Park Service, ferry at odds over dock

There’s been no headway to stave off a standoff that curtailed ferry service to North Manitou Island all summer, and now the National Park Service (NPS) is threatening to revoke its concession contract with Manitou Island Transit.

At issue — still — is whether a milliondollar temporary dock built by the Park Service specifically to provide passage to the island is safe under most weather conditions for loading and unloading.

NPS engineers say it is. But Jimmy Munoz, a captain of the Mishe Mokwa ferry boat, says it isn’t because an open design below the dock provides little protection from waves.