Documents filed to the planning board in the town of Bar Harbor, Maine, reveal that Nova Scotia taxpayers will be on the hook for all renovation costs to its ferry terminal – to the tune of up to $5 million.
As it stands, cost estimates for the work are between US$3.25 million and US$3.75 million, according to the application package filed by the engineering firm CES Inc.
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It includes a letter from Bay Ferries, operator of the proposed ferry from Yarmouth to Bar Harbor, confirming that Nova Scotia will “ultimately bear responsibility for the costs of readying the Bar Harbor facility for ferry service.”
A second letter, from the province’s executive director of finance and strategic capital infrastructure planning, offers similar assurance.
“…The Province of Nova Scotia is responsible for funding the costs associated with ferry service-related projects undertaken with the joint agreement between the Province and Bay Ferries Limited, including the costs of upgrading the Bar Harbour ferry terminal property which are the subject of this application,” (sic) wrote Diane Saurette to the town on Jan. 22, 2019.
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The statements are in stark contrast with comments made by Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal Minister Lloyd Hines, who on Thursday told reporters he didn’t know how much of the renovation costs would fall upon Nova Scotia taxpayers, what those costs would be, and who was performing the work.
He said he hadn’t read the arrangement with Bay Ferries, but made vague reference to “letters” of understanding with the town indicating that ferry service to Bar Harbor would go forward, despite the province not having inked a formal lease.
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The application package to Bar Harbor’s planning team is incomplete, but provides a rough outline of what kind of service would be provided between Yarmouth and Bar Harbor. Beginning on the weekend of May 27, the ferry would arrive from Yarmouth at noon daily, it says, and depart around 3 p.m. Service would end in the fall.
An official from Nova Scotia’s transportation department could not be reached to comment on this story by deadline.
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