Resident administrator Sean Trapani received the brunt of the supervisors’ frustration over “banking hours” for the Merry Point ferry.

The recent announcement that the ferry would run six days a week, from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., prompted supervisor Butch Jenkins to accuse VDOT of “being one of the most corrupt agencies” in the state.

“They claim they’ll save $75,000. They can’t prove it. They plucked that number out of the air. No one will stand up to that jerk of an agency,” he said.

“How does a working person use that ferry? How do they make it back in time to catch the ferry home?” asked Jenkins. “If it was Northern Virginia or Richmond, they would bend over backwards, but not for this rural area.”

For many years, the ferry has operated from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Trapani said he has asked officials to monitor the system for 30 days, “and maybe we can be more flexible.”

Jenkins said VDOT spent a half million dollars on a new, reliable, safe ferry, just to shred the schedule.

The new vessel was ordered and built before the “collapse of the economy,” Trapani replied. “A lot of folks worked hard for years to put that money together.”

Chairman Dr. Jack Russell called it “idiotic” and supervisor Wally Beauchamp voiced his dismay that transportation commissioner David S. Ekern and Fredericksburg District administrator Quintin Elliott did not live up to their promise to seek input from county officials regarding any change in the ferry’s hours of operation.

However, Trapani assured the board that he has authority to revise the hours of operation, but could not increase them from 48 hours a week.

Supervisors approved the use of golf carts in the Corrotoman-by-the-Bay subdivision on roads posted at 25 mph. However, residents say usage is hindered by VDOT’s refusal to lower the speed limit from 35 mph to 25 mph in a key section of the development.

Community board member Berry Jackson said there is just a 0.3 mile strip marked at the higher speed limit and that a VDOT speed study did not make sense since people are driving 40 mph through that area and not 35 as indicated in the study.

Resident John Pierce said signage on one side of the street is 35 mph and it is posted at 25 mph for traffic moving the opposite direction.

Trapani defended the study and said the area is not considered residential.

Jenkins said there are 14 houses on the road, so how could it not be considered residential?

The distance between homes and lot sizes determine a residential designation, Trapani explained. “The whole purpose for golf cart usage is safety,” he said.