Camp Richard (Nantucket Island, Mass) being sold to developers

[RememberSchiff]

Some thoughts, questions:

- the interim agreement gives the impression that the disputing parties are equal owners. They are not. “It is a well established principle in Scouting that land belongs to the local Council regardless of what may be stated on the instrument transferring the property,†is laughable. Council website needs to be corrected.

 

- As a practical matter, only one group (Nantucket) should handle camp reservations.

 

- how much money has Council spent on Camp Richard over the past year. ten years? What improvements has Council initiated?

 

- Council should be admonished for locking down camp (that they neither own nor control) and expelling scouters.

 

- WHAT HAPPENS WHEN COUNCIL MERGES NANTUCKET COUNCIL WITH AN ON-SHORE DISTRICT INCLUDING SOME OF THEIR COUNCIL CRONIES?

 

- did Council restore all scouter memberships?

 

- GET ZONING PROTECTION

 

- This Scout Executive should to be fired

My $0.02,

[packsaddle]

From a local writer...

 

LICKSPITTLE by Robert Barsanti

 

The clustered hypocrisy of the Boy Scout Land and Bake Sale has become well known. The Cape Cod and Islands Council of the Boy Scouts of America decided to drop a sweetheart deal into the hands of a developer. They offered thirty acres of Nantucket land for a price not seen since the Ron Reagan was dropping jelly beans on the White House floor. The deal has the hallmarks of Doctor Evil and his finger sucking. At its grossest level, adults who tried to finagle this deal are neither “mentally awake†nor “morally straight.†At its most petty, the deal smacks of ripe stupidity; who sells thirty acres of Nantucket at a tenth of what it is worth. It reeks of Dunkin’ Donuts Duplicity. Boy Scoutmaster Mike Riley and The Donald Trump of Rockland D.J. Mackinnon sat down over a couple of crullers and came up with a wicked good idea.

 

Even if you sit on the stool next to them and order your own Mochalatta, you can’t figure out how this works. Did they assume that nobody on conservation loving Nantucket would notice when Laurel and Stan tried to drag thirty acres through a loop hole? Did they think that somehow, in August when the island is collecting checks from the nation’s top 1%, this sale would hide under the 50% off sale at Molly Bloomers? Did they forget the sharp finned realtors sniffing for blood at a huge giveaway? Who thought this was a good idea and do they travel through Wal-Mart on a scooter?

 

To blame the stupidity of this situation on those two spittle sprites misses a deeper point. They made slapstick comedy out of a bruised and bleeding tragedy. We can’t let these lackwits walk away with kick me signs and shoelaces tied together. This obscenity has deeper and fouler roots.

 

In America, we build these cretin professionals. You need to be a manager or an earner, with a leather chair with lumbar support in your office and a leather binder from Staples. They measure their data, they craft their mission statements, and the collect input from the Board on neon green post-its. You don’t measure your performance in the eyes of Scouts, or projects, or graduates. You measure it in data. So, Boy Scoutmaster Mike has to justify and explain why he makes $100,000 a year. He can’t say that he tells really good ghost stories or can make bowline knots faster than anyone; he has to put his professional goals on crème paper in raised print. He doesn’t build a ropes course or make chili, he “manages.†So, even with a 2.7 million dollar endowment, he needs to build and “manage†it. The Cape Cod and Islands Council doesn’t need the money to pay off some legal judgment or to buy more lanyards; they need it to fluff Scoutmaster Mike’s resume.

 

Scoutmaster Mike has taken the oath and has administered it, but may never have figured out what the words mean. None of his actions could be termed “trust worthy, brave, or loyal.†Hard to see how selling this land is doing “his duty to God and country.†My knowledge of modern Christianity is a little thin, but Jesus didn’t say that Atlantic Development will inherit the earth, for pennies on the dollar. Nor can Scoutmaster Mike’s disappearance behind the Big and Tall suits of his lawyers qualify as “brave or trustworthyâ€Â. “Lawyer Up†hasn’t become a badge yet.

