Hi Folks,
Welcome to the DNE Wisdom Weekend. We have prepared the enclosed materials to help make this weekend a smoother and more productive event. To give us a common starting point the CSC decided to make reading this packet a requirement for participation in this meeting. Enclosed as part of this packet are: Meeting Description; Guidelines for the Meeting; A Brief History of Site Searching; 3 possible scenarios; and a Business Plan. Also enclosed for your convenience (but you don't have to read them) are directions and a list to date of people registered for this weekend (many have not yet registered).
We all know what we really want to see in a site for DNE, but what do we really need? For us to proceed and find a common ground we need to be thinking about what do I need to make DNE work for me, not what’s the lowest common denominator, but what do I need in a site for it to work as a community for me. When we encounter a plan that doesn’t work for us, being creative and thinking what would make it work will really help us along.
We are looking at the issue of finding a home for DNE. We understand that for some people other DNE issues such as how DNE is governed or the fairness of our funding structure is critical to how they feel about DNE finding a home, but these other issues are beyond the mandate of the CSC and need to be resolved elsewhere in DNE not here.
The following guidelines for the meeting were written by Alisa Starkweather and reviewed by the agenda committee. These will be followed during the meeting. So, if you have a significant objection to any of these please call Alisa by Wednesday so that we can begin the meeting with agreed upon groundrules.
A Brief History of Camp Search
by Lisa Kennedy
Why are we meeting to discuss our options for DNE camp location?
Let's review our sad story:
1984--Last year at Another Place Farm (no lake, no cabins) because we were too numerous and Waiting List members don't get to come. We find Farm and Wilderness Camps.
1986--kicked out of F & W because our drumming night and day drove them bananas. The idea of a permanent DNE home starts to percolate through some members' skulls.
1987--Camp Lenox didn't have a week free for us the following summer. Gee, it would be nice to be able to predict where we were from one year to the next.
1988 --found Omni Camp (Yay) home for a couple of years except that we were shipped to Maine Teen Camp one year because of scheduling problems (Groan)
1992 Omni Camp Can't hold all who register for 9 days so we have 16 day camp! Paul Freundich et al. jump up and down, "We must have a homeplace" A new Homeplace Committee starts brainstorming.
1994--The Homeplace Proposal is consensed upon in community meeting. Succinctly stated: DNE want to work on creating a more permanent home.
1996 Omni tells us we can't have camp there, but ends up letting us do it after all. Community Search Committee is started with the mandate to look for rentals and/or appropriate land to purchase, and to bring recommendations back to the reps for final decisions.
1996-1997 CSC sees multiple expensive, unprivate, too small camps for sale and for rent and finally nabs Mataponi in the nick of time.
1997 at Mataponi people ask "Is this the best we can do?" CSC continues searching and finds Camp Delaware.
Feb. 1998-- CSC recommends DNE attempt to purchase Camp Delaware, the Reps say "no" because they are worried about numerous factors including:
Lack of community readiness, input, or consensus on purchasing land
Lack of pledges of funds and volunteer labor
Lack of waterfront privacy and possibility of noise transfer to neighbors
Uncertainty if we could easily rent this property to others
Then another party makes a much higher offer is made for Camp Delaware, so further discussion is put off.
3/98 Other offer on Camp Delaware is dropped, but the CSC want to meet with more DNE members and address some to the above "numerous factors" before moving forward.
To help focus our discussion and make it more tangible the CSC chose to have a few hypothetical, but realistic scenarios be part of the discussion at this meeting. The following three scenarios provide a range of realism and method for achieving a more permanent home for DNE. Paul Freundlich provided the one for long term rental, Kevin O’Connor the one for buying undeveloped land and Bill McAvinney one on buying an existing camp. Another scenario which needs no written description is continued short term rental at Mataponi. On the one hand these scenarios are competing ways of achieving an end, but they are more useful to us as a tool for getting at the more fundamental issue of what do we really need in a site. There will be time at this weekend for people to work on developing their favorite scenario. (These are not meant to be a complete list of possible scenarios. There are others such as short term rental of two or more sites, and there are which might be seen as variations on these such as buying in partnership. If a scenario not mentioned here is popular at the weekend it will also be given the opportunity to be developed.)
A Camp which Margaret and I visited a year and a half ago has great facilities, privacy and is centrally located (Western Connecticut). Initially, they couldn't fit us in, so we followed one of the leads which the owner provided and found Mataponi. Due to changes in scheduling, however, and liking us and what we told him about DNE, the owner now has rethought his schedule, and wants to offer us use of the Camp for the two weeks preceding Labor Day on a long-term basis. The climate is relatively warm, so the time isn't a big problem, and the facility can accommodate substantially more than our present numbers (at least 500, with tenting). The lake is completely private, and the cost will not be any more than we are presently paying. Nudity will be fine, noise is no problem without near neighbors. There are plenty of good dance spaces, excellent trails for hiking and camping. There is a huge, institutional kitchen, lodge and workshop space. The owner is also willing to talk to us about use of the facilities during the fall and spring for other DNE events.
One of the possibilities to consider as a future permanent home for D.N.E. is the purchasing of undeveloped land and building from scratch.
This is a long range option to be sure but, considering how long a search for an already developed locale could take plus the time to develop it to our needs, the time could even out
A possible sequence of construction could be as follows:
A. BUILD A KITCHEN:It would be the most expensive building we would construct considering the equipment.B. BUILD SHOWER AND BATH FACILITIES
C. CONSTRUCT PLATFORMS: Pressure treated wood platforms could be constructed on concrete pillars with grommets to support tents for temporary buildings.
