Wiil there be docks? Yes!
Wiil there be docks? Yes!
By STU MERRY
The clock is ticking. Fort Stevenson State Park near Garrison has two marinas. Lake Sakakawea is on the rise and the summer’s outdoor recreation outlook couldn’t be brighter. Or could it?
The potential existed that there won’t be docks and slips for owners to moor their boats at either Fort Stevenson Marina or the new Garrison Bay Marina on the west side of the state park.
Dick Messerly, Fort Stevenson State Park manager, told Garrison Chamber of Commerce members at their meeting Monday that not knowing what is going to happen is creating sleepless nights and long days for him with the recreation season just around the corner.
“We have to have docks, that’s the bottom line – even if we didn’t have a new marina,” Messerly said.
Regarding the precarious situation, Messerly said, “It’s a big missing piece right now.”
Describing what is and has (or hasn’t) been taking place to rectify the problem, Messerly could only shrug and say: “It’s a conundrum.”
Undaunted, marina concessionaire Carey Gieser, along with a local ad hoc committee comprised of local businessmen, is forging ahead to secure docks. Steps are being taken to insure that there will be docks to accommodate boaters this summer and for years to come.
Officials with the Garrison Area Improvement Association, the community’s economic development arm, were alerted to the matter at the chamber meeting. At its meeting Tuesday afternoon, GAIA stepped up to the plate. Members agreed to facilitate the placement of a new dock system in the Garrison Bay Marina, approving a plan to pursue the project.
