At the Community Meeting in the summer of 1996, the CSC
(Community Search Committee) was charged to 1) explore long-term
solutions to the DNE camp dilemma by stepping up the search for a
camp site, 2) inform and support the Reps by concentrating skills
and decision making in a smaller group, and 3) come back to the
Reps with recommendations.
Since then, the committee has met three times in 1996 and
three times in 1997 and done a great deal of research both
independently and through brokers. This research has presented us
with a number of options, which we have visited and evaluated.
(During our stay at Camp Mataponi, several other interesting site
prospects in Maine were visited and evaluated by committee
members, Bill McCarthy, and Reps.)
In addition to our search for a long-term camp, the CSC has
attended to the
immediate search for Summer Camp '97 and '98, presenting DNE
with a number of sites to evaluate. Out of this research came
Camp Mataponi. Once Mataponi was found and it became clear that
it would be a solid short-term solution, the CSC decided to wait
for the community's response to Mataponi before proceeding. The
"pulse reading" during both weeks at camp revealed that, for many,
waterfront privacy and motorboat noise, as well as the size of the
kitchen and parking lots, were issues, but most said they would
return to Mataponi a second summer. Since that time, it has been
decided to return to Mataponi for Summer Camp '98, whether they
build a new Rec Hall, in which case our rent would go up to $25K,
or not, in which case we'd pay $22,600.
Our numbers
Of the fifty-three (53) DNEers who are on the CSC mailing
lists, there has been steady input and attendance at meetings from
the following members: Carolyn Fuller, Bill McAvinney, Paul
Freundlich, Margaret Flinter, Bill Bassett, Anne Moss, Neil Cowan,
Steve Robins, David Kahn, and, more recently, Dena Gartenstein,
Lisa Kennedy, and Kevin Benjamin. Neil and Steve have since left
the CSC.
This group has communicated findings and minutes to the
broader committee by means of electronic mail and with the help of
mailings by Susan Arnsten-Russell to those not on e-mail.
The CSC has a budget of $400. The committee would like to
like to roll
over the $232 left of that amount and to ask for $300 for
1997-98.
Ongoing site inspections.
Numerous camp sites have been visited and inspected since the
creation of the CSC. We have found and looked at ten sites to
buy, as well as a number of possible rentals. Most recently the
CSC has identified a site (Camp Chaya) in Connecticut which seems
promising and is the subject of a separate report to the
Reps.
Detailed notes on these visits have been submitted, most often
by Bill McCarthy, and collected as part of our meeting minutes.
Attached please see Information Sheet 1996 and DNE Property Search
Spec Sheet (below). Anyone with information on possible sites is
asked to funnel it through Bill McCarthy and through the CSC Core
Group members, in order to avoid duplication of our efforts.
Spec sheet development
Attached is a broad description of our site needs - the formal
DNE Property Search Specifications Sheet - created at the request
of the committee, updated from our earlier versions. This does
not replace our internal Info Sheet, but is formulated for
presentation and dissemination to Realtors, camp owners, and
others who might assist us in our search.
Concerns:
We are concerned about the structure and decision-making
capability of
DNE vis-a-vis our work. If we were to find the perfect camp
tomorrow,
could the Community act? We recognize that the Elders are
working on
restructuring to enable more efficient decision making, but
until we are
more clear about our negotiating powers and the political and
legal support
for our work, we may well remain in limbo.
There are those among us who feel that renting, especially
some long-term
rental agreement, is a fine solution. Nonetheless, much of
our discussion
has been about buying. There are also those among us that
feel that only
some sort of ownership, with or without partners, will ensure
us a place in
perpetuity. We are pursuing both paths.
Retreat Weekend
The CSC is sponsoring a retreat weekend for March 1998. We
are in the process of developing scenarios and background
information for the event. We are emphasizing diversity of
opinions as well as the importance of arriving well prepared If
we have found a site by then, this winter retreat weekend will
afford us the chance to develop plans for site usage and camp
construction. If not, it should give us some quality time for
decision-making around this important issue and help us mobilize
for the next step in our search. Every major committee will be
represented, as well as architects, environmental and land use
planners, builders.
Ongoing resource project
To define and catalog the resources of the DNE community,
Camilla Parham and Anne Moss created an insert that was printed as
a cut-out postcard at the end of the Fall 1997 Alphonse
Newsletter, mailed in late October. What specific resources do
DNEers have to contribute to our site search and camp construction
(such as money, knowledge of plumbing, septic, electrical,
wood-working) and to support our community as a whole (such a
legal and financial services, medicine, organizational skills)?
Community members were also asked to list what new features they
would like to create/like to see in their "dream design
camp."
