Bar Harbor residents might not want the Yarmouth ferry after all

A push by the Nova Scotia company that operates the Yarmouth ferry to look at Bar Harbor, Maine, as its new American port could face pushback from some residents of the U.S. town.

Bay Ferries CEO Mark MacDonaldsaysthe company is interested in moving the ferry service from Portland after Bar Harbor's decision last weekto buy a local marine terminal.

But while town manager Cornell Knight raised the prospect that the terminal could eventually welcome the Yarmouth ferry, some local residentgroups say theyoppose the idea.

Bar Harbortown councillorJoeMinutolosaid it came as a "surprise and shock" when a town official included theYarmouthferry in a residents committee proposal for what to do with the terminal.

"It was at the very end. It was like the last two meetings that we were going to have. So we didn't have really any time to really vet [the idea of having a ferry]," he said in an interview.

Bay Ferries wants to move quickly

Last week, residents voted 1,380 to 213 in favour of the town taking out a $3.5-million bond to purchase the terminal lot from Maine's Department of Transportation.

The Yarmouth ferry stopped serving the community in 2010, but the vote has ignited the possibility that it might return.

MacDonald said if Bar Harboragrees to have the ferry return, he wants to move quickly "on all aspects of this." He has said there are concerns about the long-term availability of the terminal in Portland.

MacDonaldsaid if the objective of any ferry service is to provide stability and predictability, and if there is a chance of moving the terminal, "you want to do that as quickly as you can and establish the stability in the new business."

It's too early to know if amove could happen in 2019, he said.

The town's council established aterminal property advisory committeelast September to look atpossible uses.In November, the committeerecommended the town buy the site.

Minutolo, who has lived in BarHarborfor 50 years, said for two months the committee, which he chaired, had worked to create a plan focusedaround amulti-use marinaand had not intended to include anything about the Yarmouthferry.

But it agreed it wasopen to exploring whether Bay Ferries, which operates the CAT high-speed ferry between Nova Scotia and Portland, could be compatible.However, if the needs of Bay Ferries prevented a multi-use marinafacility, the committee wanted to give the marina priority.

RenataMoise, a member ofFriends of Frenchman Bay, a community association working to protect Bar Harbor's bay, which is boundon two sides by Acadia National Park, callsthe CAT as a "Trojan ferry." She said she's concerned it would open up the terminal to becoming an international port.

"A port authority means a town within a townthat can then make decisions about whatever happens there. So then I see it, in the future, leading to what the cruise ship companies want which is a mega cruise ship pier," said Moise.

MacDonaldsaid he thinks the ferry and the cruise ship industry are "two entirely separate issues."

Minutolo said another concern is that Bermello Ajamil, thecompany hired by the town of Bar Harbor to put togethera business plan for the terminal, is a large consulting firm from Florida that works with the cruise ship industry.

Council to discuss the ferry

Minutolo said that the vote in favour of the town buying the terminal means that further conversations must be had about the ferry before a decision can be made.

"We haven't vetted it yet. We've had conversations about it, but not deep conversations. And the public opinion on the floor, there were some concerns. There are concerns," he said.

Minutolo said a major priority for the committee and for the town is maintaining local control. "We want community. We've got a community but we're turning more into a commodity than we are a community," said Minutolo.

Minutolo said Bar Harbortown council will be discussing the future of the ferry Tuesday.

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