 

Of the oaths Boy Scoutmaster Mike has besmirched, the muck on “loyalty†is particularly thick and ripe. As members of the Boy Scouts, the Nantucket Boy Scout Leaders spent decades building up Camp Richard...for free. They maintained and built the camp over the years, then brought other Boy Scout Troops out here. Then, when they challenged the Dunkin’ Donuts Deal, the Boy Scouts threw them out of the organization, barred from entering and then sued for “fraud and conspiracy.†So, years of volunteer service to young men and the camp get tossed out as “fraud.†There was no meeting, no conversation, and no campfire of the Council. Instead, there were envelopes and lawyers. Thank you for your service, see you in court.

 

Scoutmaster Mike and the lickspittles that surround him aren’t just in scouting. You can find them skittering along the darkened rooms of musical groups, athletic teams, and 4-H clubs (they love animal husbandry). The create these three hole punched paper mountains to scale with diarrhea and data; they sit in offices filled with binders and lit by PowerPoints that illuminate the “process†and the “feedbackâ€Â, but not the kids. Scouts, musicians, athletes, and those future farmers aren’t the center of all activity, but something minor and petty like a river that flows outside the window.

 

At its best, the Boy Scouts of America instill character. Character doesn’t define itself well in the dictionary, but it can be seen much more clearly on the playing field, classroom, and at the dinner table. For my sons, character means doing the generous and open in spite of the opinions of others. I want my children to speak the truth, to help others, to work hard, and to consider what’s going to happen seven years from now. And I want my boys to walk that walk during the day and at night.

 

So many of the former Boy Scouts I know walk with that same character. They are doctors, lawyers, architects and builders. They are sons, fathers, and husbands. They stand when others will only sit; they speak when others will only mutter; they lead when others will only fade. They show up, line up, and even get punched in the mouth. This is the character the scouts are famous for.

 

And that their leaders so sorely lack.

That is an outstanding letter. Thanks for posting it. I hope it reflects the general attitude around there and if so, maybe the outcome will be a good one.

[GRaysman]

It is hardly an example of Scouting's values to sell this land, which was protected by a specific easement causing it to revert to its original owner if the land was ever not used for Scouting. Unfortunately that easement was not renewed as it should have been, back in 1991. So there's clear evidence that the land was intended for Scout use.

 

Plus, dealing in the land behind the backs of the local Scout leaders is underhanded and dishonorable.

 

And the tax records of the Cape Scouts aren't clear about why they needed to spend $400,000 or more; $300,000 over the amount they pay their Executive Director--who's getting paid?

 

Many people think there's something fishy about the entire deal. The price is way too low. Here's one local essayist's take on it: http://www.nantucketchronicle.com/columns/bob-barsanti/lickspittle-boy-scout-leaders

[Mountain Mike]

It sadden me to see greed of "Professional Scouter" to overide the good for the youth in the program. The camp was clearly given to the local scouts & district, not the council. It has been them that have maintained itsince it's creation. It has been much inprove through local donations & the labor of local leaders & volunteers. I spent many hours working at the camp, greating off island troops to the camp & helping make their visits enjoyable to the best of my abilities. Lindy Lindstrom would be rolling over in his grave if he knew what was going on.

 

Sadly this is not the first time I have seen a Council Executive try to pad his resume. When I was a Lodge Chief for my local OA chapter we agreed to provide labor in a food shack for a Counsel Camporee. It was agreed we would split the profits. The manager invited me & a fw other to join his troop the following week on a deep sea fishing trip. He had figured out expenses & told me what our cut would be. I was standing next to him when a few minutes later the District & Council Exec showed up & he repeated the same figures. Next day I get a call from the Lodge Advisor saying we made an amount over $100 shy of what I was told. He first response was maybe the Exec got the wrong numbers. When I explained I was standing right next to him when he got the figures. He decided to check into it. A short time later he called back & informed me the Lodge had helped purchase a new popcorn machine for the summer camp & that's why our cut was off. I was glad I moved soon there after & didn't have to deal with him. I had a problem working with somebody I don't consider trustworthy. Yet he managed to get promoted a few years later because he built a new Council office.

