FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 19, 2008

Prevent Unauthorized Clearances

PLEASE HELP US STOP FERRY ABUSE AND LOWER OUR FERRY COSTS. Call the Public Safety Office at 305.535.6022 and tell the operator you have chosen a secret password for providing clearance. When the operator confirms your membership, you will be asked to provide a combination of 4-8 letters and numbers. When you call in your clearance by phone, or e-mail it to Clearguard@ourfica.com, you will need to enter your unique password.
Please be aware that many of your employees are providing clearance to their friends, families, contractors they know and vendors they know; many of whom are not coming to the island for your benefit. They are also, apparently, giving out your member numbers with clearance instructions to others you have not authorized. This is creating serious issues with regard to ferry usage during the rush hours (8 a.m. to 10 a.m and 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.).
Your "guests" will be cleared to Lane 2 (Diamond Lane) for quick access and exit, but your vendors and contractors will be cleared to Lanes 3 and 4.
Tuesdays and Thursdays are "critical" days for the ferry because hundreds of Members have domestic help working those two days, and all of them arrive and depart during those rush hours.
Our new program of permitting clearance for your vendors arriving after 11 a.m. and leaving before 3 p.m. is very successful; however, please remind them that arriving earlier, or leaving later than those proscribed hours creates problems and forces us to direct them to the Barge.

Thank you,
Fisher Island Public Safety Department.