Bankruptcy Losses

[Eagle94-A1]

When i ran CS day camp, irregardless of who owned the property,  NCAP applied.

[RememberSchiff]

Update: Community Stewardship of Stonehaven (NY)

On 4/3/2022 at 4:40 PM, RememberSchiff said:

Lewiston Supervisor Steve Broderick said the Town Board voted Monday to sign a sale contract to buy Camp Stonehaven for $665,000.

Broderick said Lewiston plans to turn Camp Stonehaven into a nature preserve.

"We may even coordinate with the Western New York Land Conservancy for some protection of some of that land," Broderick said. "It would be open to the public. There's one pavilion out there that we might keep. We're probably looking into getting rid of some of the cabins out there, because we don't want that liability."

"Over the next several months, we will be announcing exciting facility and program enhancements to improve and expand Scouthaven’s role as the pre-eminent home for scouting locally," the Greater Niagara Frontier Council said.

https://buffalonews.com/news/local/local-boy-scout-council-sells-camps-to-fund-share-of-sex-abuse-settlement/article_c2001d10-b12f-11ec-b714-6f955daff0d5.html

Some thoughtful considerations in this editorial, including

Allow the Great Niagara Frontier Council Boy Scouts who have a tradition of hosting their Order of the Arrow events at Stonehaven, to continue to do so.

Put alarms on the two main, modernized buildings. Make them available as environmental education space.

Preserving Stonehaven as a natural public space is a huge step in the right direction. It is important to move forward with a plan that looks not just at immediate concerns but at a vision that includes what things will look like 100 years from now.

More at source:

https://www.niagara-gazette.com/editorial-scout-camp-needs-careful-plan/article_5f7d3318-1ceb-5ed3-884b-dde621e0c3e1.html

 

[RememberSchiff]

Deer Lake (CT) Update 4/30/2022

Connecticut Yankee Council rejected Pathfinder's second offer on Friday (National Arbor Day?) which was supposedly a "superior offer" to the accepted  $4.6 million bid made by private developer Margaret Streicker, who is a member of the Council Executive Board.

Apparently Pathfinders' Friday offer was not "superior" enough.

Council was asking for $5 million for the parcel, which included a $400,000 kill fee; they had agreed earlier to sell to a developer for $4.6 million. The fee is to break that contract.

Saturday, Pathfinders then made a third offer, less than a day before the May 1, deadline.

“The Pathfinders made a solid offer, it’s in the hands of the Yankee Council to accept that in keeping with the spirit of conservationism and move forward,” Killingworth First Selectman Nancy Gorski said.

“I am hoping that the Yankee Council stops putting hurdles in the way of Pathfinders acquiring this property,” Gorski said. “I hope they will accept the offer.”

“They adjusted their offer to meet the demands of Yankee Council and I am at my wit’s end with Yankee Council right now,” Gorski said.

“The Yankee Council is putting up stipulations around how the offer will be put together, so I am hoping they accept it,” she said.

Gorski said she does not know the final number Pathfinders offered.

...

More details at source

https://www.ctinsider.com/shoreline/article/Pathfinders-makes-offer-on-Deer-Lake-Scout-17139157.php

Edited May 1, 2022 by RememberSchiff
clarity

[InquisitiveScouter]

39 minutes ago, RememberSchiff said:

Connecticut Yankee Council rejected Pathfinder's second offer on Friday (National Arbor Day?) which was supposedly a "superior offer" to the accepted  $4.6 million bid made by private developer Margaret Streicker, who is a member of the Council Executive Board.

Something is rotten in the state of Denmark. Connecticut

Edited May 1, 2022 by InquisitiveScouter

[RememberSchiff]

29 minutes ago, InquisitiveScouter said:

Something is rotten in the state of Denmark. Connecticut

I wonder how many real estate developers joined LC Executive Boards after Feb 20, 2020. 

[yknot]

27 minutes ago, RememberSchiff said:

I wonder how many real estate developers joined LC Executive Boards after Feb 20, 2020. 

The town ought to start talking about how they want to rezone the area for lower density. Our town underwent a down zoning to manage some speculative interests and it worked. 

[Sentinel947]

29 minutes ago, yknot said:

The town ought to start talking about how they want to rezone the area for lower density. Our town underwent a down zoning to manage some speculative interests and it worked. 

All's fair in love and war. 

[RememberSchiff]

11 hours ago, InquisitiveScouter said:

Something is rotten in the state of Denmark. Connecticut

Update Deer Lake 05/01/2022:

The other known bid on the property comes from Fortitude Capital LLC from New York City.

