PLEASANT VALLEY – The Dutchess County Comptroller’s Office has completed a special report on the purchase and operation of Camp Nooteeming, a 270 acre property owned by the Boy Scouts of America since 1926 and purchased by Dutchess County in April 2022. The county paid $4.2 million plus $600,000 appropriated for upgrades and ADA compliance.
The county entered an agreement with a non-profit, the Pathfinder Foundation, for $1.22 million to operate Camp Nooteeming and work with the Department of Community & Family Services to provide summer camp programs to youth residents during the summers of 2022 through 2024. The county terminated its contract with Pathfinder in November 2024 and now oversees the property directly.
Following the special report, the Comptroller’s Office found multiple discrepancies with county policy regarding the purchase and operation of Camp Nooteeming, most notably in its selection of the Pathfinder Foundation as the primary operating entity in March 2022.
Auditors identified over $91,000 unverifiable payments to Pathfinder in 2022, which were based on discrepancies between camper counts on Pathfinder invoices and bus transportation records. Pathfinder also left more than $25,000 in unpaid operating bills for the county to cover. Additional issues included maintaining records of camp attendance, following scholarship guidelines, and attracting third-party camps to the campground.
“It is unknown to the Comptroller’s Office why Dutchess accepted the terms of the sale or why Pathfinder Foundation was selected,” said Comptroller Dan Aymar-Blair. “By Pathfinder’s own admission, they were unable to operate independently and without direct financial support from the county, which was a requirement of the Request For Expression Of Interest (RFEOI). Predictably, this issue was made apparent during the period of their involvement as the operator.”
The special report recommended that Dutchess County strengthen its RFEOI evaluation and selection process to ensure that awarded organizations fully meet all financial, operational, and capacity requirements before contract execution.