Governor Jennifer Granholm is not as tone deaf as I thought she was becoming to what has made the Mackinac Bridge and the Mackinac Island State Park Commission tick so successfully for so long.

I was befuddled when her budget cut out general fund support of the park and raised the prospect of charging a landing fee on the island. Then her administration made what came across, as it was ineptly initially presented, as a Lansing power grab of prime chores of the Mackinac Bridge Authority (MBA).

But Granholm, in a rather extraordinary conference call I had Friday with her and Mackinac Bridge Authority Chairman Bill Gnodtke of Charlevoix, said they had reached agreement in principle "to clarify and enforce the line of authority" of the unique agency that manages "a bridge that is a jewel and a gem in our system."

The authority, thanks to wisdom of the Legislature, is rare in that it is a largely autonomous "Type I" agency within the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), just as the Mackinac Island State Park Commission is Type I within the Department of History, Arts and Libraries (HAL).

Republican Gnodtke, who last month bristled at some takeover moves by MDOT Director Gloria Jeff on insurance contracts, investment policies, and other issues, said: "What happened, happened. We'd rather (now) focus on the future."

Gnodtke, longtime ally of then-Gov. John Engler, said he is now confident "the governor is not trying to micromanage the bridge at all."

But Gnodtke said he would have to consult with the other five members of the authority before commenting on specifics of the agreement that had been worked out by Gnodtke and Granholm Legal Counsel Kelly Keenan, who also was on the conference call.

Granholm Press Secretary Liz Boyd arranged the call in unusual response to my question of whether Granholm knew in advance, and approved of, the moves that MDOT Director Jeff took to take over some authority responsibilities.

Granholm said: "I found about this last week."

After Granholm left the line, Boyd said steps that were taken by Jeff reflect Granholm's "zeal to find money savings wherever she can."

MDOT said that by taking a more active role in overseeing operations and finances of the bridge, it "will result in the anticipated savings of almost $4 million in taxpayer funds over the next fifteen years."

How actively MDOT's pitch for a bigger role will be pursued remains to be seen. But Granholm appears to have softened MDOT's hardball stance. Gnodtke is not one to cave.

Northern Michigan lawmakers have been puzzled by the administration-authority tango. Sen. Jason Allen, R-Traverse City, chairman of the Senate Commerce & Labor Committee, called a Sept. 1 St. Ignace town hall meeting on the "tug of war" between MDOT and the authority.

At the meeting, according to extensive coverage by The St. Ignace News , MBA member Barbara Brown, a Granholm appointee (and granddaughter of the late U.S. Sen. Prentiss M. Brown, the first MBA chairman and driving force behind building of the bridge) said Granholm "has absolutely no desire to take away" MBA's authority.

But Allen, in a Sept. 8 letter to Granholm, said Director Jeff, after reassuring opening remarks at the meeting, "gave a presentation which outlined how and why MDOT has taken over all of the MBA's powers, with the exception of establishing tolls and managing special events."

Rep. Kevin Elsenheimer, R-Bellaire, said of the meeting: "I'm not sure if someone is parsing words or not, but it sounds to me as this is a power grab." Other lawmakers at the meeting included Sen. Mike Prusi, D-Ishpeming, and Reps. Tom Casperson, R-Escanaba, and Gary McDowell, D-Rudyard.

After what Elsenheimer referred to as confusing "Lansing-speak," Granholm now has moved forward with some forceful damage control.

What, now, of Granholm's tiff with the Mackinac Island State Park over her embrace of the Department of Natural Resources recommendation (impractical in my view, given the unique park-municipal mix on the island), that the park should charge entrance fees to replace the $1.5 million that it now gets from the general fund?

This was not resolved in the tentative budget agreement announced Friday by Granholm and GOP legislative leaders--"a fair compromise," as cited by Senate Majority Leader Ken Sikkema, R-Wyoming.

The island issue, say Granholm disciples, will be resolved in Senate-House conference committees. A good bet is that instead of taking a $1.5 million hit, the island park will be cut not much more than $200,000. That's about what the park said it could raise by increasing other fees and tapping other sources.

Issues involving Mighty Mac and Mackinac Island are hardly on the front burner in Lansing in the closing days of the current fiscal year. But Granholm recognizes they have a special place on the Michigan scene and is wisely honing moves put in motion down the line in her administration.

George Weeks is the political columnist for The Detroit News and is syndicated by Superior Features.