Logical argument is lacking for fast ferry | Letter to the editor
Published 8:30 am Saturday, November 5, 2016
To the editor:
Like children who never learn, the fast ferry crowd is at it again. Once again they are telling tales of major economic development and fiscal benefit to the county if only we will agree to one more tax.
Perhaps they do not understand the meaning of NO.
Perhaps they have not read their own press releases. Accepting a good job in Seattle does not depend on a fast ferry that will cost more than the existing system. If that were the case we would have approved the system long ago. Providing faster access to the east side for shopping, dining and entertainment actually means money flows out of Kitsap.
If the expectation is that Seattle workers will buy houses in Kitsap because of a fast ferry system, think again. We could make that happen more easily by simply reducing the onerous regulations that artificially increase the price of homes here.
Locating the fast ferry operations and maintenance contractor outside of Kitsap moves our tax dollars out of the county. Providing “discounted” or reduced fares for commuters simply passes the additional costs to those of us paying the bills but not using the system. Exactly how is the proposed iteration of the “fast ferry” different from the previous failed attempts (please don’t tell me different “technology”)? If the county leaders (commissioners and mayors) are so firmly in favor of increasing our taxes should they not consider what alternate benefits those dollars might provide? At $8 million to $12 million a year, how about a new community center for each region, a performing arts center for the county, a world class library system, or some similar opportunity to make Kitsap a better place to live.
Kitsap taxpayers have paid for an Economic Development Council for over 20 years with very little to show for the funds expended. Why is it that they think the creation of a home-grown ferry system will be the answer?
Please give us sound logical arguments based in facts to support this proposal. Until that happens, a resounding NO to the fast ferry is in order.
JACK HAMILTON
Silverdale
