Delta County pauses OB Fuller Park pavilion project after archaeological and grant concerns

Delta County commissioners voted on Sept. 3 to pause the OB Fuller Park pavilion and picnic-area project after receiving a recommendation from the Parks & Recreation Commission and new materials flagged during public comment.

The board’s action follows public testimony and a Parks & Rec motion urging delay pending further review of an archaeological assessment and confirmation of the project’s consistency with the DNR trust‑fund grant that helped finance park land acquisition. Lehi Vanderwater, who addressed the board during public comment, said an archaeological report identified Native American artifacts in the shoreline and recommended a survey before any earth‑disturbing work.

Why it matters: the project had already been the subject of earlier planning and an approved $75,000 allocation; commissioners and staff debated whether changes to the project footprint could jeopardize future trust‑fund grants or require repaying prior funding. Administrator Ashley Young and others described the Parks & Rec Commission as the appropriate body to complete site planning and public outreach before construction steps occur.

Park manager Steve (recorded in the meeting as 'Steve Worry' / referenced also as Wherry/Weary) told the commission he had completed permit checks and said he would not put equipment into the site while questions remained. “I am not the enemy here,” he said, adding he had tried to follow required processes and could delay construction until spring if the board preferred. The board also heard an email from John Mayes of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), quoted in part by a commissioner: “It is fully within your board’s authority to delay a construction project if you feel it is the right thing to do based on getting your recreation plan in place and the need to get clarification on potential historic artifacts that may be present and should be protected as appropriate.”

Several commissioners emphasized competing priorities: some favored pausing to preserve eligibility and future grant competitiveness, while others stressed the project’s value to campers and the county’s parks revenue. Commissioners and park staff described potential revenue loss from removing campsites; park financial notes presented during discussion showed campsite receipts for particular sites in recent seasons (example figures quoted in the meeting were used to estimate payback periods for lost sites, but commissioners also said precise usage counts should be obtained from the campsite reservation system).

The motion to accept the Parks & Recreation Commission recommendation to pause the Fuller Park project passed by roll call, with two commissioners voting in favor and three opposed. The board directed that the item be returned to the Parks & Recreation Commission for further site planning, public work sessions and confirmation of any archaeological survey needs, and to bring back a formal, plotted site plan and cost/specs for any future RFP process.

What happens next: the Parks & Recreation Commission was asked to complete additional work — including updating the county recreation plan if needed, reviewing trust‑fund guidance with the DNR, and presenting refined recommendations to the county board — before any ground‑disturbing work proceeds.