Dutchess County leaders face criticism over millions spent to buy Boy Scout camp
The county comptroller said the county never should have bought Camp Nooteeming from the Boy Scouts' Hudson Valley Chapter as the chapter was on the brink of bankruptcy trying to come up with funds to pay its part of a nationwide settlement to sexual abuse survivors.
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Dutchess County officials wasted $5 million in taxpayer money on a youth sports camp in Pleasant Valley, Dutchess County Comptroller Dan Aymar-Blair said Wednesday after he released an audit of the 272-acre property that the county bought in 2022.
Aymar-Blair said the county never should have bought Camp Nooteeming from the Boy Scouts' Hudson Valley Chapter, as the chapter was on the brink of bankruptcy and was trying to come up with funds to pay its part of a nationwide settlement to sexual abuse survivors.
He also said the county erred in choosing the Pathfinder Soccer Club's foundation to operate the camp.
After the initial purchase in 2022, the county hired Pathfinder to operate the camp.
The deal was for Pathfinder's for-profit soccer club to keep using the facilities it built on the land, and for its non-profit foundation to hold community programs to pay to maintain the camp.
The programs never developed enough to bring in enough funds to sustain the camp.
The county eventually terminated the agreement in December 2024 and took over maintenance.
"This is a county that could have higher expenses and lower revenue because of everything that's going on with this uncertain economic climate," Aymar-Blair said during an interview at his Poughkeepsie office. "We need the $5 million a hell of a lot more than we need a campground."
The approximate figure encompasses the initial purchase price of $4.2 million, $600,000 in upgrades and other expenses Pathfinder was unable to cover.
Pathfinder leased land at Camp Nooteeming from the Boy Scouts to build a soccer facility, including a turf field, for its youth soccer academy.
A member of the local Boy Scouts chapter's board said the relationship was going well until 2021, when the Boy Scouts had to come up with more than $6 million to pay its portion of the sexual abuse settlement. The chapter suddenly had to sell the camp to avoid bankruptcy, which meant Pathfinder was about to lose its investment.
Former County Executive Marc Molinaro, who executed the deal, still believes buying the land was the right decision. He wanted to save the land from developers looking to build homes on it, he said Wednesday in a Zoom interview, and keep it as a hub for youth programs.
As for Pathfinder's failure to establish enough programs to maintain the camp on its own, Molinaro said "This happens all the time."
"You know, you have a maintenance crew to maintain a building," he said, offering an example. "They don't maintain it, so, well, you bring in a different company."
Current County Executive Sue Serino is looking forward. She said in a statement Wednesday that the county recognizes the challenges outlined in Aymar-Blair's report and agrees with his recommendations to tighten up policies to include better financial vetting of applicants looking to enter into contracts with the county.
"We are reassessing the long‑term use and operational model for Camp Nooteeming to ensure sustainability, accountability, and alignment with community needs," Serino wrote. "This review will explore potential partnerships, possible divestment, or other operational structures that minimize taxpayer cost."
News 12 has reached out to the Pathfinder Soccer Club and Foundation several times on Wednesday seeking comment for this story and is awaiting responses.
The soccer club still has usage rights to the soccer facility and still uses it for practices and games.
Some Dutchess County Legislators issued a joint statement on Wednesday calling for a deeper investigation into the purchase and the county officials' relationship with Pathfinder.
“From the very beginning, the County Executive’s office misrepresented the nature of the purchase," Legislature Chairperson Yvette Valdes Smith said, "and minimized and outright hid the extent to which taxpayer dollars were being used to prop up a financially unstable for-profit entity."
