A walk through the cabins at the Clinton campsite will show signatures dating back to the 1960’s. As you well know, this predates the opening season, 1989, of that site. This property was developed into a summer camp long before the Foundation purchased it. In the last 28 years, modest changes and improvements have been made to the facility to meet ever-evolving health codes and basic maintenance needs.
As part of our strategic plan, we needed to assess the viability and sustainability of the Clinton campus to provide programming into the future. LAJF retained an engineering firm with significant experience working with camps in the region to conduct a comprehensive study of the Clinton campus.
The engineering firm returned a draft of the report to us. The Buildings and Grounds Committee and the Board have discussed the draft and it is being released to the CRS community. The final report will be completed in time for the BOD meeting this summer. The engineer’s report concludes with a promising thought:
“CRS’s infrastructure and buildings and grounds provide a viable base to which improvements can be made. Although improvements will be a significant expense, with careful budgeting and planning in the next five years, CRS can be restored, revitalized, and prepared to expand and flourish for many more years to come.”
Alumni can view and discuss the report on the Forum and submit specific feedback via this form. We will have several months to complete this review, and to come to a decision about budgeting for the 2018 season and beyond.
In the meantime, the report highlights what volunteers can do to help. We are calling on our alumni to come to Camp on May 20-21 and help open the facility for the summer. You can register here. As always, we will be raising the tents on the hill and uncovering the pool. We also have special projects and need many hands to paint, help construct an Adirondack shelter, repair banisters and do some minor demolition! In return for your hard work will be delicious food from our new smoker, good conversations and a campfire Saturday night.
We look forward to hearing back from alumni and to seeing many of you at upcoming reunion and volunteer events. There is plenty of work that needs to be done and we appreciate the efforts of all folks who can pitch in with their time, talent and treasure.
Damian Brennan, President & Helene Mattera, Executive Director