fire Island — this is how you get there.”

Mr. Cook said the district would welcome a county audit of its fare rates and property taxes and thought it would “be a great benefit.” He cautioned that the longer it takes for the district to secure funding for the project, the more expensive it could get. 

Per the Ferry District’s Enabling Act created by the state legislature in 1947, the district can pursue $20 million in bonding capacity. Mr. Cook said the district may need to approach the state legislature to increase its bonding capacity to afford the new boat following an audit.

“We need to find money,” Mr. Cook said. “When we can find the money and dedicate some funding, we can proceed.”