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Sabattis Camp sold as Scouts declare bankruptcy

Sabattis Group says sale to neighboring family will allow Scouts to continue camping

LONG LAKE — A New Jersey Boy Scout council is selling the Sabattis Adventure Camp in Long Lake, but leaders from Sabattis Group, an organization which supports the camp, say Scouts will be able to continue camping there.

The 1,000-acre camp on Bear Pond has been a place for New Jersey Scouts to swim, hike and paddle for more than six decades. The camp is owned and operated by Patriots’ Path Council, which supports around 11,000 Scouts in five New Jersey counties.

The Boy Scouts of America declared bankruptcy last year, an effort to continue existing as it pays off its settlements to tens of thousands of sexual abuse victims across the U.S. In October, BSA entered a bankruptcy settlement to pay $1.9 billion to more than 82,000 individuals who were sexually abused while scouting.

BSA’s approximately 250 councils are paying out $600 million in this settlement, and non-profit councils, like Patriots’ Path Council, are selling assets to pay their share.

According to court documents, Patriots’ Path Council is expected to contribute $3.7 million to the bankruptcy settlement — $1.8 million in cash and $1.9 million in property.

“Selling Sabattis was one of the few ways the council could raise funds,” leaders from the Sabattis Group wrote.

Neither the Scouting council or the Sabattis Group have divulged the price of the sale of the Sabattis Adventure Camp. The property was assessed at a value of $1,717,400 by Hamilton County this year.

Representatives from the Sabattis Group updated the scouting community in a Facebook post, saying the camp was sold to another Sabattis Road resident “looking to expand their family camp.”

They said the contracts have been signed, the sale should close in early 2022 and that the new owners are giving Scouts permission to use the land for five years.

In the terms of the sale agreement, PPC can use most of the camp for the next five years, the Sabattis Group said. This may be extended if both the Scouts and the buyer agree later. The Sabattis Group said the new owners will use some of the buildings for their own purposes, but “the main facilities we need to run camp will remain in our control and available for our use.”

“The sale is a terrible thing, but the buyer is the best possible buyer; someone who loves the Adirondacks, loves the area, and believes in Scouting,” they wrote.

Sabattis Adventure Camp is different than the Sabattis Scout Reservation located on Lows Lake. The Sabattis Scout Reservation is run by the BSA Longhouse Council in Syracuse.

This is a breaking news story. More information will be added as it becomes available.

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