A camp that has been the summer home for generations of Boy Scouts will no longer host summer camp after the 2019 season and could possibly close.
The Laurel Highlands Council of the Boy Scouts of America made the announcement on Tuesday with the release of their Camp Master Plan. In an announcement on the Council’s Facebook page, the Camp Master Plan is part of their efforts to increase and enhance programs and services, and is part of the continuing evaluation of the council’s camp properties requirements based on national criteria.
According to the Camp Master Plan, Camp Seph Mack will discontinue week-long Boy Scout Summer Camp after 2019, and right now, the council is working on negotiating a new lease with the Commonwealth with the removal of the capital investment requirement. The current lease ends in 2020. If they’re able to accomplish the lease agreement without the capital investment requirement, they will continue to use the camp as a family camp, day camp for younger scouts and as a weekend camp. If that’s not possible, the Laurel Highlands Council will not renew the lease and vacate. The camp can also be vacated if the new lease is agreed to, but the camp fails to meet a minimum continuous improvement schedule.
A post made on the Camp Seph Mack Facebook page said that while the camp was profitable based on the amount of revenue generated, they feel that the closure is because the camp was seen as a competitor to other campsites in the council, and is also being seen as the final elimination of the remnants of the former Penns Woods council.
Penns Woods Council merged with the Greater Pittsburgh Council in 2011 to form the Laurel Highlands Council.
