The
People Power Behind the Vallejo Ferry
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| Pamela
Belchamber and her staff: upper left going clockwise,
Patrick Morgan, Baylink Ferry Operations Manager, Belchamber,
Bryan Hoffman, Port Engineer, Pam Gillam, Bus Division
Manager, Marty Robbins, Marine Division Manager, and Guia
Del Rosario, Bus Operations Manager |
Transportation
Superintendent Pamela J. Belchamber is a formidable ferry and
transit activist who can be justly proud of her accomplishments in
creating and building the Vallejo ferry into a system that more than
5,000 people count on year-round to commute to work and countless
more use for ball games, afternoon shopping, and much more.
"My work for the
past 20 years has been in Vallejo", says Belchamber. "I
have grown with the transit service. With the events swirling around
you, you just ‘catch the wave.’ I had tremendous support from
Mayor Intintoli, who was here during the Loma Prieta Earthquake in
1989 when we really plunged into ferries.
" I graduated from UC/Berkeley,
and still make my home in Berkeley. At first, I was a ‘stay at
home mom, working part-time for various social service agencies in
Berkeley in the 1970s. Later, when I wasn’t needed as much at
home, and I started listening to friends in transit who kept saying,
‘spread your wings and fly. Besides I had been involved in fund
raising, and that would be an essential part of getting a transit
system going.
"So, in 1980. I applied
for a transit job in Vallejo. I finally got it and found myself in a
learning experience to this very day. It’s been an interesting
journey. We have come a long way, but we’re not done yet, and
still have along way to go.
"The job involves more
than the ferries; I also run the buses, the taxis, and paratransit
services. But, at least for the ferry program, we now have things
mostly in place. It’s been fun, and I couldn’t ask for a better
job. And I really love my job, although during certain period of the
year when things happen all at once, it can be challenging. But, it’s
all for a good cause.
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| Vallejo
Ferry dynamo Pam Belchamber |
"Thanks to a lot of
help from some very good people, we are succeeding. I just hope to
finish this project in my lifetime!"
Martin J. Robbins
is Chief of the City’s Ferry Division, serving as Marine Services
Manager and reporting to Transportation Superintendent Pam
Belchamber. He is a licensed mechanical engineer and oversees ferry
service contractors and capital improvement programs. Before coming
to Vallejo, Robbins worked briefly for the Washington State Ferries
and was Principal in Charge for nearly a decade at Art Anderson
Associates of Seattle, Washington. He developed the specifications
for and oversaw procurement of the M/V Intintoli and M/V
Mare Island. He spent eight years in the U.S. Navy, serving on
the submarine U.S.S. Sand Lance and supervising submarine
overhauls and renovations at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. He obtained
a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Utah.
Michael D. Setty is
the owner and principal of Carquinez Associates, a
transportation-consulting firm located in Vallejo. Setty has
provided transit planning services for the City of Vallejo since
1985, and has authored most City Short Range Transit Plans
since that time. He prepared most of the funding applications and
planning documents required in the Baylink implementation process,
and developed most Baylink schedules since 1997. In the early 1980’s,
Mike worked at the Metropolitan Transportation Commission. He also
worked as a transit planner for Placer County east of Sacramento.
Mike obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Geography from California
University, Chico, and a Master of Urban Planning from San Jose
State University.
Captain Patrick Morgan
serves as the Vessel Operations Manager, overseeing a crew of four
and Blue & Gold’s Fleet Engineering for Vallejo’s Baylink
Ferries. Asked to describe what he and his people do, Morgan
responds "we do miracles." He is a fully licensed
shipmaster who sailed the M/V Intintoli and the M/V Mare
Island down the coast from Puget Sound, a rough experience for
boats that were designed for the relatively calm waters of San
Francisco Bay. The worst part, according to Morgan, was getting the
ships safely through the rough waters of the Juan de Fuca Strait
between Vancouver Island and Washington. Capt. Morgan also sailed
the "Jet Cat Express" up to Washington earlier this year
and will sail her back later this summer.
Molly Skow is the
Blue & Gold Fleet’s Administrative Systems Manager (Blue and
Gold staffs the Vallejo ferries under contract to the City). The
bottom line is that when there are problems, you simply "call
Molly". Skow has been with Blue & Gold since 1989 and with
Baylink since 1999. She studied at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, and
lives in Lafayette.
