ESCANABA – Delta County Board of Commissioners members continued to discuss a previous board decision that OK’d the re-opening of campgrounds at county parks Thursday. A final decision on the topic is expected to be made this evening.

In a meeting held virtually on Tuesday, May 5, the board approved the re-opening of these campgrounds on Monday, May 18 whether or not Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s “Stay Home, Stay Safe” executive order was lifted by that date. At the time, the executive order was set to be lifted on May 15; however, Whitmer went on to extend the executive order through May 28.

At a special board meeting Thursday evening, which was also held virtually, Delta Conservation District (DCD) Executive Director Rory Mattson spoke about safety measures the DCD plans to take when the campgrounds re-open. Restroom and shower buildings will not be open to the public, a rustic campground at Pioneer Trail Park will remain closed, pavilions will not be open, and wood sales and campground stores will not operate.

Mattson said he felt the district would be able to re-open its campgrounds while more thoroughly adhering to social distancing guidelines than some essential businesses have been able to.

“There’s things that are open that … what we’re going to do, people will be less together than that,” he said.

According to Mattson, the DCD is also trying to run Delta County’s parks while being as fiscally responsible as possible.

“We feel, from the conservation district, we … have a responsibility to the county,” he said.

Board Chair Patrick Johnson asked Mattson if liability insurance would still cover Delta County in the event that someone got injured at a campground that was open in violation of Whitmer’s executive order. Mattson said he did not have a concrete answer to this question as of Thursday.

“My guess is, if they get injured on county land, they’re still covered because — let me ask you this — what if somebody walks in there, which they’re allowed to do now?,” Mattson asked.

Because of the lack of certainty on this matter, Johnson said he did not feel comfortable making a final decision regarding the campgrounds Thursday.

“In light of that question not being answered, I would like to get an answer and possibly have another meeting on Friday,” he said.

Later, Public Health, Delta and Menominee Counties Health Officer Michael Snyder spoke about plans to re-open the campgrounds. He said the safety measures proposed by Mattson were sound, but he still had some legal concerns.

“I’m not sure on the legality of closing down the restrooms. I would have to check with EGLE (The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy) on that, because there are campground rules that require that bathrooms be available even if you have all self-contained units,” he said.

Snyder also reminded board members that Whitmer’s executive order prohibited campgrounds from opening to the public.

“I believe that the county has to do what’s right and what’s required by the law,” he said.

While Michigan’s Legislature has filed a lawsuit against Whitmer, a decision on the lawsuit had not been made as of Thursday.

“At this time, the court has made no ruling regarding the legality of those orders. That means the executive orders are still in full force,” Snyder said, reading from a statement made by the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan.

In response to Snyder’s comments, Commissioner David Moyle called the legitimacy of Whitmer’s executive order into question.

“The legislature wouldn’t be suing her if the majority of our elected officials in Lansing didn’t (feel) she was doing an overreach,” he said.

Johnson had an issue with Snyder’s statement that the county must do what is “right and required.”

“I think there’s an impasse there, with what the governor’s doing. I believe it is required — however, I don’t believe it’s quite right. She’s used loopholes to kind of extend her emergency declaration in her executive orders. If what she was doing was right, I think she would be able to convince the legislature that what she was doing was right, and they would actually follow suit and go ‘yeah, absolutely,'” he said.

Still, he did not want to make a final decision before the issues of liability insurance and EGLE requirements were resolved. If these were resolved, however, Johnson said he would have no problem with the campgrounds re-opening Monday.

Other board members were less supportive. Vice-Chair David Rivard had concerns related to legal fees the county could potentially be faced with as a result of violating the executive order.

“The last I knew, if we went to court, our insurance policy requires us to pay the first $75,000,” he said.

Meanwhile, Commissioner Theresa Nelson called for her fellow board members to wait until May 28 to make their final decision.

“Can we just slow the pace down (and) wait the 10 days?,” she asked.

Mattson said the DCD is in no rush to re-open the campgrounds if the county is willing to make up for any losses incurred as a result of keeping them closed.

“If you guys will cover it, we can wait forever,” he said.

However, he asked if three campground hosts would be able to stay at the campgrounds even if they remain closed for an extended period of time. Snyder said this would not be in violation of the executive order.

“I think you can keep those three, without question,” Snyder said.

Ultimately, the board voted to adjourn Thursday’s meeting and resume their discussion at 6:30 p.m. Friday. Today’s meeting will once again be held virtually.

In other business, the board voted to allow the Delta County Courthouse to re-open to the public on May 18. At its May 5 meeting, the board had approved the re-opening of the courthouse but had not specified a date for this to take place.

Snyder said that while he wanted to avoid stating the courthouse could “safely” re-open to the public, he felt it could re-open while minimizing risks to its employees and clients by implementing the safety measures discussed at the board’s previous meeting.

“I don’t believe that would violate any executive order,” he said.

The prosecutor’s office and courts will not be re-opening to the public until after May 28.

“They have had orders handed down to them by the Supreme Court with additional … policies that they have to put in place before they’re even allowed to move to the next step of opening to the public,” Delta County Administrator Emily DeSalvo said.

Operating hours for the courthouse may be limited when it re-opens to the public. These hours will be determined by DeSalvo.