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The history of the legal stalemate and stand-off that evolved after the ferry stopped operating is best obtained online and via the Monocacy Monocle, which closely covered the ordeal. What has transpired in recent months, as relayed in The Washington Post on April 18 is the following: (1) Chuck and Stacy Kuhn, who bought the ferry in 2021, have offered to donate the land and business to Montgomery County—“contingent on Montgomery and Loudoun Counties working together to find a solution…to reopen the ferry in a timely manner.” (2) Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich has accepted the offer, and the challenge of negotiating with Loudoun County officials and the owners of the ferry’s landing site in Virginia. (3) Libby Devlin, co-owner of Rockland Farm in Loudoun County where the landing site is situated, said the donation was “great news” and that she looked forward to working with both counties to resolve the impasse and reopen the ferry as soon as possible. (4) Loudoun County spokesperson Glen Barbour said the county “supports any solution that would result in the resumption of ferry service.” (5) Elrich told the Post it would take up to a year to work everything out and get the ferry operational again. He later commented on a radio program that the donation allows the county to negotiate with Rockland’s owners concerning their demands for compensation for the use of the Virginia landing. If such negotiations failed, Elrich suggested he would urge Loudoun County officials to use “eminent domain” to declare the property a public transportation landing.
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