The Erie Shores Council of the Boy Scouts of America sold 52 acres bordering Camp Miakonda in Sylvania Township to a real estate developer for $4.4 million.
The Boy Scouts signed a contract Tuesday to sell the land to McGowan Development of Sylvania. The sale probably will be completed this summer, Doug Haynam, Erie Shores Council president, said.
Mr. Haynam announced the sale at an Erie Shores Council meeting last night at the Holiday Inn French Quarter in Perrysburg Township. He said the land, commonly known as the “Outpost,” will be used for a high-end residential development.
“I'm excited about the opportunities this [sale] creates for us to do some things at Camp Miakonda and Camp Frontier that we've needed to do for a long time,” Mr. Haynam said.
The scouts will place the land sale proceeds in a trust fund to finance $2.8 million of improvements at the two camps over the next seven to 10 years. The scouts will keep the remaining money for future programs.
Planned upgrades include building a nature center and restoring a lake at Camp Miakonda. At Camp Frontier near Pioneer, Ohio, the council plans to build a new campfire ring and a 60-foot rappelling tower.
“Having top-flight camps is what's going to attract young men and women to our programs,” Mr. Haynam said.
Some area residents have opposed the land sale, saying the Oak Savanna habitat should be preserved.
Last night, Johnnie Duncan, an Eagle Scout from Toledo, presented his Eagle badge to the council as a symbolic objection to the sale. He said the sale contradicts the Boy Scout duty to “be conservation-minded.”
George Pavuk, a district chairman for the scouts, criticized scout officials for selling the land to a developer instead of the Toledo Area Metroparks.
“They would have kept the property in its natural state,” Mr. Pavuk said.
The metroparks informally offered $3.7 million for the Outpost but never submitted an official proposal, Mr. Haynam said.
“I represented to the metroparks board that I did not believe our executive board would accept a $3.7 million offer against the competing $4.4 million offer from a private developer,” he said, adding that the metroparks then chose not to formally bid.
Larry Sykes, president of the metroparks board, was surprised to learn of the sale last night. He said the board was never given the opportunity to match the $4.4 million offer.
“We could have written him a check, but we were never given a true figure,” he said.
“I think we could have come to an agreement if they were really interested in preserving this land.”
McGowan Development will complete the sale after designing the single-family residential community, Michael McGowan, attorney for the company, said. He said plans are incomplete, so he is unsure if any zoning changes will be needed before the firm buys the land.
Dan Anderson, a member of the scout council's executive committee, supported selling the Outpost, which was rarely used by the scouts.
“We have struggled over this,” he said. “We think it's in the best interest of the kids in this council to go ahead with this sale.”
First Published January 23, 2003, 1:06 p.m.