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LOCAfilEWS ' 4'! Ministry of Transportation to take ownership of Amherst Island service docks 1 By Kristen Coughlar l ' Loyalist Township's ' 11-year quest to have the ; Ministry of Transporta-- l tion assume Ownership ' of the service docks for the Amherst Island ferry ' has conic to an end. Last week the prov- l ince announced that it i would take over owner- , ship of the township- i owned docks at Stella 3' and Millhaven. "Loyalist Township ' has been requesting the 3 MTO to take over own- ership of the ferry docks - for quite some time. As ' part of this year's bud-- get, the ministry request- ' ed funding to be able 3 to assume ownership. ; The assumption of the l docks by the ministry was approved as part of the 2009--2010 budget," said MTO spokesperson Brandy Duhaime in an email interview. "Tak- ing ownership of the docks will enhance the province's commitment to the ferry services and will allow the province to work more effectively with the municipality in ensuring efficiency of the service." Duncan Ashley, the Amherst Island repre- sentative on Loyalist Township council, said the municipality didn't do anything different recently that made the province change its mind. "It wasn't like we finally tricked them into doing something. And, it sure wasn't just this council...begging hard enough that we finally got it. I think every- thingjust finally fell into place." Currently, the Am- herst Island ferry loads by the side. After as- suming ownership, the province will now look at upgrading the ferry docks to allow for end- loading ferry service. Ashley said he be- lieves a multitude of factors contributed to the province's decision to take over ownership of the Amherst Island __'___1 service docks. He said that end-loading docks reduce the amount of fuel required to dock the ferry. Making the ferry service more environ-- mentally friendly would open up the possibility of ticularly in the summer, there are an increased number ofpeople travel- ling to the island who are unfamiliar with the ferry. During the peak peri- ods, it can take longer to load and unload the "It wasn't like we finally tricked them into doing something. And, it sure wasn't just this council...begging hard enough that we finally got it. I think everything just finally fell into place." Duncan Ashley Loyalist Township Councillor receiving federal fund- ing, Ashley said. "I personally think it was a perfect storm," the councillor said. Ashley said the even- tual conversion of the docks to allow for end- loading will mean a more efficient ferry service for Amherst Island. "It would definitely leave the potential for quicker turn over," he said. Ashley noted that par-- boat which in turn puts the ferry behind sched- ule. Ashley said other Ontario ferry services with end--loading such as Wolfe Island do not have that problem. "Ifyou see them go on and off at Wolfe Island, the gang plate goes down and they just fire them off line by line." In addition, Ashley said end-loading docks will reduce the restric-- tions on What can be transported to the is- land. He said the exist- ing conditions hinder the transport of some large farm implements and construction equip- ment. He noted that even school buses just barely fit on the Vessel. "Anything of any kind of size that people just take for granted we can't get over there. Who knows how many devel- opment ideas or even people who have looked at buying cheap farmland and have said, 'well this is great but ifI can't get the size of combine I want over there forget it.' It's hard to gauge how many things we've probably lost in the last 40 years," he said. For all these reasons, Ashley said that the news of this announcement has been relatively well- received by island resi- dents. "(The response has been) very positive. Very positive, but re- served by some. A lot of people still say, 'well this is a good first step.' Because when this gets finished, when we have end-loading docks and the amount of fuel that we burn goes down and the fuel costs go down, that might offer us some flexibility in the portion that we are charging to cover, but it's not going to mean a free ride to Amherst Island. And, a lot of people still don't like looking at Wolfe Island and Gle-- nora; they've already got those docks and they still don't pay." Negotiations for the transfer of the docks to the province have yet to take place, but Duncan expects the changeover will take place in the immediate future. "I think it can take place definitely before the end ofthe year. And, my understanding from the ministry's staff is that they want to get the transfer done and get go- ing on the environmental assessment and examine all the options."