The campaign to put passenger-only ferry service under the umbrella of Kitsap Transit begins in earnest this week, with pro and con presentations scheduled tonight before the Bainbridge Island City Council, and road signs from opponents popping up on county highways.

The question:

Should Kitsap Transit begin operating a fleet of small passenger-only ferries to connect Kingston, Southworth and Bremerton to downtown Seattle?

Kitsap Transit Executive Director Dick Hayes said it’s easy to explain the importance of the proposal to Bainbridge.

“You have had hour-in, hour-out service to downtown Seattle for years, and that’s why you’re here,” he told the audience at last Saturday’s Economic Vitality Conference. “We are trying to provide that to Kingston, Southworth and Bremerton.”

The plan itself, to establish a fleet of small, fast boats operating hourly service during the day and quarter-hour service during commuter periods, has drawn only modest opposition.

The major obstacle for opponents is the projected cost. Kitsap Transit is asking voters in November to authorize a sales-tax boost of three-tenths of one percent, adding 30 cents to each $100 purchase, and a three-tenths of one percent vehicle excise tax – $60 annually for a $20,000 car.

Estimates are that the average county family would pay $80 a year, Hayes said Saturday.

Hayes will make a presentation at 6 p.m. tonight to the City Council.

Point White resident Bill Cairns, who will make an opposing presentation, said he is concerned about the cost-effectiveness of the proposal and about unanswered environmental questions.

“Kitsap Transit’s own figures suggest that only one and a half percent of county residents would use this service,” Cairns said. “If those people are able to afford the $9 round trip, should the rest of the county be subsidizing them?”

Cairns said his calculations show that the actual cost of providing the service will be over $28 per ride. Even the $9 fare would likely drop ridership below projections, he said.

“We would like to see them do some market research to find out what price would be acceptable to the riders,” he said. “There might be an opportunity for a private operator, particularly at Kingston, with maybe some state subsidy.”

Cairns said he is also concerned about possible wake damage through Rich Passage, which caused Washington State Ferries to slow down their Bremerton-bound boats. While Hayes has said that the 149-passenger boats Kitsap Transit plans to use would minimize wake problems, Cairns said that is an open question.

“Every boat WSF has run through Rich Passage has had to slow down,” he said. “What makes Kitsap Transit think they can build a boat that WSF couldn’t build?”

Cairns is working in conjunction with the Citizens for Affordable Transportation, one of two committees, along with the county Republican Party, to oppose the proposition.

The No New Taxes Coalition, presided over by Dave and Ayvon Card of South Kitsap, has raised about $2,000. That group is responsible for signs going up at roadsides that read: “Vote No, Transit Tax, No new sales tax, No new vehicle tax.”

The coalition has placed them throughout the county from the north end and Bainbridge Island, to Silverdale and South Kitsap.

Card said the coalition opposes Kitsap Transit’s foot ferry proposal for a variety of reasons, but most especially because an increase in taxes will hit those living paycheck to paycheck the most, she said.

Meanwhile, supporters of Kitsap Transit’s plan have launched their own campaign called the Yes! Kitsap POF campaign.

It is being co-chaired by Joan Dingfield of Bremerton and Alice Tawresey of Bainbridge Island.