Many of you have complained about the challenges you face in getting vendors on to the island to do minor repairs and installations in your homes.  For many years, Fisher Island has required all such vendors to use the Barge at the Port of Miami and many of you have circumvented this policy by, often, “clearing” them as your guests.  It has always been my opinion that policy frequently circumvented is bad policy.  So we are announcing a change today, for a trial period, to attempt to help you, without adding burden to the rush hours and driving up ferry usage beyond our capacity.

 Effective next Monday, we will open up the ferry to residential vendors who arrive no earlier than 11 am and leave no later than 3 pm, Monday through Friday.  This four hour window will provide quick access to the island by your computer/television/dishwasher repair person, or to a plumber to unclog a drain or install a shower head, or an electrician to install an outlet or a light fixture or fan.  When you call Clearance, starting Monday, September 15^th, please inform them that you are providing “Vendor Clearance” from 11-3, and provide the name of the Vendor.  The Vendors may be in marked or unmarked pick up trucks, vans or cars, but not larger vehicles and will be directed to Lanes 3 and 4.   If they arrive before 11, or after 3, they will be directed to the Barge at the Port of Miami.  While this is an imperfect solution, based on our analysis, this should help residents hundreds of times a month.  It is an “honor system” and we need very much for you to clear only the vendors who will be here for a short time, for small jobs.  Otherwise, this will not work and we will have to end the trial period.

We do not have the capacity for additional hours, nor do we have the capacity to have contractors who are doing renovations.  The Clearance Operator will ask you specific questions, so please be patient with us as we do this trial.  We believe that this 4 hour window will be helpful to you and your vendors, so please let us know if we are mistaken.  Again, we cannot open this up for additional hours because we are not prepared to add another ferry at $12,000-15,000 a week. 

Additionally, all your true “guests” are being directed into the Diamond Lane (Lane 2) so that they will not have to wait behind vendors and employees.  We made this change last month and it is working well, as long as you are only providing Clearance for guests, as guests, and vendors, as vendors.  We are also working very closely with the Club and Holdings to radically reduce the number of employees who “drive on” to the ferry during the rush hours, and to move them out of the Diamond Lane.  These changes will be made shortly.  We simply have no choice, as the problem has gotten “out of control” over time. 

Finally, we are in the process of designing the parking facility and landing at Mansur (Terminal Island), and the ferry boat landing modification at the island barge terminal.  When that facility is opened in about 2 years, the Port of Miami Barge location will be eliminated, and all commercial traffic will come through the new Mansur Landing.  Until then, we just have to do the best we can. 

Please give me your feedback on this trial.

 Regards, Mark James

President and CEO, FICA