Federal ferry money could fund St. Pete dock

St. Petersburg officials have long struggled to secure a permanent downtown home for the Cross Bay Ferry. A potential solution to the waterborne hurdle has appeared on the horizon.

A $4.86 million federal grant awarded in fiscal year 2021 is approaching its sunset date. Hillsborough County, the recipient, no longer wants to manage the embattled service that connects downtown Tampa and St. Petersburg.

The Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA) will oversee the selection of a ferry operator before the current use agreement ends in October 2025. Agency leadership has also explored putting Hillsborough’s remaining grant money toward a much-needed dock in St. Petersburg.

Brad Miller, CEO of PSTA, told the agency’s executive committee Wednesday that their counterparts across the bay “never did anything with that grant.” He also noted that returning the money “makes all of us not look great.”

“It has to be used – somehow – on the ferry,” Miller said. “But there are needs for a new permanent dock for ferry services in St. Petersburg.”

Congresswoman Kathy Castor helped the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority (HART) secure the $4.86 million Passenger Ferry Grant. The organization formally received the money from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) in February 2022.

HART was supposed to use the federal grant to purchase a new vessel and permanently expand the service. Those plans included a route from MacDill Air Force Base south to the Apollo Beach area.

At the time, Castor said the grant would reduce HART’s operational costs and roadway congestion while creating local jobs, supporting small businesses and increasing connectivity between two urbanized areas. She called the investment a “win-win for our community.”

However, HART, like the ferry, has experienced headwinds ever since. Procurement issues substantially delayed the purchase of a new vessel.

Agency officials began preparing for an impending fiscal cliff in January 2023. Two months later, HART’s governing board suspended its CEO due to plummeting employee morale and soaring turnover.

Hillsborough Commissioners sunk the planned expansion in August 2023 due to the escalating $76 million price tag. The board was more concerned with over $1 billion in road improvements.

Miller said Wednesday that Tampa officials used some of the grant money for dock improvements. He also noted that at least $4 million remains unspent.

“And now, it will expire, I think, in two years,” Miller added. “They’ve tried to find other ways to use the money.”

He said HART asked the DOT if they could use the money for other initiatives, like a new bus garage. The answer was no; the program is strictly for supporting urban ferry services.

Miller said stakeholders have discussed transferring the funding to PSTA. He reiterated that returning the money “really doesn’t make HART look good.”

The Cross Bay Ferry at St. Petersburg’s North Yacht Basin. Photo by Veronica Brezina.

Miller told Castor he would ask Federal Transit Administration (FTA) officials if PSTA could use the grant. “Probably not to buy a vessel because that will be contracted out,” he said.

Harry Glenn, a federal lobbyist for PSTA, said docking and pier facilities are eligible under the program. He also noted that the agency assumed leadership of Tampa Bay’s ferry operations, and it “would make sense for the DOT” to transfer the money.

Councilmember Gina Driscoll noted the agencies partnered to provide the service. “So, I just don’t see how they say no to it,” she said.

The ship docked in St. Petersburg’s North Yacht Basin, across from the Vinoy Resort and Golf Club, under a temporary permit from 2016 until October 2023. The ferry then moved away from the downtown core to Port St. Pete.

During the spring legislative session, State Rep. Lindsay Cross and Sen. Nick DiCeglie requested $950,000 to build a permanent dock at the underutilized city-owned facility. The appropriation did not emerge from committees.

Laura Boehmer, a city lobbyist, said officials would likely have to self-fund the project at a meeting in February. Driscoll said Wednesday that local stakeholders should collectively advocate for transferring the grant. Miller noted that “a lot of money” has “just sat there.”

“It’s still going to benefit Hillsborough,” Driscoll said.