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Whispering Hills Girl Scout Camp may be closed for good
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By Charlie Warner
Argus News Editor
Another example of how the struggling economy has a local impact is the closing of Whispering Hills Girl Scout Camp near Yucatan.
According to Lisa Hiebert of the Minnesota and Wisconsin River Valley Girl Scout Council, Whispering Hills is one of three camps that will not be operating in 2010.
Whispering Hills is located on a dead-end road just off County Road 15 in Yucatan Township near the Houston-Fillmore County line.
Earlier this year the board of directors decided to close three of its camps. Programs at Piper Hills and Windy Acres will also be suspended, according to a short-term property plan released by the organization in June.
Budget cuts have been made this year, but the board feared it couldn’t balance its budget for next year without more cuts in expenses. The board believes nonprofit groups will continue to feel the effect of the economic downturn through 2010, possibly into 2011, the report said.
River Valley Girl Scouts, which comprises 49 counties in southern Minnesota, including the Twin Cities, and four counties in Wisconsin, owns approximately 3,500 acres on 17 different properties.
Property-related overhead is one of the few remaining expense categories that can be tapped for reductions that have the least impact on their programs. Properties are partially subsidized by other revenues, including the sale of Girl Scout cookies, there is still a large gap -- in excess of $2 million annually -- that must be funded out of other income sources, leaving fewer dollars available to support other programs and services.
The board has established a volunteer task force comprised of Girl Scout members and financial and property management professionals that will evaluate all of River Valleys’ properties, including camps and service centers.
Town hall meetings about long-range property plans were held throughout the region this past fall, according to Hiebert. Girl Scout officials explained the situation they are currently in and asked those attending the meetings what they felt was most important, what their priorities were.
The organization used various criteria to evaluate each property, including: cost to operate, proximity to membership, current use versus capacity, ease of travel to the site and the extent to which the facility meets girls’ needs and expectations.
“Once all the information is compiled, a recommendation for long-term planning will be brought to the board in December,” Heibert continued. “The board will review the recommendations and announce their decisions February.
“This situation is not unique to the River Valley Girl Scout Council,” Heibert noted. “This is a nation-wide issue, and not just with Scouting. Some very difficult decisions will have to be made. As of now, Whispering Hills is just closed for 2010. We won’t know any more until February.”
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