Council tables vote on additional Plover funds

Blaine City Council voted 5-0 to postpone voting on an additional $58,000 to finish the restoration and maintenance of the historic Plover passenger ferry on August 14. Council plans to revisit the topic at the September 11 meeting.

After 79 years of dwelling in Drayton Harbor, the required repairs to get the Plover back to making trips from Blaine Harbor to Semiahmoo Spit proved to be more costly than estimated, according to a request for council action prepared by city staff.

City manager Michael Harmon advised city council to postpone voting to allow him to meet with Plover captain Richard Sturgill and go over specific items in the contract. 

Blaine’s 2023 annual budget allocated $30,000 in capital funding for an initial contract with Drayton Harbor Maritime, the nonprofit that oversees the Plover’s maintenance and operations. Last September, the U.S. Coast Guard found deficiencies in multiple areas of the ferry, such as soft spots in the post and planks, during the Plover’s bi-annual out-of-the-water inspection.

Several community members gave impassioned input on the cultural significance of the Plover during the public comment session of the city council meeting.

“The Plover, everywhere it goes, is a shield for Blaine,” Ron Snyder said. “It sells Blaine wherever it goes, and I’m asking you now, please help it to do that in the future.”

The contract extension proposed a new end date of December 31 for the current contract set to expire August 31. The project was most recently expected to finish in the fall and requires an additional $58,000, according to the contract extension request.

Suggested funding methods for the $60,000 request included capital funds and American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars, a federal Covid-19 stimulus. Sturgill said it’s worth considering whether the boat is a business impacted by pandemic closures, which could make it eligible to access the ARPA fund.

The Plover is the second oldest ferry operating in Washington and will celebrate its 80th birthday in 2024. After being built in 1944 for the Alaska Packers Association cannery, where it remained in service until the cannery closed in 1983, the Plover was donated to Whatcom County Parks and Recreation Department.

Sturgill led a seven-year restoration process that finished in the mid-’90s, and the Plover relaunched as a tourist-oriented passenger ferry. It remained as such until November 2022, when Sturgill moved it to his residential shop.

“I’m doing it for the good of the order, not to make a profit,” Sturgill said during public comment. “I tell you, it’s been a sacrifice having this boat at my property, but I’m doing it because I believe in saving it.”