A recent decision by Boy Scout leaders to sell the Rum River Scout Camp in Ramsey has been met with sadness and anger by area Scouts.
The camp sale, estimated to fetch $8 million or more, won't happen for three to five years and is part of a long-range plan, said John Andrews, top executive at the Northern Star Council office in St. Paul. The metro area council's board of directors in August approved the plan, which includes improvements to most of the council's six more heavily used scout camps.
"I feel terrible" about the decision, said former Scout Steve Schmidt, an Anoka businessman active in the community. "I am concerned it will decimate local support for the scouting effort up here."
Similar sentiments were shared by other area Scout leaders and former Scouts, including Anoka City Council Member Jeff Weaver, who hinted at starting a protest effort. His father, John Weaver, and Schmidt's great-uncle, Harlan Thurston, were among donors who helped buy the camp, which opened in 1947, Scout officials said.
Developers have long been interested in the 167-acre, wooded camp on the Rum River. The prime piece of real estate is surrounded by many upscale homes. It was almost sold in 2004 for $8 million by the former Viking Council, Andrews said. A year later, the Viking Council of Minneapolis merged with St. Paul's Indianhead Council to form the Northern Star.
Andrews said Viking leaders deferred the sale until three conditions were met: a capital campaign was started to gauge future facility needs; a decision was made on whether an urban scouting center was feasible, and additional camping facilities were arranged to replace Rum River's, which can hold about 600 Scouts.
The first two conditions have been met. A $24 million capital campaign has raised about $15.5 million so far, and the council is buying an old hangar near Fort Snelling to provide a base camp for training and other activities that are more convenient for urban Scout troops, Andrews said. He said leaders think replacement camp sites can be found before Rum River is sold.
Rum River, a year-round camp 4 miles north of Anoka, had about 5,900 Scout visits last year, the lowest usage of the council's camps, said Kent York, Northern Star's communications director. Its 167 acres feature wooded campsites, three enclosed activity buildings, a sliding hill, an orienteering course and a nature trail. It also accommodates cross-county skiing and snow-shoeing.
