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But Republican Sen. Robin Taylor of Wrangell, who introduced the amendment to the budget bill, said the administration wants to hold off on building the ferries for a year to decide if the federal money should be used on high-speed ferries, road projects or a combination of the two.

"Do we need to build a Juneau access road or should we keep running a ferry up and down Lynn Canal? Do we need the Rodman Bay Road so that we can transit people quickly in and out of Sitka with a connecting shuttle? Do we need the Bradfield Road (near Wrangell)? What about the Ketchikan bridge?" he asked.

Taylor said the federal money for the ferries comes from a funding source called Shakwak, which is named after a geologic fault along the Alaska Highway. The Alaska congressional delegation could seek to reroute the ferry funding to other transportation projects. Or, Taylor said, a year from now the state could put the money back into the ferry projects.

The state has begun construction on two high-speed ferries, one to run between Juneau and Sitka and another to service communities in Prince William Sound. The Juneau-Sitka boat is the first of four planned ferries to be built and is expected to begin running in May 2004. The Prince William Sound ferry is set to start in May 2005.

The decision to cut funding temporarily for the other high-speed ferries has concerned Sitka Mayor Fred Reeder.

"We're worried that they will not place that fast ferry in Sitka," Reeder said.

If the state doesn't build the last two ferries, Reeder said, it could decide to move the Juneau-Sitka ferry to another route in Southeast.

Petersburg Mayor Ted Smith said his community strongly opposes the budget change. He plans to visit with lawmakers this week to make his case.

Smith said he suspects that an "unknown wild card" project has taken the place of the two ferry projects, citing the Juneau access project as a possibility. Smith said Southeast communities already have begun infrastructure upgrades to accommodate the new ferries.

In a letter to lawmakers, Smith notes: "Plans are already in process for the South Mitkof Ferry terminal and road improvements. The ferry for the Juneau-Sitka link is already under construction. What new project has come forward that is more important than the two capital projects already in the works?"

But Taylor and Loren Gerhard, executive director for the Southeast Conference, which advocates for economic development in Southeast Alaska, said the amendment's intent is to take a step back to reevaluate how the money should be spent and to determine if there are problems with the first high-speed ferries.

Taylor said a small portion of the reappropriated money could be used to hold meetings and perform preliminary studies on road and ferry improvements. He said, however, there is no intent to spend a significant portion of the money within the next year.

Taylor also denied claims that he intends to use the money for a road from the Bradfield Canal - near Taylor's hometown of Wrangell - to Canada.

"... I think a lot of people have got me confused with stealing money from the high-speed ferry to put into the Bradfield - wrong," Taylor said.

Gerhard said the Southeast Conference supports holding off for a year, noting that the organization passed a resolution two years ago asking to delay the ferry purchases until the state tests the first one.

"We think this is a one-shot deal, and they've got to get it right," Gerhard said.

He said waiting a year also would allow the state Department of Transportation's newly formed Marine Highway Advisory Board to consider existing ferry contracts and future contracts for additional ferries. The advisory board held its first meetings last week.

"I was at their meetings over the past two days," Gerhard said. "And I think they got a good sense of the enormity of the task."

Speaking as a 30-year mariner, Gerhard said he believes the ferries will work as designed. But he added the Southeast Conference is concerned about manning requirements, terminal modifications, and how the ferries fit into the cost structure of the marine highway system.

But Smith, the Petersburg mayor, asked: If the plan is to step back and reevaluate how the money should be used, why were the funds reappropriated for ferries, terminals and connector roadways?

"I certainly don't mind them stepping back ... but I'm concerned that they would allow the money to be used for other purposes," Smith said.

Bob Weinstein, mayor of the city of Ketchikan, echoed those concerns, noting that if it the state decides to build roads, it could take significantly longer to fund and build roads than the ferries.

He also noted that some of the older ferries in the fleet could be decommissioned at the end of the decade, leaving Southeast with fewer transportation alternatives.

Timothy Inklebarger can be reached at timothyi@juneauempire.com.