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Post By: Rick Hooks Boy Scout Camp Cannot Be Developed, Group Says -
Post By: Rick Hooks
BOY SCOUT CAMP CANNOT BE DEVELOPED, GROUP SAYS: Organization's Financial Needs Raise Question Of Property Sale
By Rick Lucchesi of the Alton Telegraph
GODFREY - Camp Warren Levis, a Boy Scout campground for more than 80 years, may have been the subject of recent sales rumors, but a conservation group is reminding the public it will be a forest forever.
"I want to make it clear, (Boy Scouts) can use the land for Boy Scout purposes, but it cannot become a subdivision; it cannot be developed," said Alley Ringhausen, executive director of the Great Rivers Land Trust. "For the Scouts to sell that property, it would be fruitless."
The Great Rivers Land Trust recently finished restoring the lake at the campground. As part of that restoration project, the group and the Boy Scouts agreed the campground property always would remain as a nature preserve - even if the Boy Scouts were to sell the grounds.
Last Monday and Tuesday, the Trails West Council, which represents 7,500 Boy Scouts in six Southwestern Illinois counties, held "town hall"-style meetings in Edwardsville and Bethalto to gauge the Scouting public's reaction to launching a fund-raising campaign.
One option on the table would be selling one of the council's two campgrounds.
The council hopes to raise about $3 million to improve facilities at its two campgrounds - Camp Warren Levis in Godfrey and Camp Sunnen in Potosi, Mo. - and at its Wood River headquarters, as well as to start an endowment to fund future projects.
Council executives have said that while there is enough money to run things smoothly, when something goes wrong - or it becomes time to replace outdated equipment or technology - there is no money left.
"We've been doing things in an as-it-needs-to-happen mode," said Tim Garber, Scout executive for the council. "We need to develop a routine maintenance program."
When talk of selling off one of the camps surfaced, the Great Rivers Land Trust was inundated with telephone calls.
The Great Rivers Land Trust, the Piasa Creek Watershed Project and the Illinois-American Water Co. funded the restoration of the lake, which had become filled with silt over the years. The project began in winter of 2002 and was finished this past year.
The Trails West Council also operates Camp Sunnen in Potosi, which also needs improvements. Selling off that camp has not been ruled out, but it seems the future of Camp Warren Levis is safe.
Boy Scout troops receive money from booster groups such as the Friends of Scouting, as well as from the United Way charity, and by selling popcorn and candy.
But to raise the large amounts of money it needs to get the capital campaign off the ground, council executives expect to hire a consulting firm to test the financial waters.
"We're going to hire a feasibility team to interview people in the community to see what they think of Scouting," Garber said.
The results of the feasibility study most likely will determine where and how the Trails West Council would recieve donations when starting its fund-raising campaign.
The process is expected to take several years, but when it is complete, the campgrounds would have restored bunkhouses, shower and restroom facilities, new dining halls and new computer systems at the Scout headquarters in Wood River.
A "Lakefront Program" also is in Garber's vision for Camp Warren Levis. That program would include new paddle, sail and motor boats, a dock, a beach and swimming area.
"You name it, we hope to have it for kids," he said.
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