Guest column by Link Hoewing and Jim Brown.
Four years ago, on December 28th, 2020, White’s Ferry – which had operated almost without fail since the 1780’s – stopped running. Finger pointing and excuses have been the only consistent feature of this sorry, inexcusable saga and we are beyond tired of it. Getting the boat running again is critical but too many of the actors involved in the dispute seem to lack a sense of urgency.
Poolesville is in the heart of Montgomery County’s Agricultural Reserve, a 93,000-acre area of farms, parks and hiking trails, historic sites, and hundreds of small, often family-owned businesses protected by law from development. The “main street” for the Town and nearby areas is Whites Ferry Road which connects Route 28 and points south to Poolesville, ending at the Ferry.
Until 1962 when the American Legion Bridge opened, there were no bridges anywhere along the Montgomery County segment of the Potomac River. Ferries are a part of our history and culture. White’s Ferry was the last operating Ferry and is a “living history” example of our past and the rural legacy that remains on both the Montgomery County and Loudoun County sides of the River. The Ferry carried 700 cars a day and more on weekends back and forth across the river, and is a vital commuting and tourist link for our area. It is an important part of the transportation network of the DMV.
The Ferry’s abrupt closure after a legal dispute resulted almost immediately in a drop in traffic at some Poolesville area businesses of almost 20 percent. Poolesville and surrounding areas are ten or more miles from most major shopping areas, doctors’ offices and government services and facilities like community centers. The Ferry is a convenient means of getting around our rural area and going to places like Dulles Airport, Leesburg and Northern Virginia.
Since its closure, some 10 million extra miles have likely been driven as people are forced to go almost half an hour or more up to Point of Rocks in Frederick County and back down to Leesburg and beyond. The costs in added pollution, fuel and lost family time are incalculable.
Studies sponsored by Montgomery and Loudoun counties show the Ferry could spur up to $24 million in economic activity over several years once it starts back up. The Ferry not only provides a convenient commuter route, it also connects to nearby attractions like the C & O Canal which studies show generates tens of millions of dollars in tourist traffic annually for Loudoun and Montgomery counties.
With all this at stake, why didn’t respected, successful businesspeople like Chuck Kuhn, the Ferry owner, and Libby Devlin and Peter Brown, co-owners of the Ferry landing, quickly negotiate a new contract back in December, 2020?
Kuhn built one of the nation’s biggest moving companies and you don’t achieve that kind of success without negotiating many business agreements. Devlin has managed a large estate and farm and her brother, Peter Brown, is an extremely successful and wealthy venture capitalist. At his level, negotiating contracts is a way of life.
Here is our view of the situation.
The governments involved, in both Virginia and Maryland, have treated this as a private legal dispute between two parties. This has allowed the two private parties to remain at the center of the process, with the public interest as hostage. This has never been a simple private dispute because the ferry is a public service. Government agencies should long ago have taken a strong role, using all the tools at their disposal, to get an agreement. While we never said that it was the only or preferred solution, this should have meant keeping eminent domain and condemnation on the table to spur action.
The charter that the State of Maryland granted to the ferry operator back in the 1780s is instructive. The law says that a county can “grant a license to any inhabitant of a county” to keep a “public” ferry. It further says that if an owner stops offering services, the county will step in and find a new owner and the ferry’s buildings and land would become public property. The fact that state law says a ferry operator has to have a charter suggests Maryland could have a lot of influence.
To its credit, Montgomery County has tried to facilitate negotiations. Both private parties have often said they care about the public interest, but their actions and conflicting comments and statements seem focused on shifting blame to the other guy. In the end, many politicians and the private markets miserably failed the public.
The Fair Access Committee for the Western County, working with all parties, has consistently been told to respect the process. Respect long ago turned into neglect. A simple contract dispute has disrupted life, our local economy, and an important part of our history and culture.
This is the season of miracles and despite our frustration, perhaps the holiday spirit will inspire the parties to finally put aside their differences and resolve the dispute. If they don’t do so very soon, government must move with a sense of urgency and firmly use all of its authority and leadership to put an end to this disgraceful situation so it never happens again.
Jim Brown is the President of the Town Commissioners of Poolesville, Maryland, a municipality since 1867 that serves as the unofficial seat of Montgomery County’s Agricultural Reserve. Brown has been a Town Commissioner since 2007 and co-founded the Fair Access Committee for Western Montgomery County in 2019.
Link Hoewing is the Chair of the Fair Access Committee of Montgomery County, Maryland. The Committee advocates for fair access to services and facilities in Western Montgomery County, which is situated in the protected agricultural reserve. Hoewing is a former Town of Poolesville Commissioner and a long-time community activist.