GOOD NEWS
We are happy to announce that we will, at this time be able to offer four weeks of Summer Day Camps in 2012. This has been made possible by the efforts of the Allen County Parks Education Staff in re-allocating staff time AND THE EFFORTS OF LOCAL BUSINESS AND INDIVIDUALS.
The efforts by local business and members of the community, to secure funding for a fourth week of camp has been a huge success. We have named the fourth week of camp, Mariah’s Community Nature Camp, in honor of Mariah (who wrote the wonderful letter to the editor that started it all) and to the “community” for their support.
Thank you to these individuals in no particular order!!!
| Tom and Mo Palmer (Mo spearheaded the movement!) |
| Ed and Cynthia Powers |
| Maurice & Leslie Sperry |
| Three Rivers Fly Fishers |
| Ellmar Farms – Ellis & Marilynn McFadden |
| Concordia Gardens Community Association |
| Fins and Flowers Water Gardens |
| Rosalie Cummings |
| Myers Plant Healthcare |
| Cornerstone Landscape Group |
| Felgers Peat Moss |
For some answers to frequently asked questions regarding budget cuts and how it affected our Summer Day Camp program scroll to the bottom of this page.
SUMMER DAY CAMPS 2012
Fox Island County Park Camps:
June 25 -29 Fish ‘N Fun Camp
Rig a fishing pole, catch bait, learn to canoe, fish, net a tadpole, frog or turtle along with other fun stuff at this camp!!
July 9 – 13 Survivor Island Camp
Flint and steel, hand drills, and one-match fire safety skills, learn to canoe and build a survival shelter are just a few of the things planned for this camp!
Metea County Park Camp
July 16 – 20 Back Country Camp
Float down Cedar Creek, back pack across and set up camp and learn how to cook back country style along with many other things.
July 23-July 27 – MARIAH’S COMMUNITY NATURE Camp!
This camp has been sponsored by the people of Allen County. Their sponsorship has been inspired by the creative writings of a young eleven year-old camper, Mariah Smith. We intend to use this camp to inspire more community support of nature camps like ours!
Camps are for children ages 6 thru 12 years of age and are held Monday – Friday from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm
Camp costs $100 per child per week
CONTACT: Natalie Haley for more information at: 449-3246 or nhaley@allencountyparks.org
APPLICATIONS AND OTHER FORMS
Day Camp 2012 Registration Form (pdf)
Day Camp 2012 Brochure (pdf)
Allen County Parks JIMN Attendance & Payment Policy
Allen County Parks JIMN Health & Medication Policy
Allen County Parks JIMN Discipline & Behavior Policy “required”
Financial Aid Request Form (pdf) must be submitted 2 weeks prior to camp!
Medication Form (pdf) – must be on file for any and ALL medications your camper may have.
Frequently (at least lately) Asked Questions
Q – Did your budget for Day Camps really get cut?
A – The overall general fund budget for the Parks Dept, along with all other departments of the County, was cut for the year 2012. While not necessarily specifically targeted, the Day Camp budget was one of those effected by the cuts as any decrease in the general fund allocation, which is for salaries, results in less hours being available to be paid to employees.
Q – Why would they cut Day Camps?
A – As stated above Day Camps are not the only part of what the Parks Department does each year that is affected during a cut. Other programs and maintenance will have to be scaled back or deferred as well. As mentioned above the camps have not been cut altogether however they have been scaled back considerably from previous years.
Q – I still don’t understand why they cut your budget?
A – As mentioned above almost all, if not all, departments within the County were cut in some way. Its fairly simple as tax revenues are significantly lower than they have been in the past for many reasons including the economy and the recent legislation voted on by the voters to cap all property taxes at 1% of the appraised value of a property. With lower revenues County Council has to make some very difficult decisions regarding each department’s allocation.
Q – Couldn’t they, or you, just cut back on spending on other things?
A – The answer to that is yes and we do try to keep our spending in check each year but that portion of OUR budget is not covered by tax revenues so has no effect on salaries.
Q – OK now you’re really confusing me?
A – Sorry, it can be very confusing but the plain and simple answer is salaries for full and part time employees at the Parks are covered by tax revenues (which were cut), while all of our operating expenses for utilities, maintenance, capital improvements, supplies etc are all self generated by user and program fees. To understand it simply when gas is $3.70 a gallon we have to have at least 1.7 people pay an entry fee just to cover the cost of the one gallon of gas we use. Figure that we not only have to cover gas costs but the costs of heating, electricity, supplies, and all other costs and it can get overwhelming. Still we are proud to say that we manage to be able to do this with the fine support we receive from the local community.
Q – How can I help with the Day Camp budget?
A – Budget allocations were set back in September so no new funds are NOT available for this year BUT if you would like to help please contact Jeff Baxter, Superintendent of Allen County Parks. He would be happy to answer any questions you may have. He can be reached at jbaxter@allencountyparks.org or 449-3312. Donations can be made to the Department and if enough are received we may be able to add an additional week or two to camp.
