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MINUTES
JEFFERSON COUNTY
Ferry Advisory Committee (FAC)
Regular Meeting Minutes
Wednesday January 14, 2026, at 10:00 a.m.
Jefferson County Courthouse – Commissioners
Chambers, 1820 Jefferson Street, Port
Townsend, WA (HYBRID)
Members: Chair Tom Thiersch, Commissioner Heather Dudley-Nollette, Adam Levin, Nicole
Gauthier, Steve King, and Diana Grunow
CALL TO ORDER: Chair Thiersch called the meeting to order at the appointed time. In attendance were Members: Commissioner Heather Dudley-Nollette, Gauthier and Grunow. Also in attendance was WSF Community and Legislative Liaison Tally Teal. Member King joined the meeting shortly after it began.
PUBLIC COMMENT: Chair Thiersch opened the floor for public comments, and no comments
were received.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES re: Regular Meeting Minutes of November 12, 2025: Member
Grunow moved to approve the Regular Meeting Minutes of November 12, 2025, as presented.
Member Gauthier seconded the motion. The motion carried.
UPDATE FROM WASHINGTON STATE FERRIES (WSF) STAFF: WSF Community and
Legislative Liaison Tally Teal provided the Committee with WSF updates on Service Contingency
Plan, Ticketing and Reservation Modernization (TRM) project, and answered questions posed by
the Committee.
o Review Service Contingency Plan: WSF Community and Legislative Liaison Tally
Teal updated the Committee on WSF’s four goals to provide a measure of
predictability with vessels, priorities with service interruptions, communications with
partners and public.
o Ticketing and Reservations Modernization (TRM) project: WSF Community and
Legislative Liaison Tally Teal updated the Committee that WSF extended the TRM
timeline to the end of 2026
o WSF anticipates 2-boat service as in 2025.
WSF Community and Legislative Liaison Tally Teal excused herself from the remainder of the
meeting at 10:43 a.m.
GENERAL DISCUSSION:
2026 Regular meeting schedule: The consensus of the Committee was to keep the same schedule
as 2025 for 2026, except cancel the date of November 11, 2026 in Honor of Veterans Day and
special notice a meeting for Tuesday, November 10, 2026 at 10:00 a.m.
Transit connections: Member Gauthier provided an update on transit connections noting that there
are several larger scale projects in the works, a Sunday service to begin May 3, 2026, and she
highlighted staff and the work they do. She advised Jefferson Transit is working on pop up outreach
events for community input.
Road work affecting terminal traffic: Member King advised there is no road work to report that
will affect ferry traffic. He noted that Washington State DOT is installing sidewalks on Washington
Street.
Tourism: Commissioner Dudley-Nollette noted she is engaging in conversations for Destination
Marketing Organization (DMO).
Ferry Rider: Member Grunow discussed the concern of reservation cancellation updates on
website and cancellation fees being imposed in error.
No-show fees collected in error: Chair Thiersch noted the hardship in cancellation fees being
charged in error and that reimbursement is cumbersome.
Local government re: County Ferry Caucus (January 9 meeting): Commissioner Dudley-
Nollette noted that the group of Ferry‑Impacted Counties met informally—first at the WSAC
conference and later via Zoom—to explore creating a County Ferry Caucus that would coordinate
shared advocacy on state, county, and federal ferry issues. The conversation focused on drafting a
simple purposed statement, determining whether such a caucus would add value rather than
duplicate existing groups, and deciding whether to include passenger‑only and transit ferry
operations in its scope. The effort is still in a very early stage with no formal structure or funding,
but interest from multiple counties is strong enough that Columbia Policy Advisors has offered to
help coordinate while the group decides whether to establish the caucus officially.
FAC Executive Committee and FAC-T meetings: Chair Thiersch noted the need of a Co-Chair
for FAC-T and elections will be on the agenda.
RCW 47.60.310 bill: Chair Thiersch noted that there has not been a response for representation for
this bill moving forward.
PUBLIC COMMENT: Chair Thiersch opened the floor for public comments, and no comments
were received.
CLOSING REMARKS: Chair Thiersch shared his appreciation for the Washington State Ferries.
NOTICE OF ADJOURNMENT: Chair Thiersch adjourned the meeting at 11:28 a.m. until the next
regular or special meeting as properly noticed.
Respectfully Submitted by:
___________________________________ ____________
Adiel McKnight/ FAC Clerk Date