Manager weighs the cost of fixing the boats while lawmakers struggle to come up with funding.
In the world of state ferry funding, taking care of the foot ferry Skagit stands out as an example of how transportation officials are weighing how best to spend limited funds. The dilemma is whether to rebuild the Skagit's engines or let the boat languish in a shipyard. Initiative 695, a voter-approved measure that drastically cut the motor vehicle excise tax, reduced state transportation budgets. One big hit on the horizon is the end of its passenger-only ferry program in June 2001. The Skagit runs the Vashon Island to Seattle route.