SARANAC LAKE — The Harrietstown town board has called off the Saranac Lake Youth Activities Program, an annual summer day camp for local children, deeming it too risky amid the lingering the coronavirus pandemic.

From early July to mid-August each summer, the six-week day camp lets parents go to work knowing their children are being cared for. It is based at Petrova Elementary School, where the children are fed breakfast and lunch and take part in various activities, and it also includes swimming lessons from village lifeguards at the Lake Colby beach. Between 120 and 180 children take part each day, according to Harrietstown Supervisor Mike Kilroy.

COVID-19 cases are declining, locally and statewide, and the North Country has begun a gradual process of lifting restrictions on businesses and gatherings. But health officials at the local, state and federal levels warn that until a vaccine is developed, loosening social-distance restrictions too quickly could trigger more waves of infection.

At its meeting Thursday night via Zoom, Harrietstown board members voted unanimously not to hold the program this summer. A letter from the town board says the decision was made “with much regret.”

“After extensive discussions and review of the regulations from the (Franklin) County Public Health Department and the CDC (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) it was determined that it would not be feasible, logistically or financially, to execute a program that will abide by all the requirements.”

“We understand the additional hardship this will create for many families so we wanted to give you as much notice as possible to all those what will be impacted. It is our sincere hope that we will be able to resume operations for summer 2021.”

Fear of lawsuits was another reason for the decision, Kilroy said.

“The way people sue people these days,” he said, holding a summer program in which kids could potentially spread the coronavirus might open up all of the involved local governments to a lawsuit.

Seven local government bodies sponsor the summer program: Kilroy said Harrietstown commits $13,000 to $15,000 each year plus administration, the town of North Elba pays $5,500, the village of Saranac Lake commits $2,500 plus lifeguards, the towns of Brighton and St. Armand pay $1,000 each, and the Saranac Lake Central School District lets the program use its buildings and grounds, and contributes all the meals, made by its staff.

Since Harrietstown contributes the most money and runs the program, its decision will determine the day camp’s fate. Kilroy said he heard no objection from any of the local government officials he told of the decision: North Elba Councilor Derek Doty, Brighton Supervisor Peter Shrope, St. Armand Supervisor Davina Winemuller, Saranac Lake village Manager John Sweeney and school district Superintendent Diane Fox, who was in on the Zoom meeting.

“They all thought it was the right thing to do,” Kilroy said. “We don’t know how many parents would have sent kids anyway.”

The program normally costs families $300 per child for the whole six-week program, but the program helps cover those who can’t afford to pay, Kilroy said. Those fees don’t meet the program’s overall budget of about $55,000 — the town hires about 15 counselors each summer, which accounts for most of that — so municipal support and personal donations are needed as well.

The program began two decades ago as a collaboration between the Saranac Lake village and school district — free of charge to families — but it has changed since then. When the current model began, Kilroy said there was talk of holding meetings between the involved governments, but those never happened and, in practice, Harrietstown manages it.

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(CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article incorrectly said the Saranac Lake Youth Activities Program cost families $300 per child per week; in fact, that cost was for the entire six-week program.)