Council looks to state rep for help with ferry woes

State Rep. Dave Paul was invited to a Langley city council meeting to speak about recent ferry cuts.

The Langley City Council is prepared to express its dissatisfaction with recent cuts to ferry service on the Clinton-Mukilteo route.

State Rep. Dave Paul was invited to a council meeting Monday night to speak about the recent issues with the popular route going down to one-boat service for an undetermined amount of time.

Paul encouraged the council to write a letter to Gov. Jay Inslee and Washington State Ferries demonstrating how perturbed we are with the draconian cuts,” he said.

The council agreed to do so.

Councilmember Craig Cyr said he had heard that Langley business owners are already penciling in significant losses in the tens of thousands of dollars because of the slashes to ferry service.

“A 50% cut to this ferry is just astounding, it’s breathtaking, the scope of it,” he said.

Inge Morascini, executive director for the Langley Chamber of Commerce, said the cuts were directly affecting the supply chain. Some delivery systems have indicated that they may curtail deliveries to South Whidbey altogether if long ferry waits persist.

“That would be hugely devastating for the businesses,” she said.

In addition, employees working in Langley who live off-island are finding that getting to work is becoming a challenge.

Mayor Scott Chaplin said he would draft a letter about the ferry issue and send it to the appropriate parties.