This is one possible scenario for the start of a camp. The design and addition of other buildings could be determined in time.
We find an existing camp for sale in NY state about a 2 1/2 hr drive west of Northampton, MA. The land itself is just over 100 acres including a small 5 acre pond. The camp used to have 400 campers, but it hasn't been used in 3 years and is reported to be rundown. The asking price is $300,000, but it has been on the market for 3 years.
A group of 3 DNE'ers go to look at the site. Two of them are quite enthusiastic. The other one feels like it isn't worth pursuing, partly because it has been used so much that it doesn't feel very natural, and partially because they feel like it's too much work to bring it into a usable condition. The people who are enthusiastic come back to the CSC and the CSC decides it is worth pursuing the site in more detail and fundraising to make it possible.
The camp is on a moderately travelled rural road. It is relatively isolated, but there are 5 houses within 1/4 mile. The septic system is relatively new and meets current codes. Other basic systems like water and electric supply are generally usable. There is a kitchen/dining hall which is suitable for our needs. It is a one story building with windows all along the southern side, but it lacks the character of the dining room at Omni or Mataponi, more like the one at Camp Lenox. In front of this building is a nice large lawn that stretches out to the road with no screening in between. There is also a lodge building, large enough to accommodate our nightly dances, and two spaces suitable for smaller dance classes (size similar to Senior Lodge at Mataponi). Several buildings that would be suitable for our children’s program, an infirmary, and an office also exist. The bunkhouses are almost universally beyond repair. The pond is quite private. On one side there is a beach in front of the childcare buildings. The other side is a marshy area with several playing fields beyond.
We approach the town and they seem positive about our plans to use the site as an events camp. Our contractors/architects examine the site and estimate that it will cost us $450,000 to bring the site into usable shape for us and to be able to rent to groups of about 150-200. Of this $450,000 they estimate up to $150,000 could be replaced by 15,000 hrs of community labor (about 12 people each week for 16 weeks for two years = total of 375 person-weeks). They also estimate the replacement cost of all the buildings we intend to keep at $1,750,000.
The CSC organizes a phone calling outreach to inform the community and raise funds. This effort reaches about two thirds of the community and raises $125,000. Because the individuals making calls have chosen who they want to call the CSC believes that most of the currently available funds have been raised. The Reps make available another $75,000 from DNE's accumulated funds. After considerable examination of all the details the CSC and Reps meet in a joint meeting to decide what to do. You are there and a proposal to make a maximum offer of $250,000 on the property has been made. What are your thoughts?
The original plan was written by Margaret Flinter, and Paul and Tim Freundlich, but that one is very long. Dena Gartenstein wrote this summary. Also included are two spreadsheets from the original. The plan was designed around Camp Delaware (the phase I & II refer to a Delaware building plan), but gives a good idea of what’s needed to support a site costing a total of about $550,000 and able to be rented out.
Purchase price:$337,000
(1998)
capital improvements: $200,000 (1999)
these were the numbers put forth in the business plan, after evaluating them for several hours, we figured that they would be closer to:
purchase price:$250,000
capital improvements: $300,000 (1999)
The $300,000 ($244,000+25% contingency) took into account getting the place ready for us to use as a camp and possibly to rent out. This was called phase I. The overall plan also called for a phase II amounting to $358,000 over the next several years. It would be up to us to decide what we wanted to do when, but our rental income could be more or less, depending on how much of that we have done. In addition, phase I included tearing down many of the buildings. In a quick estimation we figured that after phase I we'd have bed space for probably about 100 people.
We would fund this endeavor by initially raising $250,000 in donations from the community, borrowing $121,500 from the community and then another $175,000 from the bank.
We would operate at a loss
of: (not including our repayment of debt of $21,875 per year)
1999: $4770 (This figure should actually have been $22,770. The
original plan called for no rentals in this year. When it was
modified the expenses associated with rental weren’t
included.)
2000: $23,020
2001: $22,770
2002: $13,820
2003: $3430
in 2004 we would begin to
see a profit:
2004: $1188
2005: $15,380
2006: $32,060
the increase has to do with renting it out for more and more days every year (from 30 in 2000 to 90 in 2006)
Yearly operating
expenses:$65,000
repayment on debt: $21,875 per year
Camp rental to other groups:($1500 per day), number of days
increasing over the years
Camp rental to DNE: $25,000 per year
these numbers also included a DNE homeplace surcharge of $15,000 for
three years and then $7,500 for three years
The business plan did not include phase II improvements.
Saturday Potluck Reminder!!!
*Please bring an item that fits the catagory fitting the first letter of your
last name:
A-D salad or bread L-R Desert
E-K main dish S-Z Beverage or Paper napkins cups
*Bring your own plate, cup, bowl, and utensils
*Questions about the Potluck? Contact Laurie Rothfeld
(781) 393-4204 email: TheFeld@aol.com
Dance Spree is is located
over Fitzwilly's in downtown Northampton on 23 Main Street, near
Interstate 91 (exit 18), at the intersection of Routes 5 & 9.
The Florence Community Center is located at 140 Pine St. in Florence,
MA. 01060 (413) 585-9395.
Directions: From the south on 91, bear left on Rt 5 heading northwest for 1.5 miles, turn left in Northampton center on Rt. 9, west for 3.5 miles to Florence Center, turn left at 2nd lights on Maple St., then 2nd right on> Pine St. The Center is on your left in an old brick school building.