Ferry: Self-propelled barges for the short term? Oka ferry towboats await their new buyers. They'll be restored to their past gleaming mahogany and chrome glory as soon as two motorized barges arrive. HUDSON - "The ball is in whose court? Is anything going to happen?" Como resident Marcus Owen grew increasingly frustrated at Monday's May council session as he quizzed Mayor Elizabeth Corker on the status of the Oka ferry file. Owen and other east end residents are concerned that Traverse Oka operator Claude Desjardins will somehow get permission to build the new docks allowing him to begin running 110-foot self-propelled vessels carrying 18 vehicles, creating more out-of-town traffic in a residential zone. They point to massive piles of excavated earth below the ferry operator's house as evidence that he is proceeding with some sort of upgrade without the town's approval. Late last fall, Desjardins began construction on a 30-foot-wide gravel pad stretching from the water's edge most of the way to Main Road. He said at the time the pad is a haulout ramp for his boats. He didn't specify whether the boats were the existing barges or the new 110-footers. The excavations include a massive catchpond for material dredged from the shoreline out to where the nine-foot channel ends, an indication Desjardins has plans to use self-propelled vessels of some sort. He maintains that the Town of Hudson told him permission for any upgrade had to come from the provincial government, which he claims he received Nov. 7. He produced his certificate of authorization from the Sustainable Development and Environment Ministry permitting the work, but declined to allow it to be copied. The town claimed then it had a copy. Desjardins' current barge/towboat operation, essentially the same as it was 80 years ago, is grandfathered into the neighbourhood zoning, but he would need the town's permission to build concrete structures strong enough to dock the new ferries. Corker pointed out that the Bureau d'audiences publique sur l'environnement (BAPE) hearings and the subsequent decree from the environment ministry gave Desjardins permission to operate the new vessels. "The type of boats he's operating is beyond the town's jurisdiction," Corker told Owen, adding that Desjardins could operate self-propelled ferries the same size as the existing barges. Traffic, she added, appears to be less of a problem than it was two years ago. "The traffic situation was somewhat improved last year, thanks to the efforts of the SQ and the Community Patrol." The mayor didn't mention it, but the Town of Hudson is pressuring Vaudreuil MNA Yvon Marcoux to produce the certificates of authorization being cited by Desjardins as the authority for making infrastructure changes to the Hudson terminal. As we went to press, the MNA's office had yet to respond to requests for documentation. Desjardins said last week he'll start the 2008 season with two barges and towboats, but hinted this will be the last season for the traditional barge/towboat rigs. He refused to confirm that the two remaining barges have been converted into self-propelled vessels with the upgraded safety and navigational equipment Transport Canada is insisting on. Desjardins has confirmed that two of the barges and all six towboats have been sold conditionally, the towboats to classic runabout fanciers.