2008-2009 Reports and Updates

Girl Scouts Western Pennsylvania’s board of directors met on Saturday, March 20, 2010 for final review of the council marketing, program and property study. All recommendations made by the subcommittee were approved by the board. Details and a transitional plan will be presented to council membership at the April 17, 2010 Annual Meeting.

GSWPA Marketing, Program and Property Study

GSWPA has completed the ten month program and property assessment of its 13 council owned camps and leased outdoor program facilities. These preliminary findings are posted below and will be discussed at the Program and Property Study meetings in order to gather feedback and suggestions.

In addition to the reports, you can also view the Property Response to a Program Study, Task Group Analysis in either Microsoft PPS (PowerPoint Slideshow) or in PDF formats.

Property Communications

December 18, 2009

As mentioned in the property forums, the permit for Camp Birdsall Edey was amended by the Allegheny National Forest. The Allegheny National Forest proposed to reduce the permitting acreage along with our access to buildings. The recreation building (Program Activity Building), Caretaker’s Residence, storage facility and four pit toilets are the buildings that are no longer available in the amended permit proposed by the Allegheny National Forest. The acreage was lowered from 30.3 acres to 5 acres.

The only buildings that would remain are the Hickory House (lodge), dining hall, swimming pool, and shower house. With these recent changes, the forest service continues to maintain that they do not have a budget to repair the damaged foundation in the Hickory House. Due to these circumstances, the council, jointly with our board of directors, decided not to accept the proposed amended permit.

On December 14th, the Allegheny National Forest made the decision to end our permit to use the facilities effective January 1, 2010.

For more information, please email Ken Thornton or call 1-800-248-3355, ext. 1112.

August 2009

Girl Scouts Western Pennsylvania is negotiating a sales option agreement for Camp Roy Weller with developer, Steve Garvin. The property will continue take reservations for the lodges Eagle and Fawn throughout the sales option period. If the agreement is signed, starting November 1, 2009, Girl Scouts Western Pennsylvania will no longer take reservations for the Eberly Family Learning Center. The prospective purchaser will lease this building from November through the duration of the option agreement period.

Camp Birdsall Edey, the camp that we lease through the Allegheny National Forest, was recently inspected by the Allegheny National Forest and the Property Task Group of Girl Scouts Western Pennsylvania. From the inspections, the Allegheny National Forest determined that the Caretakers Residence and the Play House would both be off limits for use due to the condition of the buildings. They also placed the Beaver House and the platform tent units above the Hickory House Lodge off limits for use. The Allegheny National Forest also recommended that the Hickory Lodge be limited in use due to foundation problems. The property staff is working with the Allegheny National Forest to continue camp operations throughout the remainder of the year without the use of the buildings that were determined to be off limits.

The Pine Grove Camp building, reserved through and owned by the Borough of Grove City, continues to be closed and the renovation work is not completed. Mr. Vance E. Oaks, the Borough Manager, has stated that the contract between Girls Scouts and Grove City was terminated upon their decision to renovate. He stated that if the borough does decide to reopen this unit to the public, that all reservations will go through Grove City Borough. Mr. Oaks presented that the borough building will no longer be exclusive to the Girl Scouts.

Property Committee Meeting Notes

April 23, 2009

Initial Business: Each committee member was asked to sign a confidentiality statement if he or she had not done so. Notes from property committee meetings will be posted to the council’s Web site in the Camp section.

General Property Updates:

Due to unsafe conditions, Camp Lend-A-Hand will not take reservations starting April 24, 2009. This camp will remain closed pending the Property Committee Task Groups research and recommendations.
Girl Scouts Western Pennsylvania is under a 90-day agreement with a prospective buyer of Camp Roy Weller to explore options and conduct due diligence activities that impact program delivery. The Board of Directors will determine whether to enter a sales option agreement after the 90 day period. There were no further issues or questions raised about the council property updates.

