Barrington sends $1,200 to float ferry marketing plan

The Municipality of Barrington has approved a grant of $1,244 to the Municipality of Digby to assist with their efforts to maintain the Digby ferry service from Digby to Saint John.

Jim Thurber, warden for the Municipality of Digby, says the Bay of Fundy Transportation Coalition has approached at least 20 municipalities from Wolfville to Lunenburg for assistance.

The amount requested from each was derived from four criteria: proximity to the service, dependence on the service, assessment, and population of the area.

“The total amount we hoped to receive was $40,000,” said Thurber.

“The response to date has been good. Only one has declined and eight are willing to contribute,” he said.

The funds will be used to market usage of the service.

“This has been almost two years now that we’ve been dealing with this. We have a coalition of municipalities and businesses that feel this is an essential service for the economy, especially the fishery and tourism in western Nova Scotia. It’s a must and we are continuing to fight to make sure it stays long term,” said Thurber.

Progress reports will be supplied on how the money is being spent to secure the ferry service.

The current deal with Bay Ferries and the federal government expires next January.