[RememberSchiff]

This is VERY fishy. Land across the street sold two weeks ago for $30 million, for 70 acres. And someone is trying to steal this land from our boys for $3.5 million for 30 acres. There hasn't been an acre to sell for that price on the island in 20 yrs!

 

The whole thing stinks. This land was donated by the Nantucket Civic League, to the Nantucket troop, 40 yrs ago.l It was given with a deed restriction that said that if it were to ever be used for something other than scouting, ownership reverted by to the Civic League. Well, no one paid attention that such a restriction automatically expires after 30 years.

 

Since the Nantucket group is a troop, and not a council, at some point we joined the Cape Council. All tax and deed records show "Nantucket District, Boy Scouts of America" as the owner, but the Cape Council is assuming that means them. All improvements on the land have been paid for in donations and sweat equity by island volunteers. The troop is run solely by volunteers. But the Cape Council has decided to sell 30 of the acres to a developer. This land is pristine. Dark. No noise. No light. A wonderful place. Putting a development on even a part of the property will be disastrous!

 

Knowing this, our volunteer leaders decided to transfer the deed from "Nantucket District" to a non-profit "Camp Richards Foundation" to block the sale. And, in response, the lawyer-treasurer-board member and the $100,000+/yr salaried executive scout of the council is suing each of the volunteers personally, are seeking to have them removed from the scouts, and have changed the locks on the camp! Reportedly the money is needed to rebuild the endowment that pays the executive scout's salary!

 

We go back to court on Friday for the court to decide who should run the place until a trial can be set.

 

This is not good. We have a petition going and are trying to sway public opinion. You can help us here: http://tinyurl.com/kidsnotgreed as well as share this with as many camp loving scouts as you know!

 

Thanks!

Now 2,139 supporters, but 361 more signers are needed!

 

https://www.change.org/petitions/boy-scouts-of-america-northeast-region-save-nantucket-s-camp-richard

[Scouter99]

Not exactly sure where it is exactly on fairground rd on the island.....But looking at the google earth.....it is in the middle of some really big homes and right on the edge of town.

 

Congrats, BD, you're famous! Someone linked this thread on the "Save Camp Richard" FB page, and it picked up your avatar as the thumbnail.

 

Also, "Save Camp Richard" 429 likes. "Camp Richard" 8 likes. It looks like a really cool camp: http://www.campscope.com/camp-richard/

[Basementdweller]

too funny.

 

 

[Scouter99]

From a local writer...

 

LICKSPITTLE by Robert Barsanti

 

The clustered hypocrisy of the Boy Scout Land and Bake Sale has become well known. The Cape Cod and Islands Council of the Boy Scouts of America decided to drop a sweetheart deal into the hands of a developer. They offered thirty acres of Nantucket land for a price not seen since the Ron Reagan was dropping jelly beans on the White House floor. The deal has the hallmarks of Doctor Evil and his finger sucking. At its grossest level, adults who tried to finagle this deal are neither “mentally awake†nor “morally straight.†At its most petty, the deal smacks of ripe stupidity; who sells thirty acres of Nantucket at a tenth of what it is worth. It reeks of Dunkin’ Donuts Duplicity. Boy Scoutmaster Mike Riley and The Donald Trump of Rockland D.J. Mackinnon sat down over a couple of crullers and came up with a wicked good idea.

 

Even if you sit on the stool next to them and order your own Mochalatta, you can’t figure out how this works. Did they assume that nobody on conservation loving Nantucket would notice when Laurel and Stan tried to drag thirty acres through a loop hole? Did they think that somehow, in August when the island is collecting checks from the nation’s top 1%, this sale would hide under the 50% off sale at Molly Bloomers? Did they forget the sharp finned realtors sniffing for blood at a huge giveaway? Who thought this was a good idea and do they travel through Wal-Mart on a scooter?

