ESCANABA — After more than a decade, the Delta Conservation District’s control over Delta County’s parks comes to an end this month.

“As our formal partnership with the county to manage the parks and forest lands is coming to an end, this is a notable transition, of course, for the county and for our community. And there’s no question that the legacy of those parks are forever tied to the actions of the district,” said Conservation District Chair Joe Kaplan during Tuesday’s Delta County Board of Commissioners meeting.

While the conservation district will no longer be located at Pioneer Trail Park, park guests may not see much difference in parks operations. The county has hired Steve Wery, who has managed the parks under the umbrella of the conservation district for more than a decade, to serve as the parks manager.

“I can tell you one thing, if you treat him well, he will, without question, continue to treat your parks well. There’s no one more dedicated and knowledgeable about how those parks run than Steve Wery,” said Kaplan.

Kaplan also noted the retirement of Conservation District Manager and former CEO Rory Mattson, who will be leaving the conservation district at the end of the year.

“Certainly, the face of the parks and the forest really reflect this one-man tour de force, and there’s certainly no argument that his drive and dedication over this past thirty-plus years is why we have a parks system that’s worth fighting for — and often fighting over,” said Kaplan.

The relationship between Kaplan and Mattson has been tumultuous. Even before Kaplan’s election to the conservation district earlier this year, Kaplan was a vocal critic of Mattson’s management practices, particularly with regards to the county forest.

Once elected, Kaplan made a motion to seek the state attorney general’s assistance in looking into Mattson’s actions related to private purchases of land adjacent to the forest and to an easement across land Mattson owned that was modified earlier this year by the county.

The changes to the easement garnered the attention of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Trust Fund. The county has asked for an extension to deadlines set by the DNR to address any issues related to the easement or other potential violations of a $956,200 grant from the DNR used to purchase the property.

Kaplan did not address any of the controversies, but instead asked the commission to invite Mattson to the podium to say a few parting words. Commissioner Bob Petersen did ask Mattson to speak, but Mattson declined.

“I would really decline. I appreciate it, but this could be one of your fastest meetings and I would really like to give that to the public,” said Mattson, referencing the lower-than-average turnout Tuesday, likely caused by a town hall about controversial green energy legislation that was taking place at the same time at Bay College.

Despite not making any comments about his departure, the commissioners thanked Mattson with a standing ovation.

Mattson did appear at the podium later in the meeting to address items discussed at the meeting about the transition from conservation district management of the parks to county management, including what to do about a dump trailer that was partially owned by Mattson.

“It’s a unique situation, we have three owners of a trailer, dump trailer. The conservation district is one, Mr. Mattson is the other, and the county is the third,” said Commission Chair Dave Moyle.

The trailer was purchased in 2016 with each of the three entities paying $2,000, though Moyle said Mattson had put another $2,000 into the trailer in repairs. Both Moyle and Mattson said Mattson had been given the right of first refusal to purchase the trailer if it were ever sold, but the arrangement had been made verbally and there was no record of it. The commission voted to have County Administrator Ashleigh Young look into the legal processes for the county to sell property co-owned with a private party.

Also addressed Tuesday was the finalization of paying 10% of earned revenue from the parks to the conservation district to cover administrative costs and funds to be paid to Mattson for his role in administrating the parks. The commission voted to have Young work with the conservation district to ensure that these funds were properly paid and from the right accounts.

While not mentioned by Mattson, a collection of documents discovered in the Pioneer Trail Park office that was formerly used by the conservation district were also discussed Tuesday. According to both Young and Kaplan, documents were discovered in the building’s basement stretching back as far as the creation of the parks, long before the conservation district took control over the properties.

Young stated during her administrator’s report that the documents had been taken to Kaplan’s home and that she had requested they be returned to the county for proper filing.