Montgomery County is considering the purchase of historic White’s Ferry after owners said they are seeking to sell to the county in an effort to resume service after more than two years of shutdown.
“That’s something we’re considering doing,” County Executive Marc Elrich said during a media briefing Wednesday.
“The problem is on the other side of the river. We could own it, that wouldn’t change the fact that we don’t have a landing spot on the other side of the river until we reach an agreement with the owner over there,” he said.
In Dec. 2020, the ferry stopped service over a legal dispute between the ferry operator and Rockland Farm, the Virginia property where the ferry lands. Owner Chuck Kuhn recently announced Rockland Farm declined a $1.1 million offer, which included funding from Montgomery and Loudoun counties, to buy the Virginia landing area.
In a statement, the owner of Rockland Farm, Libby Devlin, says the offer was turned down because it was a flat fee instead of a volume-based fee. She detailed long-standing negotiations with Kuhn.
Elrich said the county will continue to pursue an agreement with the Virginia side and added it may be an easier negotiation for the county than for the current ferry owner.
He said leaders in Virginia have been reluctant to use eminent domain to acquire the landing site.
