ESCANABA, Mich. (WZMQ) – Last week, the Delta Conservation District chair brought new information to the County Board of Commissioners regarding a potential “conflict of interest” involving the district manager. Now, the Board of Commissioners chairman is responding.
In 2017, Delta County purchased 1,400 acres of the Cornell Forest through the Natural Resources Trust Fund. According to Delta Conservation District Chair Joe Kaplan, that deal was made by District Manager Rory Mattson.
“After Mr. Mattson negotiated that on behalf of the county, he bought an adjacent 40 acres that had an easement right through the middle of it,” Kaplan said.
On August 15 of this year, the Delta County Board of Commissioners approved a modification to that easement, limiting public access to the land. Days earlier, County Administrator Ashleigh Young emailed the DNR to ask if modifying the easement would affect the county’s agreement with the trust fund.
The DNR grants manager replied two days after the board approved the modification. He said modifying the easement “would almost certainly represent a breach of the project agreement.” Commissioner Robert Petersen later said he had reached out to the DNR for additional information.
Now, Kaplan says the document pictured below presents another issue.
“The original amendment that was recorded didn’t have a notary,” Kaplan said.
Mattson and Board of Commissioners Chairman David Moyle signed the document, dated nearly a month after the DNR grants manager responded to Young’s question.
“With this in motion, why would Rory Mattson and Chair Moyle go and notarize this and record it without saying anything to anyone?” Kaplan said. “It seems inappropriate while you’re waiting for a response from the state.”
However, Moyle says it is not an issue.
“The board authorized me to sign that document,” he said. “It was signed that night—which is standard operating procedure—and was turned in the next week, so Rory wasn’t trying to hide anything.”
Moyle stands by the board’s decision, saying the purchase of the Cornell Forest property has been beneficial for the county.
“He helped the county get 1,400 acres of prime hardwood property for $40,000,” he said. “That’s an investment for the people of Delta County because we can do managed cuts on that property for the taxpayers, rather than turn to the taxpayers and say, ‘Hey, we’ve got this problem; we need to up your taxes.'”
Moyle also believes Kaplan’s motivations are political.
“You have a lot of people right now who are taking shots at the Commission,” said Moyle. “Kaplan wants to see me and a bunch of the other conservatives off, and so he’s going to take every chance he can to make us look bad. When it’s all said and done, the public is going to find out we have operated with integrity and we have done nothing wrong.”
Kaplan calls Mattson’s actions a “conflict of interest.” The Department of the Attorney General is reviewing the Conservation District’s request to provide legal services in the matter.
“The Cornell Forest is a great community resource, so the best course of action—in my opinion—would be to invalidate the easement amendment and just go back to status quo, recognizing the public’s rights to go through that piece of property,” said Kaplan. “Our intention is to continue to talk about it publicly and bring a conclusion that’s in the best interest of the public.”
WZMQ 19 will continue to follow this story as it develops.
