THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, March 15, 1996 TAG: 9603150443
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY CATHERINE KOZAK, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: OCRACOKE LENGTH: Medium: 91 lines
The warmer it gets, the more cars line up at the Hatteras stacking lanes waiting to board the free ferry to Ocracoke. At summer's height last year, most folk milled around for an hour or so feeding sea gulls and sipping soda Purchased from a nearby machine.
Now, however, travelers can buy snacks, coffee and scores of souvenirs at a new air-conditioned gift shop inside the ferry terminal.
Ocracoke merchants say the state is taking advantage of the captive motorist market - and undercutting profits private business owners might otherwise earn.
North Carolina Ferry Division Director Jerry Gaskill met Wednesday night with about 40 upset members of Ocracoke Island's business community to explain the ferry system's position on the new products.
Merchants said Thursday that they remain frustrated.
``The thing that really bugs me is he's (Gaskill) running the ferry system as a business,'' said Ricky Tillett, manager of The Community Store in Ocracoke. ``It's unfair because he's taking money from our pockets.''
Tillett, who is vice-president of the Ocracoke Civic Association, said merchants were never consulted or warned about the new state venture. Worse, he said, they were never offered a chance to license their merchandise to sell at the ferry shops - or to sell ferry-licensed items at their stores.
``This is something that is going to affect, directly or indirectly, everyone on Ocracoke,'' Tillett said. ``It's a triple whammy: Our taxes are not going to go down; they're taking money out of our cash registers; and, if this provides a significant amount of revenue, the state may not provide the same amount of money to the ferries.''
Gaskill, however, said the state Department of Transportation, which runs the ferry system that only charges tolls on longer routes, went out to bid on both the food and gift items, and awarded yearly contracts to the lowest bidder - like North Carolina officials do with other state-run shops.
``The state aquarium does the same thing,'' Gaskill said, referring to the Roanoke Island facility. ``It's nothing new. This is something that is continuously done.''
Image Products, Inc., a Wilmington logo-products company, was awarded two contracts to sell the state novelty and apparel items for the three new ferry shops on Hatteras, Ocracoke and Cedar islands. Company President Mike Bender said the state was looking for high-quality goods at a competitive price.
``I certainly can understand their concerns,'' Gaskill said Thursday of the Ocracoke merchants. ``We certainly don't want to hurt their business. But as does every state agency, we're holding our costs down. We have to generate revenue somewhere.''
The ferry director added that his agency lacks the authority to license local merchants.
State legislation passed in 1995 freed up the ferry division to ``operate or contract for the operation of concessions on the ferries and at ferry facilities.'' No additional staff has been hired to operate the stores - which sell everything from sweat shirts to corkscrews to coloring books, Gaskill said. The shops are located inside existing ferry terminals.
Memorabilia stands eventually will be placed in terminals on all seven routes in the state ferry system, which carries over 2 million passengers a year, Gaskill said. Souvenirs also will be available on most of the boats. The revenues, as yet undetermined, will be funneled back into the ferry division for repairs and improvements.
Buffy Warner, who runs Howard's Pub on Ocracoke Island, said the discussion with Gaskill left business owners feeling ``trapped'' - and resulted in their decision to draft a letter to lawmakers appealing for the General Assembly's intervention.
Ocracoke, a small southern Outer Banks island accessible only by boat and small aircraft, is populated by about 800 year-round residents - most of whom depend on the tourist trade for their income.
Warner, a former West Virginia state senator, questioned where the ferry store concept begins and ends. Ferry officials said the ``Ship's Stores'' sell ferry-themed items such as hats, T-shirts, pencils, lapel pins and other gift items. By summer, the concession stands will add sand buckets, shovels and toy boats to their offerings.
``Probably nowhere else is the impact felt as great as it is on Ocracoke,'' Warner said. ``The merchants feel like it's an onerous proposition. . . . For every $10 they spend at the state Ship's Store, that's $10 they might not spend on our island.
``Even if they don't go any further . . . I can't afford to do that at my business. We can't compete with an operation that's funded with our own taxpayers' money. The state government is not a business. It does not have to meet the same criteria or climb the same hurdles as regular businesses do,'' said Warner.
But Gaskill said he has not ruled out bringing in more local business to the souvenir shops.
``I'm not saying that in the future that something could not be on a more local level,'' said Gaskill. ``If it can, maybe it should be.'' by CNB