KINGSTON — While North Kitsap residents were impressed and encouraged by the open house presentation Wednesday by Kitsap Transit officials about restarting the Kingston-Seattle passenger ferries, they also voiced concern that the rest of the county may not favor paying for the financial buoy needed to do so.

About 65 residents attended the three-hour discussion, which aimed to explain how a proposed 3/10ths cent sales tax increase would assist in reviving the service.

“We’ve had a good turnout,” said Kitsap Transit Service Development Director John Clauson Aug. 16. “Everyone’s been very positive. There have only been three people who were probably not in favor of the sales tax here tonight.”

Kitsap Transit has been involved in negotiations with the former Kingston-Seattle ferry provider, Aqua Express, for more than a year, working to purchase assets that will provide the means to anchor the local service again.

Following a brief run and low ridership, Aqua Express was forced to file for a discontinuance with the Washington Utilities and Transportation Committee in October 2005, effectively suspending the service. That discontinuance was extended in July when it became apparent that neither Aqua Express nor Kitsap Transit would be able to get the foot ferry running in that time frame. The most recent discontinuance will last until Dec. 31.

In the meantime, Kitsap Transit is hoping to get public input concerning its financial plans to fund the ferry. The Kingston informational meeting was the first of five public open houses Kitsap Transit has planned to gain insight from Kitsap County residents.

“I think it’s great,” said Kingston resident Kim Poole. “I’m OK with what it takes to get this going again. I’ll use it for entertainment purposes, but my husband is a commuter. We would both benefit from it.”

Poole’s sentiment was echoed by commuters who attended the event that ran from 4 to 7 p.m. Many of them showed up late due to their long commutes.

“I commute to Seattle, and I loved Aqua Express while it was running,” said Kingston resident Bob Anderson, who said after the ferry service ended, he had to start taking the bus and catching the ferry out of Winslow. “I don’t know if the sales tax will pass. Some people can be very short-sighted. People who live farther away and who don’t commute don’t seem as eager for the ferries as people who live in, say, Kingston.”

Anderson wasn’t alone in the perception that the sales tax proposal, which would raise Kitsap County’s sales tax from 8.6 to 8.9 percent, would prove unpopular in areas of the county that don’t rely heavily on passenger-only ferries.

Even so, Marine Transportation Association of Kitsap Board Coordinator Carla Sawyer said a direct comparison is necessary to show people in those areas that they will save money as well if the sales tax passes in February.

“People need to remember that it’s 30 cents per $100, not $30 per $100,” Sawyer said of the sales tax increase. “The Kingston community is very supportive. There’s a lot of pent up demand here for a passenger ferry.”

If the passenger ferries were to start up again, they would run three times in the morning and afternoon for commuters, and one or two times in the morning and evenings. Roundtrip fares would likely be in the $7-$9 range, Sawyer said.