A nonprofit regional development group is recommending that the Alaska Marine Highway System be managed as a corporation under state ownership.
Robert Venables of the Southeast Conference told the Ketchikan Daily News that the group wants to get input from lawmakers and the public in 2017 while spending the year drafting legislation and an operating plan.
The Department of Transportation’s ferry system has a fleet that is getting older as funding and ridership decrease.
Venables said the Alaska-owned corporation model would still require a state subsidy, but that the system would have a board that could pursue other partnerships and revenue.
The Marine Transportation Advisory Board will discuss the group’s progress on Monday.
