Bay Ferries signs $1.3M lease for Bar Harbor terminal

Thecompany the Nova Scotia government is paying to run a ferry service to Maine has signed a $1.3-million lease with the Town of BarHarbor to use its ferry terminal for the next five years.

Bay Ferries will pay Bar Harbor a minimum of $264,000 a year to lease the terminal,which was last used a decade ago.

Nova Scotia taxpayers are on the hook to upgrade the facility, fix the dock and build a new loading ramp but the company won't discuss those plans and has asked the provinceto keep quiet about them, too.

Some of the renovationsbegan before Bay Ferries and the town had a signed agreement.

"As various negotiations and pricing processes are underway with a number of contractors, Bay Ferries does not wish to publicly comment on anticipated project costs at this time and has requested that the province of Nova Scotia not do so as it could negatively impact the final cost borne by taxpayers," Bay Ferries said in a newsrelease Tuesday.

A floating ferry ramp used when the CATferry ran to Portland, Maine,will be towed to Bar Harborand used as part of the loading/unloading structure.

The news release also makesreference to the controversial plan to have Nova Scotianspay for border control in the United States.

"Bay ferries/province of Nova Scotia will be required to make a contribution to the cost of this service," the release said.

Thecompany said it hopesto cut fuel consumption by about40 per centgiven Bar Harbor is closer to Yarmouth than Portland.

"Depending on fuel price, this can translate to several million dollars in savings and rendersthe overall economics of the ferry service much less susceptible to swings in fuel prices," it said.

"It is hoped that moving the service to Bar Harbor ... will eventuallylower the cost to government in the range of [$5 million to $10 million] per year."

In the three years since Bay Ferries took over the service from Nova Star Cruises, Nova Scotia taxpayers have paid more than $37 million to subsidize operations and pay for capital upgrades.

NovaScotianswho want to book passage on the CATthis summer should be able to start doing so next Monday.