State health officials shut down campground on outskirts of Port Jervis
Mike Ward says county health officials are requiring his volunteer group, the Outdoor Club of Port Jervis, to add more portable bathrooms, install three sinks and increase water pressure at the campground.
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The operator of Elks Brox Campground on the outskirts of Port Jervis is canceling his summer reservations because health officials say the property is not up to sanitary code.
Mike Ward says county health officials are requiring his volunteer group, the Outdoor Club of Port Jervis, to add more portable bathrooms, install three sinks and increase water pressure at the campground.
Ward was hoping to be granted a variance but didn’t receive one.
Orange County Health Commissioner Dr. Alicia Pointer said in a statement that they have been working closely with Ward's volunteer group and the city to get the campground permitted and in accordance with the state sanitary code.
She also says her department believes there's a workable solution given the infrastructure they have.
Ward says the complying with those regulations are “not something we can achieve at the moment."
After getting some community feedback, the City Council recently approved $7,000 to help cover materials for the upgrades. Ward's volunteers would have to put in the labor.
Still, he says opening this summer would be a longshot.
Ward says he and the other volunteers could get started by early August on the required projects and could open for the fall – provided there are no other setbacks.
