Upper Saranac Lake Girl Scout camp is closed for repairs this summer
By MARISSA PICCIRILLI, Enterprise InternArticle Photos
SARANAC LAKE - Eagle Island Camp, a Girl Scout summer camp on an island in Upper Saranac Lake, is closed for the summer due to questionable safety conditions.
Eagle Island Camp showed signs of disarray in early June when the Girl Scouts Heart of New Jersey Council announced they would not be holding the annual Women's Weekend. Since then the camp has had to search for a new property manager for the island as well as a new camp director.
The 32-acre estate the Eagle Island Camp occupies was built in 1903 for Levi P. Morton, former vice president of the United States. The complex encompasses 11 buildings, designed by renowned Adirondack architect William Lincoln Coulter. In 1938 it became a Girl Scout camp and is owned and run by the Heart of New Jersey Council. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986, and in 2004 the property was named a National Historic Landmark.
Eagle Island Camp had been searching for a new property manager after its former manager of 30 years retired. Jon Gargos, a recent graduate of Paul Smith's College, was hired in the spring.
A letter posted on the Friends of Camp Eagle Island Web site, created by the Girl Scouts' Heart of New Jersey Alumnae Council, stated, "The reason for suspending the summer season is so that we can strengthen its physical condition and its programming."
Two other Girl Scout camps in the Adirondack area faced similar situations recently. Lake Clear Camp was closed last year for disrepair and Glens Falls Camp is closed this year. Both are owned by Girl Scouts of Northeastern New York. The letter written by the Heart of New Jersey Alumnae Council pointed out, "The Eagle Island Camp closing is not an isolated case. We think this is a hopeful sign." Lake Clear Camp is reopened this summer for Girl Scouts.
A second letter, which the Girl Scouts Heart of New Jersey Council Board of Directors released on June 9, discussed a large number of safety and infrastructure concerns that needed to be taken care of before the site can open as a camp again.
"Given the shortness of the available season in which to do repairs, we are choosing to address those concerns during this summer," the letter states.
The letter also went on to say, "Our goal is to inspect all physical systems on the island, identify needed repairs or replacements, and create a maintenance schedule and budget for the identified needs."
Numerous calls made to the Girl Scouts Heart of New Jersey Council were not returned.
