Portland city council approves Yarmouth ferry terminal lease

Portland city council voted unanimously Monday in favour of leasing waterfront space to Bay Ferries for the next two years, clearing the way for ferry service to resume between Yarmouth and Maine on June 15.

Under the terms of the proposed lease, the City of Portland is offering the space to Bay Ferries for two seasons "with an option to renew for one additional year at city's sole discretion."

"We were under a real tight timeline to get this done, so I think that it is noteworthy that everyone was able to pull together and get it done. I know the folks in Nova Scotia are pretty happy too," said Portland Coun. Edward Suslovic

What the agreement means

The lease agreement gives Bay Ferries exclusive use of a terminal, which will house the ticket office and the company's office. 

It also give Bay Ferries "non-exclusive" use of the ferry docking area, marshalling areas and other physical infrastructure required for The Cat to tie up. Bay Ferries can terminate the lease after one year.

"Really this came together very quickly in the last few weeks and it was a challenging deal to strike because there had to be a balance between the needs we already have on the waterfront with the cruise ships," said Portland Coun. Nicholas Mavodones.

Ahead of the vote, the CEO of Bay Ferries said he was confident Portland would approve the lease. 

"We look at this as a two-year lease," said Mark MacDonald.

The lease says Bay Ferries will pay Portland $15,229.60 plus fees each month while the ferry is in operation and $4,000 monthly during the off-season.

'We go through this process all the time'

Last fall, the Bay Ferries was chosen by the Nova Scotia government to run the ferry service between Maine and Yarmouth after the province punted the former operator, Nova Star Cruises.

Bay Ferries secured a vessel, which it renamed The Cat, in March. Nova Scotia will spend more than $32 million over the next two years on the ferry service.

MacDonald said he's been negotiating with the highest levels of Portland city staff to come up with the lease agreement for the space on the Portland waterfront.

"We go through this process all the time in our business where you're leasing facilities for a certain period of time. And when they're government-owned, you're always subject to the decisions of those bodies. We're not concerned," he said.

Nova Scotia-Maine relationship 'important'

"We've gone through — as we always do — a business-like negotiation with the city and are very confident it will proceed," he said. "We assume they'll want to keep on talking to us."

Coun. David Brenerman, who chairs Portland's economic development committee, recommended his fellow councillors vote in favour of the lease.

"I think it's very important that we have this relationship with Nova Scotia and that we continue to have ferry service between the two cities," he said.