EDGEWATER – The borough is advancing in its plans for ferry service to Manhattan.

The Borough Council voted unanimously on March 15 to award a contract to a ferry operator, and to authorize the Port Authority to complete its site analysis of the borough-owned Edgewater Marina, the ferry landing site.

NY Waterway of Weehawken will provide the ferry service for a period not to exceed five years. It was one of two firms that responded when the borough sought proposals at the beginning of the year. The other was New York Water Taxi, which was rejected when it failed to provide the required $175,000 performance security.

Transportation to the ferry was also discussed at the council’s meeting. Frank Borin, an associate of DeCottis, FitzPatrick, Cole & Wisler, of Teaneck, the attorney for the ferry project, said that prior to construction of the ferry site, a shuttle bus would offer off peak hour service to the Weehawken terminal at a fee of $2. When construction is finished, the fare to the Edgewater ferry would be $1.

Mr. Borin said the bus would likely follow a route that includes stops in Fort Lee and the marina, among others. There is no start date for the bus service.

After Mr. Borin recommended it, the council gave the go-ahead to the Port Authority to proceed with its site analysis of the proposed Edgewater Marina Waterfront Park and Ferry landing.

The Port Authority has committed up to $7.5 million for implementation of the ferries. The PA’s Pat Flynn said $890,000 has been authorized for designs for the project and $540,000 spent on traffic studies and legal, engineering and other fees.

The council was scheduled to make comments on the half of the analysis that has already been done by the end of last week.

The governing body’s green light will allow the Port Authority to advance to the design phase, and then to acquire Land Use and Green Acres permits from the state, Mr. Borin said.

The analysis should be completed in six weeks.

The council took action also on the proposed new police and municipal services building by unanimously authorizing architects Ronald Schmidt & Associates of Englewood to seek bids for the construction of the building.

The resolution approved by the council stipulates that the project’s cost not rise above about $5 million. A provision authorizing additional funding of up to $1 million was struck from the resolution. A total of $200,000 has been spent in architectural fees.

The council voted unanimously also to advertise for a “clerk of the works” or manager of the police building project.