Avoca Island ferry weekend hours cut to ease budget woes

The St. Mary Council is shutting down the parish’s old water locomotive on weekends beginning Jan. 1, 2010, in an effort to save the parish an additional $45,000.

The cut was made in an effort to get the parish’s 2010 fiscal year budget expenses in the black.

For 41 years, the taxpayer-funded Avoca Island Ferry has operated daily from 5:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., toting passengers to a 16,000-acre private island just off Morgan City’s coast.

Since October 2008, the island has been home to only one resident, the property’s caretaker.

Taxpayers have spent nearly $1 million since 2005 to keep the vessel afloat. All the while, the council has approved its hefty operating cost: fuel, insurance and liability issues.

The island serves as a private hunting club and has various oil and gas interests.

St. Mary Parish is the recipient of property tax revenues from the island. However, in 2008, the parish’s take totaled only $150,214 versus the approximately $270,000 spent to shuttle passengers to and from the island.

The council agreed last Wednesday to shorten the ferry’s service hours to Monday through Friday, from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. – the same hours the parish’s Public Works department is open.

Parish Chief Administrative Officer Bo LaGrange said, should an emergency arise, the sheriff is equipped to dispatch the proper personnel to respond.

The U.S. Coast Guard cited the ferry last fall for numerous violations. The council was given until this fall to get the vessel in compliance.

Earlier this year, the parish council reduced the ferry’s daily operating hours from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The council also hired Greenwood Marine Management Inc. of Morgan City to investigate the vessel’s deficiencies. The final report, which cost the parish $2,800, found 50 areas in need of repair or an upgrade.

LaGrange told the council that he is attempting to finalize pricing on the ferry repairs.

Avoca Inc. has owned Avoca Island since 1931. The company’s headquarters are located at the Whitney Bank building on St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans. Avoca Inc. lists on its board of directors executives from Whitney Bank of New Orleans.

The St. Mary Parish Council and the Morgan City Council have tried numerous times over the years to initiate talks with Avoca Inc. to discuss economic development on the island. Councilmen contend the island could be used to ease Morgan City’s crowding issues.

At Wednesday’s meeting, St. Mary Parish Councilman Chuck Walters suggested the council seek seasonal financial help from Avoca Inc. to keep the ferry running on weekends, at least during hunting season. “What we did tonight should make someone come to the table real soon,” he said.

At the suggestion of council finance chairman Kevin Voisin, the parish is seeking a reduction in its annual $72,000 insurance rate for the ferry service, given that the operating hours have been cut.

The parish council continues to look for ways to cut the 2010 fiscal budget. The budget projects $33.5 million in revenues will be collected, while $36.2 million in expenditures are expected.

The preliminary budget shows a deficit; however, the parish will borrow $2.67 million from its reserves to balance its funds, leaving approximately $20 million in the parish’s coffers at the close of 2010.

Despite the shortfall in next year’s budget, the council approved a 2.5 percent “cost of living” pay hike for all parish employees.