GLENDALE Y COULD LOSE CAMP AT CATALINA COUNTY SUPERVISOR ASKED TO HELP SECURE AFFORDABLE LEASE RENEWAL.

Byline: EUGENE TONG Staff Writer

GLENDALE -- A campground that hosts thousands of youths each year is caught in a tug-of-war between the YMCA of Glendale and the stewards of Catalina Island.

At issue is whether the Y will continue its decades-long operation of Camp Fox -- a 3 1/2-acre facility that the Catalina Island Conservancy said needs more than $1.5 million in repairs.

The nonprofit group, which oversees nearly the entire 48,000-acre island, blames the YMCA for letting the camp fall into disrepair and is threatening not to renew its lease at the end of the year.

``We're committed to the programs there,'' said Mel Dinkel, the conservancy's chief operating officer. ``But we're not sure if the Glendale Y has the capacity to operate the camp.''

YMCA officials are aware of the need to fix the problems but say they can't raise the money to do so until they have a new lease.

``We know the cost to do those (repairs),'' said John Thomas, chief executive officer of YMCA of Glendale. ``We are prepared if we get the lease to put that kind of money back into the camp.''

Yet any new lease may include an annual fee hike -- from roughly $90,000 to nearly $300,000 -- that camp operators say could price struggling nonprofit groups off the island. Both sides plan to meet this week, and the Y has asked 5th District county Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich to help broker a deal.

The Glendale Y has run the 30-cabin campground at Buttonshell Beach for decades. The camp was designed for about 350 but has been operating at half capacity since 2004 after the county Department of Health Services cited an inadequate septic system.

In addition to a faulty septic system, which could cost $1.5 million to repair, there were other deferred-maintenance issues that raise ``grave concerns about the organization's ability to act as a responsible camp manager,'' according to a June 27 letter from the conservancy to the Y.

But a county health official said a June inspection found no violations at the camp, and Thomas said the group has spent more than $700,000 over the years for repairs, including some to roofs and plumbing, and to get a new septic system designed.

The Y is caught in a tough spot -- prepared to make more repairs, but unable to raise money for them without a lease.

Beyond issues of maintenance is the camp's financial value. In preliminary discussions, the conservancy has proposed 15-year leases and fee hikes, and it wants a 6 percent to 10 percent cut of any sublease deal.

Dinkel justified the increase because the Glendale Y, which hosts programs at Camp Fox only in the summer and leases it out the rest of the year to the education group Guided Discoveries, appears to profit from subleasing deals. According to 2004 tax filings, the Y's camp revenue exceeded $1.79 million against expenses of $1.37 million.

``We're not expecting them to be operating these camps at a loss, but we don't expect them to take hundreds of thousands of dollars from Catalina and take it to the mainland,'' Dinkel said.

``The only thing we get is donation through membership or the money we get from our leases,'' he said. ``We're challenged with all the infrastructure. We have endangered species. It's not like we're providing money for shareholders.''

But Thomas said the camp is not making money because of higher maintenance cost from year-round use, and the proposed fee hike -- from a flat fee of $90,000 per year to estimates of nearly $300,000 a year -- could drive some out of the camp.

``How is a church going to raise that kind of money?'' he said.

He said use of the camp could become limited to groups wealthier than nonprofit organizations.

Dinkel said the conservancy would consider keeping the Y if it could provide a five-year operation plan. Thomas said the Y made a presentation, but was only told of the criteria last month.

eugene.tong(at)dailynews.com

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