Motion to Reevaluate the Property Plan - April 16th 2011
When a few of the delegates were forewarned of the GSNEO board's decision to sell 5 camps , they composed a response. But with little knowledge of the formalities of parliamentary procedure, the delegates had not realized that they should have motioned at the start of the meeting for discussion of new business after the board announcement. Therefore, when delegate Corey Ann Ringle read this proposal, the chair simply ignored it .
Since the merger of five legacy councils to form Girl Scouts of North East Ohio, there has never been a time when the membership had all of the following occur at the same time:
1. Fully open camps
2. Readily available information on all the GSNEO camps
3. A centralized, easy to use, campsite registration process.
During the first two years the camps were fully open, but there was no camp information on the council website. Many members did not know they were allowed to camp outside their own region. If they did know, the separate regional applications were a barrier. This limited program options and impeded the unification of the council. By the time the latter two factors were corrected, half of Great Trail and most of Crowell Hilaka had been closed. Because of these circumstances, assessment of GSNEO property usage has always been made during restricted conditions.
Mindful that the property decisions made now will impact the health of GSNEO for generations to come, they should not be made with undue haste. A full evaluation of council programming needs - including camp usage - should be made which includes all available sites , a user-friendly reservation process, and full details on first choice preferences and alternative plans. This will determine what it is that girls and their parents truly want.
During this evaluation
Cognizant of the important role of camping as the signature activity of Girl Scouts of North East Ohio, and the degradation caused by a policy of preemptive neglect by certain legacy councils; priority in the council budget will be directed to outdoor programming at our camps during this trial period. To defray expenses and support member services, the camps should be used for additional programming: journey steps, volunteer training, service unit events during the week, etc whenever possible. We recognize that with the increase in council membership, we are in a good position for such a comprehensive study.
-
- Property Proposal April 2011
Since the merger of five legacy councils to form Girl Scouts of North East Ohio, there has never been a time when the membership had all of the following occur at the same time:
1. Fully open camps
2. Readily available information on all the GSNEO camps
3. A centralized, easy to use, campsite registration process.
During the first two years the camps were fully open, but there was no camp information on the council website. Many members did not know they were allowed to camp outside their own region. If they did know, the separate regional applications were a barrier. This limited program options and impeded the unification of the council. By the time the latter two factors were corrected, half of Great Trail and most of Crowell Hilaka had been closed. Because of these circumstances, assessment of GSNEO property usage has always been made during restricted conditions.
Mindful that the property decisions made now will impact the health of GSNEO for generations to come, they should not be made with undue haste. A full evaluation of council programming needs - including camp usage - should be made which includes all available sites , a user-friendly reservation process, and full details on first choice preferences and alternative plans. This will determine what it is that girls and their parents truly want.
During this evaluation
- GSNEO should retain all current properties .
- All campsites that are safe for usage shall be opened for use ( with the possible exception of a rotation of winter closures for energy conservation).
- Members will be encouraged to form or join Friends groups for each of the properties to assist with support and minor maintenance.
- GSNEO will budget adequate funds for maintenance at each site to prevent property deterioration and to maintain safety standards.
- GSNEO funds may be directed to improvement of existing buildings and lands, but none toward construction of completely new buildings, nor purchase of additional property.
- Data will be collected on the outcome if a clients first choice of sites and dates are not available.
- Data on property usage, budget allocation for repairs & maintenance, will be shared with the membership on a regular basis .
- The evaluation period will begin when the site reservation system is shown to be working effectively.
- The evaluation period shall be three to five years in length.
- The final property decisions will be based primarily on the usage data.
Cognizant of the important role of camping as the signature activity of Girl Scouts of North East Ohio, and the degradation caused by a policy of preemptive neglect by certain legacy councils; priority in the council budget will be directed to outdoor programming at our camps during this trial period. To defray expenses and support member services, the camps should be used for additional programming: journey steps, volunteer training, service unit events during the week, etc whenever possible. We recognize that with the increase in council membership, we are in a good position for such a comprehensive study.
-
