Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Parks And Easements topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Delta County delays vote on utility easement at O.B. Fuller Park after wording, river-name concerns
Summary
County commissioners removed a motion to approve a utility easement for Upper Peninsula Power Company at O.B. Fuller Park after members sought corrections to the river name and asked for clarification of the easement's "emergency" carve-out; the item will return to a future meeting.
Delta County commissioners removed from consideration a motion to approve a utility easement that would move overhead power lines to buried lines at O.B. Fuller Park and deferred the matter to a future meeting after members identified drafting problems and asked UPCO to clarify emergency authority.
The commissioners discussed a revised easement that county staff said had been updated to reflect the board's previous direction that the utility work inside the park be coordinated with the county rather than giving the utility unrestricted rights inside park boundaries. County staff said the revised language preserves full utility control outside the park but requires UPPCO to "work with us, the grantor, to remove brush and trees" inside the park and recognizes the importance of vegetation along the riverbank.
Board members flagged three specific issues. First, the draft mistakenly named "Ford River" where it should have named "Bark River." Second, members wanted the easement's exception allowing the utility to act "in the event of an emergency" clarified or struck, because the board worried a vague emergency carve-out could allow removal of significant trees without county consultation. Third, some commissioners said the county had time to secure clearer language without jeopardizing imminent construction schedules.
After discussion, the commissioner who had moved approval withdrew the motion and said the county will ask the utility to either remove or better define the emergency exception and to correct the river name; the easement will be returned to the board for action at a later meeting. No formal vote on the easement was taken.
The conversation indicated the utility work would place buried lines on the west side of the road into O.B. Fuller Park. Commissioners noted the easement is in perpetuity, increasing interest in clear long-term language and an explicit process for coordination when work affects park trees and shorelines.
Next steps: staff will transmit the drafting corrections to UPPCO and return the item to the board once the utility provides a corrected easement or defines the emergency exception as requested.
