For More Information:
Carolyn Casey, Port of Bellingham: 360-676-2500
Bellingham Port Commission Approves 15-Year Agreement
[Bellingham, Wash.] The Alaska State Ferry will continue to be a Fairhaven landmark and a local economic engine with today's Port Commission approval of a new 15-year lease.
"Our partnership with the State of Alaska is strong and we are very pleased to reach an agreement for the next 15 years," said Commission President Scott Walker. "This new agreement benefits our entire community."
The Alaska State Ferry began operating out of the Port of Bellingham's Cruise Terminal in 1989 after the Port, with strong community support, successfully lured it away from Seattle. At that time, the Port and Alaska signed a 20-year agreement making Bellingham the Southern Terminus for the Alaskan Ferry system.
Between 25,000 and 30,000 passengers use the ferry out of Bellingham each year and a recent economic impact study by Martin and Associates noted that this operation generates an estimated $3 million a year in local revenue and accounts for direct employment of 32 people.
The Port and the Alaska Marine Highway System began negotiating the terms of the new agreement in the fall of 2008 and it will take effect in October 2009. Currently Alaska pays the Port a base lease of $100,000 a year and pays an additional $109,000 per year in an operating lease that covers utilities and other operational costs.
The new base lease will be $517,000 per year during the first two years, then $532,510 for the third year, followed by 3 percent annual increases for the remaining years. The total base lease revenue to the Port over the 15 year period is $9.7 million.
Similarly, the operating lease payment will rise from $109,000 per year to $259,000 per year, increasing by 3 percent each remaining year. The total operating lease payments will be $4.8 million over 15 years.
"This new agreement further strengthens our community's strong economic ties to Alaska and ensures that this marine transportation route will continue," Port Executive Director Jim Darling.
Alaska Marine Highway officials signed the new agreement on April 29.
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