By Monica Pryts
HERMITAGE — Trefoil Trails in Hermitage might close but that doesn’t mean the end of Girl Scout camp in Mercer County.
Girl Scouts Western Pennsylvania’s board of directors are meeting today at their corporate office in Pittsburgh to decide the future of 15 Girl Scout camps the organization owns, including Trefoil Trails, said Jay Krunszyinsky, chief administrative officer for GSWPA.
Five Girl Scout councils, including Penn Lakes Girl Scouts Council in Mercer County, merged in 2008 and are overseen by GSWPA. Since then, Girl Scout officials have been evaluating those 15 camps to ensure they’re used efficiently and operations are cost-effective.
Directors will vote today on whether any of those camps should close and they’ve been supplied with data from a survey of about 3,000 girls and adults involved with Girl Scouts in western Pennsylvania, Krunszyinsky said.
“They’ve voiced their opinion. There’s a lot of passion,” he said.
When it comes down to it, the 21.85-acre Trefoil Trails at 2300 N. Neshannock Road is nice but doesn’t have the popular amenities that girls request like sports fields, horseback riding and a swimming pool, he said.
If directors choose to close Trefoil Trails, which has been around for more than 30 years, camp will still go on this summer and the search will begin for a more suitable property in or near Mercer County.
“This is a win-win for them regardless of what happens,” he said about Girl Scouts.
If Trefoil Trails closes, the best-case scenario would be for Girl Scout officials to find another site where camp and other programs can be held, even if the property stays with its current owner.
That’s an option because many Girl Scout camps are used only in the summer and maintaining the property year-round can be costly, Krunszyinsky said.
It may be more cost-effective for GSWPA to sell some camps and direct that money to further develop others that have more space to do so.
“These camps are all good. That’s what makes this more difficult,” Krunszyinsky said of the board’s decision.
According to information on the GSWPA Web site, Trefoil Trails is small compared to some of the other camps and its sloping terrain limits future development. Its annual operating costs are $38,984 and maintenance is $56,330 a year.
That puts Trefoil Trails in the middle of the 15 evaluated camps when it comes to the cost of running the camp. The closer camps include ones in Jefferson, Lawrence, Erie, Butler and Venango counties.
Features of Trefoil Trails include: a heated lodge with a full kitchen, bathrooms and showers; three heated sleeping cabins with toilets; garage; arts and crafts building; sports equipment; fire circle; troop home for programs and overnight stays; amphitheater; and nature trail.
The online report also said the deed for Trefoil Trails was signed in 1978 and it’s in a farm-like setting that’s ideal for introducing young girls to camping.
Recommended repairs and upgrades to Trefoil Trails would cost about $58,000, the report concluded.
The Girl Scout organization has been around for 98 years.