Marketing Research Task Group:

The marketing task group is in the process of completing surveys. The target time for survey data to be complete is December 2009.
Task group members were given opportunities to provide input and feedback to current surveys. Getting girl input was a priority.
Additional research will include activities that girls are participating in outside of our camp properties.
Population trends and travel time are being explored.

Program Research Task Group:

A current chart of program opportunities for each camp site was reviewed. Corrections were made.
Based on programming, an assessment of equipment is being conducted along with an inventory.
The program research group also is working to develop common wording in definition by GSUSA Manual.

Property Research Task Group:

The property research group reviewed how capacity was determined for each structure on the council properties. These standards were acquired through ACA and Labor and Industry.
Utilization rates (from 2008) were reviewed and discussed.
A property grid spreadsheet and descriptions were presented that included land area, bathrooms, kitchen, winter and summer capacity, actual usage, income, deferred maintenance costs, operation costs, restrictions, unique program features, and amenities.
Maintenance needs and expenses were reviewed.

Property Committee Update

April 18, 2009

With the lease on the Pittsburgh corporate office up for renewal, our first order of business was to determine if remaining at that location was the best option. After a lengthy process, we decided to move our corporate office to 30 Isabella Street on the North Shore – effective June 1. This allowed us to set up satellite offices in the growing areas of Wexford and South Pointe which opened in mid-March. The shop that was in the Pittsburgh location will also be moved to the North Shore location. Knowing that we couldn’t possible open up new shops at every new location, Girl Scouts Western Pennsylvania invested into an online shop that went live on March 12.

There have been non-council owned camps that we have been including on our maps – Camp Birdsall Edey and Pine Grove Lodge. This fall, the borough of Grove City determined that groups will not be renting Pine Grove Lodge until maintenance work is completed. Camp Birdsall Edey will continue to be used for Girl Scouts Western Pennsylvania programs and will be included in the overall property assessment.

Our property committee is also looking at issues such as:

Safety for girls
Neighboring and environmental disturbances that could negatively impact the overall camp experience.

One example of this concern is Camp Resting Waters in McKean County. Prior to the merger, Camp Resting Waters had been under agreement with Rustick LLC. Rustick is the owner of the landfill adjacent to Resting Waters that filed a permit for the expansion of the landfill. Once the expansion permit is approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, the new facility would cover 336 acres. More than half of this acreage would be on adjacent property and the remainder on property currently owned by the council.

We do expect plans for this camp to remain unchanged during this summer camping season since Rustick does not have plans to expand operations this year. The sale of Camp Resting Waters is contingent upon DEP’s approval of the expansion permit. Once the sale occurs, Camp Resting Waters will remain in operation up until such time that the Rustick operations infringe upon the safety and quality of the camping experience.
The council will remain in close communication with Rustick to determine when the landfill operation will negatively impact our camping programs in order to ensure that programs are planned accordingly. Rustick has committed to providing sufficient notice, so the council can announce the final closing of the camp well in advance to our membership.

On behalf of the Board of Directors, an area that required immediate action is Camp Roy Weller in West Virginia. Because of proposed development in the area surrounding the camp, a prospective buyer has asked Girl Scouts Western Pennsylvania to consider the sale of this property. The Board of Directors has signed an agreement giving both sides ninety days to consider the proposals and decide if we want to go further. Our concerns with the proposed development of the area include the change in the camping experience for girls and their safety.

Another safety issue that was brought to the attention of our board involves Camp Lend-a-Hand. Due to the poor condition of the facilities at that location, we will no longer be honoring troop reservations – starting April 24.

Girl Scouts Western Pennsylvania is deeply committed to providing camping opportunities for the girls and leaders in all parts of the council, and is carefully evaluating and considering all of our options.

Even though we are excited about completing the long range plan, some decisions will need to be made before everything is completed. Our goal, however, remains to keep the membership informed of changes and answer questions as we move forward.