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New Twists to Deer Lake Preservation Efforts

In the most recent developments surrounding the sale of the 255-acre Deer Lake Campground, Governor Ned Lamont has broken his silence by expressing support for preservation over development, while the potential developer has also come forward with a dismissal of the claims she’s colluding with Connecticut Yankee Council of Scouting BSA to drive up the price of the property.

Lamont said last week that the state may provide supplemental funds to help conservationists purchase the camp and keep it from development. Lamont said he had recently toured the site and believes it should be protected and remain as open space, but specifics of that funding have not been publicly issued.

“It’s gorgeous,” Lamont said at an unrelated press conference. “So, we could step in as needed. We’re not the piggy bank. I like going in along side other people.”

Those seeking to preserve the property are optimistic that the state will help bridge the gap in funds needed to purchase the property and preserve it from development. No specifics have been discussed, but Ted Langevin, president of Pathfinders, a local nonprofit that has worked with the Connecticut Yankee Council of Scouting BSA, said he is encouraged by the news and remains hopeful that the property can be preserved by a collaboration of the entities involved.

U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal has also issued several statements to the media expressing his frustration with how the council has conducted the negotiating process, and also calling into questions that entity’s integrity by pointing out their abandonment of their own mission statement on outdoor activities and respect for the environment.

“Unfortunately, local Boy Scout councils are selling to the highest bidder,” Blumenthal said. “So, I think it is a national challenge, but it goes to the core of what scouting means and the ethos and ethic of scouting, which they may be betraying.”

Speculation has been fueled by as yet unknown legality of the pending sale to the developer, Margaret Streicker, who is a member of the Connecticut Yankee Council Board. That issue, combined with other actions by the council, has led to an investigation of the entire matter by Attorney General William Tong’s office.

Several town officials and nonprofits associated with matching the offer have said that the conflict of interest issue and the appearance that Streicker and the council are colluding to drive up the price of the land have only grown. Streicker has offered more than twice the appraised value of the property, according to Pathfinders and the Trust for Public Land, another organization that had a bid for the property rejected by the council. Now the council is demanding penalty monies if an offer is made that surpass Streicker’s deal.

Streicker adamantly denied any contention of colluding by her or by the Connecticut Yankee Council. She also said that she hopes a deal can be reached that preserves the site. Streicker said that her main concern is making sure that the Connecticut Yankee Council receives a fair price for their property.

“Camp Deer Lake is an exceptional piece of property and the Boy Scouts are in a position where they are in need of selling this. And they have made that decision to sell. They went through a very public process of doing so,” Streicker said. “It is my position that this is a very special piece of land and it would be wonderful if everybody understood that there is a market value to this.

“We do still live in a capitalist society and there is a market value for things,” Streicker continued. “And the Boy Scouts are entitled to receive that value. And I have bent over backwards, frankly, whether it’s the state of local townships or a combination would come in and buy the land. That would be wonderful. There are many outcomes for this parcel, and this parcel is near and dear to parts of the community. For instance, I think it would be fantastic if the local officials, be it Madison, Guilford or Killingworth collectively got together and each town chipped in a third of the price and created a joint township public park. That could be one of the many outcomes. But one of the outcomes should not be that the Boy Scouts sell for far less than the value, because they too are in a position where they need the proceeds to continue the good work that they do.”

Streicker also emphasized the importance for the various entities to coordinate their efforts and come to the council with a workable proposal. The council has offered a May 1 deadline for an offer greater than Streicker’s $4.6 million; those seeking to preserve the site note that governments work on much longer timelines.

“I want to be clear that there is a time for politicians to talk, and a time for them to act. This is the moment when there are being given every opportunity to act, and in many ways I hope that they do, but there are markets here. And the Boy Scouts are selling a piece of property in a private transaction,” Streicker said. “I have done the math, because at the end of the day there is math here that says what this property is worth. So I encourage others, be it local townships, be it the state, be it the governor, be it the senator, be it whomever, who have the conservation for future generations in mind—I really do encourage that to happen here.

“When that happens, and I have every faith that it will, I am stepping aside and I’ve already announced that. But I’m not going to be the person to allow the Boy Scouts to be undersold because people are just saying, ‘You should do the right thing and sell it for less than it’s worth,’” she continued. “...I hope all of these elected officials can figure it out, be it through collaborative efforts through multiple towns, or be it that the state steps in, whomever—there are many ways this can play.”

Streicker added that as far as any disagreement over the actual value of the property or that somehow she and the council are attempting to artificially inflate the price is “nonsense” and strongly rejected any contention that her bid for the property is disingenuous, not in good faith, or wildly out of proportion to the current real estate market.

“There’s no dispute. This country is a capitalistic society and there is a market value. One can do the math, and the math, unfortunately for those who want to buy it for a dollar, does not make this land worth a dollar,” Streicker said. “Here in the private world we still need solutions to actual problems. We’re not just talking. We’re doing things. At the end of the day, the Boy Scouts are selling because they need to. I am not going to step aside and let it get sold for half of what it’s worth. Let them get the money they are entitled to, because that is what the land is worth.”

Asked if she and the Connecticut Yankee Council were attempting to artificially inflate the price of the property to secure the council a better deal, and specifically given that the recently announced penalty fees seem to some like a backdoor payout to Streicker, the developer said, “That is not true at all. That is far from true. This was done through a broker and this done with an open process.

Streicker noted that there were other bids and that she recused herself from every board meeting since this started.

“It’s nonsense. Any talk in that direction is nonsense. I am a real estate professional. I can sit down with a pencil and do the math. You just do the math and that is what this is worth,” she said. “What’s your house worth today? Can you guarantee that is it worth X or is it more or less than X? Is there some art to this, however the answer does not lie in having the Boy Scouts under sell their property simply because no one else will step up…If the idea is that we’re going to come in and raze 250 plus acres of land to put up a Walmart...It’s not happening. So, let’s all get back to the one earth that we live on.”

Streicker also said that she has been receiving threats via email.

“I am receiving hate mail daily and it’s unnecessary. I have received multiple hate mails, and it’s pure insanity,” said Streicker. “There is a time to act, and this is about future generations. But if we all believe this is a priority, then this is the time for officials to step up and do their job.”

After a late meeting on April 18, Langevin said the Pathfinders are still roughly $1 million short of the needed funds. He also iterated that any money from the state will arrive too late to assist before the May 1 deadline, but could be of great help should events allow for any renegotiation of the sale after that date.

Killingworth First Selectwoman Nancy Gorski is still expressing her frustration with the actions of the council and the manner in which the sale has proceeded. However, she remains optimistic that somehow a deal can be drafted to preserve the parcel.

“I don’t understand this whole breakage of the contract issue. That can’t help but lead to confusion and questions,” said Gorski. “However, absolutely the remarks by Governor Lamont are encouraging, and to hear him chime in of this, is hopeful. It does mean that there is opportunities for a partnership with Pathfinders and the state to secure this property. And as I have said all along, until the final contract is done, if we are not taking steps forward to save Deer Lake, then I am not doing my job.”