Guemes Island Ferry Replacement Project (Electric) 2018 BUILD Discretionary Grants Program Application Prepared by: Skagit County Public Works 1800 Continental Place Mount Vernon, WA 98273 Submitted to: US Department of Transportation BUILD Discretionary Grants Program July 2018 Table of Contents Section 1 Project Description ............................................................................... 1 Section 2 Project Location .................................................................................... 3 Section 3 Grant Funds, Sources, & Uses of Funding ......................................... 4 3.1 Project Costs .................................................................................................................... 4 3.2 All Funding Sources ........................................................................................................ 5 3.3 Non-Federal Funds Documentation ................................................................................. 6 3.4 Matching Funds Documentation ...................................................................................... 7 3.5 Detailed Project Budget ................................................................................................... 7 Section 4 Merit Criteria .......................................................................................... 9 4.1 Safety ............................................................................................................................... 9 4.2 State of Good Repair ...................................................................................................... 11 4.3 Economic Competitiveness ............................................................................................ 12 4.4 Environmental Protection .............................................................................................. 13 4.5 Quality of Life................................................................................................................ 15 4.6 Innovation ...................................................................................................................... 17 4.7 Partnership ..................................................................................................................... 18 4.8 Non-Federal Revenue for Transportation Infrastructure Investment ............................. 20 4.9 Benefit Cost Analysis Summary .................................................................................... 20 Section 5 Project Readiness ............................................................................... 21 5.1 Technical Feasibility ...................................................................................................... 21 5.2 Project Schedule............................................................................................................. 25 5.3 Required Approvals ....................................................................................................... 27 5.3.1 Environmental Permits and Reviews ................................................................... 27 5.3.2 Federal Transportation Requirements Affecting State & Local Planning ........... 28 5.4 Assessment of Project Risks and Mitigation Strategies ................................................. 29 Funding Risks ................................................................................................................... 29 Appendices Appendix A: Project Narrative References………………………………….. Attachment 3 Appendix B: Benefit Cost Analysis…………………………………………. Attachment 4 Appendix C Funding Documentation………………………………………. Attachment 5 Appendix D Letters of Support……………………………………………... Attachment 6 Skagit County BUILD Grant Application Guemes Island Ferry Replacement Project i 19 July 2018 Appendix E Skagit County Ferry Replacement Newsletters……………….. Attachment 7 Appendix F Economic and Quality of Life Data……………………………Attachment 8 Appendix G State and Local Planning Documentation…………………….. Attachment 9 Appendix H 32-Car Electric Ferry Renderings……………………………..Attachment 10 Appendix I BCA Worksheet EXCEL……………………………………...Attachment 11 Skagit County BUILD Grant Application Guemes Island Ferry Replacement Project ii 19 July 2018 Section 1 Project Description Skagit County Public Works seeks contract design and construction funding to procure a 32-car electric ferry for service to Guemes Island, WA, a rural community 65 miles north of Seattle. Established in the early 1960's, the county's ferry service provides the only publicly available means of transit between Guemes Island and the mainland, functioning as a lifeline for the delivery of passengers, vehicles, goods, and emergency services to the island. The route is currently served by a single 39-year-old diesel-powered ferry, the M/V Guemes. The 21-car, 100-passenger M/V Guemes transports roughly 200,000 vehicles and 400,000 passengers annually. M/V Guemes has had regular maintenance over the years and a major re-power in 2006, but has remained largely unchanged since entering service in 1979. Since 2014, the ferry division has spent nearly $750,000 annually on drydock, and associated maintenance and repair costs of the aging vessel. This has become increasingly burdensome on the County's road fund, which subsidized the ferry at approximately $1 million per year in the last few years. A study conducted in 2013 concluded that it would be more economical to replace the ferry than to preserve it, as discussed in Section 4.2 and Appendix A, Reference 1. In addition to nearing the end of its useful economic life, M/V Guemes is undersized with respect to the ferry route's future ridership demand projections (see Section 5.1 and Appendix A, Reference 2), potentially burdening economic activity in the surrounding project area if a higher-capacity replacement that supports reliability and future ferry needs is not acquired. Skagit County began considering replacement options in earnest in 2014, and in 2017 hired Seattle-based naval architecture firm Glosten to develop a concept design for a replacement ferry. The concept design (Appendix A, Reference 3) was completed in 2017. Major areas of design emphasis included vessel capacity, propulsion system type, and vessel emergency service capability. In order to size the replacement vessel appropriately, Glosten carried out a parametric ridership study that used historical ferry ridership and County population data to forecast vehicle and passenger demand through the year 2060 (Appendix A, Reference 2). This data was used to determine the optimal size for the new vessel, accommodating the ferry service's projected ridership growth while keeping vessel capacity below thresholds that would generate additional crewing costs and regulatory burden. A significant portion of the design effort focused on propulsion system selection. Skagit County's Board of Commissioners requested that battery electric propulsion be considered due to the environmental protection, quality of life, and operating cost benefits such a system could provide. Lifecycle cost estimates were developed to show total cost of a battery electric vessel, along with the shoreside infrastructure and terminal upgrades necessary to operate it (see Section 3.1). These cost studies revealed significant operating cost savings, but with increased initial capital expenditures necessary to complete essential shoreside infrastructure and terminal upgrades. Skagit County conducted an environmental review process under the State Environmental Policy Act, completing the evaluation as of July 2018. The County offered two early comment periods with the Guemes Island public and other state and local agencies in February and April 2018, and issued a Determination of Non-Significance and environmental assessment with a formal Skagit County BUILD Grant Application Guemes Island Ferry Replacement Project 1 19 July 2018 comment period in June 2018. The County responded to public comments by analyzing a wider range of ferry sizes and addressing the potential for growth. Receiving funding to complete design and construction of the 32-car electric ferry and the requisite terminal improvements would enable the County to operate its ferry service at lower costs than with a conventional propulsion system while utilizing an innovative propulsion system, reducing environmental impacts, improving the ferry system's state of repair, and improving the quality of service to island residents and visitors. Furthermore, acquiring a replacement ferry will ensure the continued availability of the ferry service's important emergency service function of transporting emergency vehicles and personnel to the island. The BUILD grant is also essential to helping the County securing the necessary construction funds and designing the ferry terminals allowing the NEPA process to commence consistent with Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) guidance. Existing Ferry (M/V Guemes) Passenger 100 Capacity Vehicle 21 Capacity Annual Operating $1,246,455 Cost Geared Propulsion Diesel 1979- Service Life present 32-Car Electric Ferry (Concept Design) Passenger 150 Capacity Vehicle 32 Capacity Annual Operating $714,075 Cost Battery Propulsion Electric Service Life 2021-2060 (Estimated) Skagit County BUILD Grant Application Guemes Island Ferry Replacement Project 2 19 July 2018 Section 2 Project Location Figure 1 Guemes Island Ferry Replacement Project (Electric) Vicinity Map The project location is in northwest Washington, with the