Fortitude is reportedly interested in making a housing development on the property.

The CEO of Fortitude is Margaret Streicker, who also sits on the Board of the Connecticut Yankee Boy Scout Council, the group that will ultimately choose the winning bid on the land.

https://www.wfsb.com/2022/05/01/nonprofit-fights-save-deer-lake-camp/

From my search, Margaret Streicker joined the Connecticut Yankee Council Executive Board after 2019 as her name is not listed for the 2019 members. Ms. Streicker founded Fortitude Capital in Jan, 2020.

Also, I found no mention of her involvement with Connecticut Yankee Council or Boy Scouts during her unsuccessful bid for Connecticut's 3rd U.S. Congressional seat in 2020.

https://www.ctyankee.org/council/council-staff-and-leadership/board-of-directors/2019-council-board/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/margaret-streicker-porres-975a8513a

 

Edited May 1, 2022 by RememberSchiff
spelling Streicker not Streiker.

[slocumscout]

Narragansett Council updated their information page on the sale of Camp Cachalot, which has been sold to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and will cease operating as a Scout camp on May 31, 2022:

http://www.narragansettbsa.org/about-us/scouting-news/camp-sale/74646

Quote

May 5, 2022
 
Dear Friends of the Narragansett Council,
 
We are writing to update you about developments in the bankruptcy case filed by the national organization of the Boy Scouts of America, and how they will affect Scouting in the Narragansett Council. To emerge from bankruptcy, the BSA has proposed a reorganization plan designed to accomplish two key imperatives: equitably compensate survivors of past abuse in Scouting and ensure that Scouting continues in our communities and across the country for generations to come. The BSA plan is currently pending approval from the US Bankruptcy Court.
 
To accomplish these goals, every local council, including Narragansett Council, will contribute to a survivor’s compensation Trust to resolve legal claims of past abuse in Scouting. The Narragansett Council has agreed to contribute $6.45 million to the Trust.
 
The only way Narragansett Council can meet its obligation is to sell real estate. To help fund our Council’s contribution to the survivor’s compensation Trust and ensure that we are best positioned to continue serving youth, families, and communities in Southeastern New England, the Narragansett Council Executive Board has decided to sell Camp Cachalot to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and sell Camp Norse to separate non-profit and lease it back.
 
Although ownership of Camp Norse will change, our Council will enter a long-term lease of Camp Norse from its new owner, so Camp Norse will continue without interruption to deliver the same life-changing experiences to youth in our area well into the future. This type of arrangement is customary for our Council—we already lease several camps including Camps Yawgoog, Champlin, Sandsland, Aquapaug, Buck Hill and Cub World from this same organization.
 
We have reached agreement to sell Camp Cachalot to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Camp Cachalot is subject to a conservation restriction with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. This sale ensures that Camp Cachalot will be preserved as open space, be accessible to the public (including Scouts) and be available for recreational purposes as determined by the Commonwealth.
 
The Narragansett Council will end its use of Camp Cachalot as a Scout camp on May 31, 2022. We have begun the decommissioning of the camp by removing equipment and debris. The Cachalot Alumni Association will host its annual Memorial Day Weekend event for families.
 
The proceeds from the sales of real estate, along with other unrestricted assets available to us, will comprise our Council’s contribution to the survivor’s compensation Trust as part of the national organization’s bankruptcy process.
 
To be clear, the Narragansett Council has not filed for bankruptcy—we remain as dedicated as ever to delivering the nation’s foremost program for character development, values-based leadership training and life skills training to the thousands of young people we serve every year in Southeastern New England.
 
We are looking forward to summer programming, an excellent membership recruitment campaign, family camp weekends, Cub Scout Day Camp, Adventure Days, Merit Badge Mania, Scouting For Food, the Council Jamboree in October, camporees and much more.
 
Additionally, we know this may raise questions about what other funds may be contributed to the survivor’s Trust. We want to be clear that restricted donations can only be used for their designated purposes and are legally protected so that they are used as the donor specified. Local donations through Friends of Scouting (FOS), the Growing Leaders Campaign, fundraising events (golf, sporting clays, Distinguished Citizens Awards Lunch) and sponsorships go straight to supporting Scouting in our communities today; these donations are used in real time, are critical to maintaining local operations and are not part of our contribution to the trust. Camp alumni association funds are unaffected and also will not be used towards the settlement.
 
