ELDRED, NY — Roughly 125 people showed up at the Eldred High School gymnasium on September 28, there to attend a public hearing on the Camp FIMFO project. Another 37 letters were sent to the Town of Highland Planning Board before the meeting and, according to advocates, a petition with 1,000 signatures.

Attorney Daniel Rubin, representing Northgate Resorts, welcomed community input in his opening presentation. “You are our future neighbors; you are our future partners,” he said. “We want to hear from you.”

Rubin presented the Camp FIMFO project as a benefit for the Town of Highland community. Northgate Resorts plans to spend upward of $40 million “to revitalize a staple of this community,” in Rubin’s words, taking the former Kittatinny Canoes campsite along the Delaware River and aligning it with the brand’s Camp FIMFO (Fun Is More Fun Outdoors) chain.

“That modernization has to take place,” said Rubin. “Camp Kittatinny can’t continue to run as it is.” He pointed specifically to the legacy water and sewer systems at the campgrounds as systems badly in need of an update.

The members of the community who spoke expressed more concern than hope about Camp FIMFO’s potential impacts.

A poster ilustrated one line of community thought about the Camp FIMFO development at a September 28 public hearing about the project.

Taxes and assessments

Several members of the community spoke against Northgate’s intentions to apply for a tax abatement.

The Sullivan County Industrial Development Agency offers a range of tax abatement options to support business development. Northgate representatives told the public at a September 15 informational meeting they intended to apply for sales and use tax and property tax abatements. The project was fully funded and committed to, they said, and it would go ahead whether or not they got those abatements.

It was “reprehensible” that Northgate intended to apply for a tax abatement, said Kittatinny neighbor Glenn Pontier. “I welcome them here, I’m glad that they are coming, but not at the expense of those of us who pay taxes.”

Others in the public focused on the environmental impact of Camp FIMFO. Several members asked if a study had been done of Camp FIMFO’s potential environmental impact, and encouraged the planning board to order just such a study, on the grounds that it was better to know what the community would be getting into ahead of time.

Fred Stine, with the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, said that Northgate Resorts should place funds in escrow to hire unbiased engineering firms: if Northgate paid them directly, they’d be biased toward that project.

Planning board chair Norm Sutherland said that Northgate had done just that. That money had paid for the town’s engineering firm, Keystone Engineering, to conduct its review.

The studies that needed to be done required specialists, not just civil engineers, replied Stine.

A majority of those who spoke expressed concern about the impact Camp FIMFO would have on the community. Many expressed impassioned testimony to the beauty and the sacredness of the river and the building of “Las Vegas” style amenities.

FIMFO was out of scale for the community, said Eve Fisher. The proposed infrastructure increases were massive, altering what was already one of the area’s most successful businesses.

The potential change in the character of the community should be at the forefront of the project, said John Pizzolato. “FIMFO, welcome to the neighborhood; these are the people in your neighborhood.”

What happens next?

Sutherland recessed the public hearing until the planning board meeting on Wednesday, October 26. The applicant could respond to comments at that time, he said. Rubin expressed Northgate’s intent to respond in follow-up meetings.

A 62-day consideration period commences at the official closing of the public hearing.

The planning board wouldn’t make its decision until November at the earliest, Sutherland added.

The planning board is waiting for the National Park Service (NPS) to review the project. The NPS reviews projects within the Upper Delaware river corridor for their complience with the River Management Plan (RMP), a document that helps preserve the scenic and recreational qualities of the river. The Upper Delaware Council submitted its recommendation to the NPS in September, deeming that the project did substantially conform with the RMP; that recommendation helps guide the NPS decision.

Northgate only provided the NPS with its requested documents the previous Monday, said Sutherland. That started a 45-day review period, which would conclude on Thursday, November 10.