 

To blame the stupidity of this situation on those two spittle sprites misses a deeper point. They made slapstick comedy out of a bruised and bleeding tragedy. We can’t let these lackwits walk away with kick me signs and shoelaces tied together. This obscenity has deeper and fouler roots.

 

In America, we build these cretin professionals. You need to be a manager or an earner, with a leather chair with lumbar support in your office and a leather binder from Staples. They measure their data, they craft their mission statements, and the collect input from the Board on neon green post-its. You don’t measure your performance in the eyes of Scouts, or projects, or graduates. You measure it in data. So, Boy Scoutmaster Mike has to justify and explain why he makes $100,000 a year. He can’t say that he tells really good ghost stories or can make bowline knots faster than anyone; he has to put his professional goals on crème paper in raised print. He doesn’t build a ropes course or make chili, he “manages.†So, even with a 2.7 million dollar endowment, he needs to build and “manage†it. The Cape Cod and Islands Council doesn’t need the money to pay off some legal judgment or to buy more lanyards; they need it to fluff Scoutmaster Mike’s resume.

 

Scoutmaster Mike has taken the oath and has administered it, but may never have figured out what the words mean. None of his actions could be termed “trust worthy, brave, or loyal.†Hard to see how selling this land is doing “his duty to God and country.†My knowledge of modern Christianity is a little thin, but Jesus didn’t say that Atlantic Development will inherit the earth, for pennies on the dollar. Nor can Scoutmaster Mike’s disappearance behind the Big and Tall suits of his lawyers qualify as “brave or trustworthyâ€Â. “Lawyer Up†hasn’t become a badge yet.

 

Of the oaths Boy Scoutmaster Mike has besmirched, the muck on “loyalty†is particularly thick and ripe. As members of the Boy Scouts, the Nantucket Boy Scout Leaders spent decades building up Camp Richard...for free. They maintained and built the camp over the years, then brought other Boy Scout Troops out here. Then, when they challenged the Dunkin’ Donuts Deal, the Boy Scouts threw them out of the organization, barred from entering and then sued for “fraud and conspiracy.†So, years of volunteer service to young men and the camp get tossed out as “fraud.†There was no meeting, no conversation, and no campfire of the Council. Instead, there were envelopes and lawyers. Thank you for your service, see you in court.

 

Scoutmaster Mike and the lickspittles that surround him aren’t just in scouting. You can find them skittering along the darkened rooms of musical groups, athletic teams, and 4-H clubs (they love animal husbandry). The create these three hole punched paper mountains to scale with diarrhea and data; they sit in offices filled with binders and lit by PowerPoints that illuminate the “process†and the “feedbackâ€Â, but not the kids. Scouts, musicians, athletes, and those future farmers aren’t the center of all activity, but something minor and petty like a river that flows outside the window.

 

At its best, the Boy Scouts of America instill character. Character doesn’t define itself well in the dictionary, but it can be seen much more clearly on the playing field, classroom, and at the dinner table. For my sons, character means doing the generous and open in spite of the opinions of others. I want my children to speak the truth, to help others, to work hard, and to consider what’s going to happen seven years from now. And I want my boys to walk that walk during the day and at night.

 

So many of the former Boy Scouts I know walk with that same character. They are doctors, lawyers, architects and builders. They are sons, fathers, and husbands. They stand when others will only sit; they speak when others will only mutter; they lead when others will only fade. They show up, line up, and even get punched in the mouth. This is the character the scouts are famous for.

 

And that their leaders so sorely lack.

I am reminded of spell check.

[RememberSchiff]

May 2, 2014 update

 

http://www.ack.net/CivicLeagueCampRichardSuit050214.html

 

The Nantucket Civic League is now a party to a lawsuit between the Nantucket Committee of the Boy Scouts and the Cape and Islands Council of the Boy Scouts. "The lawsuit regards ownership and use of 100 acres of open land near Rugged Road on Nantucket.