For more than a century, Scouting has thrived despite the many challenges we’ve faced throughout, particularly over the past two years. While the sale of Camp Cachalot is difficult, it does not change the exciting activities and adventures that packs, troops, crews and ships deliver to the youth in our communities every day. There is much to look forward to in the weeks, months and years ahead.
 
As always, we are grateful for your continued support of Scouting. Please do not hesitate to reach out with questions—you may email us at info@narragansettbsa.org. Thank you for your continued support of local Scouting.
 
Yours in Scouting,
 
Dennis Leahy
Council President

Paul Schofield
Council Commissioner

Tim McCandless
Scout Executive & CEO

 

[RememberSchiff]

Silicon Valley Monterey Bay Council (CA):  Camp Pico Blanco in Big Sur

Council is asking $1.8 million and a set of conditions for the sale of Camp Pico Blanco, and $1.6 million for an adjacent 350 acres of undeveloped wilderness area.

Eric Tarbox, deputy scout executive, says a volunteer group will grade each bid against the same criteria, which includes: plans for the land; whether the new owner will allow future access to scout programming (the Esselen Tribe has included this in its proposal); and how much money the bidder is willing to spend for the land. Tarbox says the vision for the land and accessibility to future scout programming will weigh heaviest for the council’s executive board in selecting the winning bid.

Peter Baird, managing partner at real estate firm Mahoney & Associates, which is handling the listing and a member of council’s executive board, says that $1.6 million adjacent property does not need an in-depth proposal because the scouts need to dispatch it and collect the money as quickly as possible. Local scouts will see none of the money – every penny will be funneled to the national council and placed into the new sexual abuse settlement fund, last valued at $2.7 billion, $515 million of which will come in cash and property from local councils.

Baird says the property value will cover some of the local council’s required contribution to help settle the more than 82,000 claims of sexual abuse against the Boy Scouts of America. If the local council cannot sell the wilderness parcels in time, they can transfer the real estate assets to the national council.

More at source:

https://www.montereycountyweekly.com/news/local_news/the-boy-scouts-put-their-slice-of-big-sur-on-the-market-and-the-esselen/article_e864e588-d15c-11ec-ab58-1ffe5d6bf3e2.html

[SiouxRanger]

Re Ingersoll Scout Reservation, SW 100+- acres sold, along with the Easterly 187 acres a few minutes ago, leaving about 650 acres.  WD Boyce Council.

[vol_scouter]

It is fascinating to me that these councils are selling camps prior to Judge Silverstein issuing her judgment in the BSA Chapter 11.  Our council will sell a camp to an identified purchaser only if the proposed settlement is actually confirmed but not before.  Perhaps the councils feel certain of the Judge's ruling or feel that they are better off with the liquidity no matter the outcome.  Just find it fascinating that they are selling now.

[yknot]

2 hours ago, vol_scouter said:

It is fascinating to me that these councils are selling camps prior to Judge Silverstein issuing her judgment in the BSA Chapter 11.  Our council will sell a camp to an identified purchaser only if the proposed settlement is actually confirmed but not before.  Perhaps the councils feel certain of the Judge's ruling or feel that they are better off with the liquidity no matter the outcome.  Just find it fascinating that they are selling now.

Membership numbers as of March were down substantially according to the bankruptcy plan. I would guess some councils are using the bankruptcy to downsize. I just wish there was  some kind of long term planning being done on the part of some of these councils  to preserve the properties as parks/open space with continued public/scout access. It's painful to see these properties eyed for development like the one in Connecticut. 

[fred8033]

1 hour ago, yknot said:

Membership numbers as of March were down substantially according to the bankruptcy plan. I would guess some councils are using the bankruptcy to downsize. I just wish there was  some kind of long term planning being done on the part of some of these councils  to preserve the properties as parks/open space with continued public/scout access. It's painful to see these properties eyed for development like the one in Connecticut. 

Years ago I talked with our registrar when our council was looking to sell a piece of property.  I was sad.  Her comment is that if you look at the council over time, property has been bought or donated and sold.  Camps change hands.  ...  Then she started identifying the past camps our council had.  I never knew that our council had so many different camps over the last 90 years.  

[InquisitiveScouter]

27 minutes ago, fred8033 said:

Years ago I talked with our registrar when our council was looking to sell a piece of property.  I was sad.  Her comment is that if you look at the council over time, property has been bought or donated and sold.  Camps change hands.  ...  Then she started identifying the past camps our council had.  I never knew that our council had so many different camps over the last 90 years.  

"Don't let it become a salaried organization: keep it a voluntary movement of patriotic service."  BP