Our council achieved a significant financial milestone on November 25 when we completed the sale of 906 acres at Camp Tuckahoe to the Central Pennsylvania Conservancy. Work on this project to preserve “buffer acreage” at Tuckahoe – parts of the property that we don’t actively use for camping and programming but serve as natural wilderness areas and as a buffer against development encroaching on those areas of Tuckahoe we actively use have been ongoing for several years. The Conservancy will soon transfer the divestment acreage to the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Bureau of Forestry, which will be managed as part of the Michaux State Forest. The Council received $2.265 million in the sale.
With the proceeds from this sale, our Council paid off the remaining balance on a $1.5 million interest-only bank loan that we took out to assist in making our Council’s $2.7 million contribution to resolving the Boy Scouts of America’s bankruptcy proceedings. Earlier this year, we completed the $1.2 million sale of the York Service Center, which allowed us to make an initial repayment on our bank loan while setting aside $500,000 to begin the renovation of the historic dining hall at Tuckahoe as the Council’s new service center in August.
We also used $1.2 million from unrestricted funds we had received from the sale of Wizard Ranch to the Lancaster Conservancy in 2020 to fund the remainder of our BSA bankruptcy contribution. The investment earnings from the Wizard Ranch fund provided dollars for capital projects at Hidden Valley and Tuckahoe, and replenishing the Wizard Ranch fund soon remains an essential priority in rebuilding our council’s long-term financial stability.
In another significant boost to our financial position, our Council has secured $1.775 million in grants from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. These funds will support the renovation of the historic dining hall into the council’s new service center and the renovation and expansion of the pool shower building. The Council has been awarded a $1,300,505 grant from the Commonwealth’s Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) and a $250,000 grant from the Department of Economic Development to fund the dining hall transformation. Additionally, a $225,000 Local Share Allowance (LSA) grant will partially finance the upgrades to the shower building.
With this news, the Council’s Executive Board, at its November 19th meeting, approved moving forward with the completion of the new council service center. We hope to relocate to the new service center at Tuckahoe by the start of next summer. I’ve shared some photos above and below I took this morning to show how work is progressing in the new service center. I’ll continue to share updates as work progresses.
Yours in Scouting,
Ron Gardner
Scout Executive & CEO
