Businesses Support Ferry Boat Service with Virginia

 McKay Slams Chamber of Commerce for No Show on Tourism

This small ferry will operate from Virginia to Piney Point.

ST. MARY’S TODAY
March, 2004

LEONARDTOWN — St. Mary’s Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) President Tom McKay (R. Hollywood) slammed the St. Mary’s Chamber of Commerce and the tourism community in general at the February 25th BOCC meeting for failing to support the proposed Piney Point Ferry.

The issue came up while the BOCC were discussing a funding initiative to get the Piney Point Lighthouse museum up and running.

"These projects are so important to St. Mary’s County," McKay said in reference to the museum. "We have a ferry service idea for the area and the land there and we need to find ways to support visitation to these facilities."

He then said that he was "taken aback" by the lack of support from the tourism community and the chamber of commerce. He said that he was surprised that they were not lending their support to this project which would not only bring tourism into the county, but will bring additional people into local businesses.

Greg Callaway, owner of Callaway’s A&W on Rt. 5 in Callaway and Rick Toth, manager of Evan’s Seafood on St George’s Island both stated strong support for the ferry last week in ST. MARY’S TODAY. They both said that the ferry will bring people from in and out of state to the area and will improve business.

"At this point, we have no official position on the ferry proposal," Bill Scarafia, executive director of the St. Mary’s Chamber of Commerce told ST. MARY’S TODAY. "We wanted to let the [St. Mary’s] Commissioners go to the public first," he said.

The BOCC held a public forum on the ferry on February 10th to provide information on the ferry and to get public input. The Chamber of Commerce had no official representation at the forum. Scarafia said that he was unable to attend personally and that he did not see a need to send a representative.

"It wasn’t a matter of needing to be there," said Scarafia, "We weren’t going to testify or offer public comment."

Scarafia explains the Chamber’s non-committal position as a result of needing more information. "We are talking to people, getting input on the ferry," he said, "We want to hear the positives and the negatives to make an intelligent and informed decision."

Scarafia said that right now it is important to gather information so that whatever decisions the chamber makes can be justified. He said that because the project is in the early stages, it is too soon to know if it will benefit or harm the community.

Scarafia also said that he wanted to get a better feel for where the commissioners stood on the ferry in order to know where the project was going.

St. Mary’s Commissioner Larry Jarboe (R. Golden Beach) Told ST. MARY’S TODAY that every business owner he has spoken to is in favor of the ferry, and that many of the residents are as well.

"This is great for people here who want to go over and see historic sites in Virginia," Jarboe said, pointing out that not only will the ferry act as a vehicle for bringing tourism into St. Mary’s County, but it will also provide a service to residents.

"Another important thing about this is that it won’t cost the county a thing. It could actually put money into the county," Jarboe said.

Like McKay, Jarboe took issue with the Chamber of Commerce for not taking a stand for the ferry, and said "They hold seminars on bringing tourism into the county, but then they weren’t there to support the ferry."

The proposed ferry is run by Von Bergen ltd., and would run between Piney Point and West Moreland, Virginia. The ship can carry 20- 22 passenger vehicles, or four tractor-trailers. The cost of a one-way trip is projected to be about $20 per car or $30 for a round trip. Tractor-trailers would be charged a higher fee to compensate for the number of cars displaced.