 

The Civic League was allowed to intervene in the suit so that it could assert its claim that the property should be returned to it, if the property ceases to be used by the Boy Scouts as a campground. Founded in 1903, the Civic League is an islandwide, nonprofit community organization representing more than 20 neighborhood associations. It donated the land in question to the local Boy Scouts, beginning with a grant of 30 acres in 1954, and the rest in the early 1970s, but it retained a right to have the land revert to the Civic League if it ceased to be used for Boy Scout purposes."

[jpstodwftexas]

We found out the same thing about our remaining Camp when Council thought about selling it off...It goes Back to the Family Heirs. So we can not sale it. I bet the other Family who donated the Land for our Largest camp we ever had (1200 Acres) had made the Same Clause. We sold it for 1.1 Million. Now it is a Fancy Housing Developement

[jpstodwftexas]

I see double posting is back

[SSScout]

Shades of Owasippe ... http://www.scouter.com/search?q=Owasippe&searchJSON=%7B%22keywords%22%3A%22Owasippe%22%7D

[ghinson]

NANTUCKET CIVIC LEAGUE SERVES

MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT IN CAMP RICHARD LEGAL BATTLE

NANTUCKETâ€â€In the latest development involving the legal battle for ownership of Boy Scout Camp Richard on Nantucket, the Nantucket Civic League has served a motion for summary judgment, asking the Court to rule in its favor without the need for a trial.

Lead control and ownership of Camp Richard is being contested by the Hyannis-based Cape and Islands Boy Scout Council, which wants to sell a substantial portion of the 100-acre Camp Richard to a Boston real estate firm, Atlantic Development. Earlier this year in April, Barnstable Superior Court Judge Gary Nickerson upheld the Civic League’s right to become a party to the lawsuit between the Nantucket Boy Scouts and the Cape and Islands Council.

The 111-year-old nonprofit Nantucket Civic League is basing its motion for summary judgment on terms of deeds by which the Civic League donated 100 acres to the Nantucket Boy Scouts, so long as the Civic League would retain a right to have the land revert to Civic League ownership if the property ever ceased to be used for Boy Scout purposes.

“We believe the facts and the law are so clear and definitive that no trial is necessary to uphold the Civic League's reversionary rights,†said Mary Wawro, secretary of the Civic League.

Members of the Nantucket Boy Scout Committee, who have owned and operated the site for over 40 years, have joined in the Civic League’s motion for summary judgment. The Boy Scout Committee’s and Civic League’s legal defense is being supported by the nonprofit Nantucket Land Council and numerous individual Land Council members who have expressed their displeasure about the Cape and Islands Boy Scout Council’s actions.

Robert Graves, a retired colonel in the United States Army and the chair of the Nantucket Boy Scout Committee, said, "The sale and development of a significant portion of Camp Richard would irrevocably change the nature of the Camp and destroy its function as a place where Scouts from all over the country come to experience a unique rural campground."

Camp Richard has been declared environmentally sensitive by the Land Council since the land as presently used is essentially protected open space, nestled between the State Forest and land held in conservation by the Nantucket Conservation Foundation. According to Land Council Executive Director Cormac Collier, it constitutes an important wildlife corridor and contiguous open space, together with adjoining open and protected land.

"The past and current use by the Nantucket Boy Scouts is in harmony with the interests and values to which the Land Council has been dedicated since our organization was founded 40 years ago,†said Collier. “There is no better use of our time and resources than helping the Civic League and the Boy Scouts in this important legal fight.â€Â

“It just shows once again how Nantucket’s people and organizations come together to support each other and their community as a whole,†he added. “It is a part of what makes Nantucket such special place.â€Â

 

[RememberSchiff]

Cape Cod and Islands Boy Scout Council.

 

Hope Nantucket wins big time!

[packsaddle]

Thanks for keeping us up-to-date on this.