HARDIN COUNTY (WSIL) -- The ferry at Cave-In-Rock could stop operations indefinitely, as soon as next week, due to issues over contract negotiations for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1st.
Both parties want to see the ferry remain open, but a cut in Kentucky's transportation budget due to coronavirus-related revenue shortfalls is leaving little room for further concessions.
"I think they should figure out a way to keep it, I mean it's been around for a long time, there's been a lot of people take this thing back and forth, something fun to do if you've got people that never did it," says Crittenden County resident Brian Willingham.
Willingham rides the ferry about once a week and explains that the ferry is a shortcut depending on the wait time to cross, but he is not surprised it could close. "It's not a necessity; I enjoy it, it's quick, it's scenic, it's pretty, but yeah, I'd hate to see it close."
The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet partners with the Illinois Department of Transpiration in funding the ferry with each paying half and with Kentucky in charge of negotiating the contract.
Chuck Wolfe, a spokesman for the Transportation Cabinet said, a decrease is revenue significantly reduced Kentucky's transportation budget, leading to cuts across the state. He said they want to see service continue uninterrupted, but there is simply nothing more to offer.
The contract's proposed offer surfaced when Kentucky's Crittenden County Judge-Executive Perry Newcom remarked on the cut in fiscal court, according to The Crittenden Press.
In a June 19th letter to Judge Newcom from Transportation Cabinet Deputy Secretary and Acting State Highway Engineer, Mike Hancock, the Cabinet says its Fiscal Year 2019 audit indicated that a $928,600 contract would cover operating costs, allow for improvements and return a profit of $100,00.
News 3 reached out to ferry owner and operator Lonnie Lewis, whose office said they were unable to speak on the subject at this time. According to the Crittenden Press, the offer reflects a cut "of about $300,000."
Despite its stated funding constraints, KYTC raised the offer to $1 million "for each of the next two fiscal years," according to the letter to Judge Newcom, which still represents a cut from the ferry operator's previous contract.
"Having already dipped into scarce Road Fund Dollars once at your request to provide additional funding for the Cave-In-Rock Ferry, we simply do not have the flexibility to increase the ferry contract further beyond our audit-supported figure," said Hancock.
According to Hancock in the letter, the ferry operator states they need "$1,299,984 for Fiscal Year 2021 and $1,378,006 for Fiscal Year 2022," citing the "need of a 6% per year cost of living adjustment" in order to make a profit.
With all parties saying their goals are unified in wanting to maintain service, riders of the ferry say they are hopeful an agreement is coming, otherwise closing the service would hurt the region.
"Well it means we're a dead-end area," said Kentucky resident John Maxfield, who regularly uses the ferry to visit his property in Illinois. He adds that he is on the ferry several times a week and if they close, "It means I'll never get to ride on the river again."
Cuts to the ferry operator's contract in 2018 led to shortened service hours, but this time the operator says, instead of reducing hours, he would just shutdown the ferry.
