by wagionvigil » Fri Aug 07, 2009 1:22 pm
August 5, 2009
Boy Scouts consider Fayette site for $100 million jamboree -- A Fayette County site has emerged as the frontrunner in the Boy Scouts of America's search for a permanent home for its National Jamboree, a 10-day event that attracts nearly 40,000 scouts and another 200,000 visitors every four years.
By Eric Eyre
Staff writer
CHARLESTON, W.VA -- A Fayette County site has emerged as the frontrunner in the Boy Scouts of America's search for a permanent home for its National Jamboree, a 10-day event that attracts nearly 40,000 scouts and another 200,000 visitors every four years.
Earlier this week, the Boy Scouts scrapped plans to build a National Scout Jamboree Center in Goshen, Va., citing concerns about water and sewer capacity. Some area residents also opposed the project.
The scouts already plan to build a "high-adventure base" on a 10,600-acre site beside the New River Gorge in Fayette County.
Now, they're also eyeing the same Garden Ground Mountain property for the Jamboree Center, which would host the scouts' 2013 jamboree. "This would be quite an achievement for Fayette County," said Matt Wender, a Fayette County commissioner. "I feel very good about our prospects and chances."
The Boy Scouts initially planned to build the $100 million Jamboree Center and high-adventure base at one site when the organization first solicited bids for the project in 2008. The scouts called the combined project the National Scouting Center. Fayette County was one of three finalists for the combined project, along with Goshen, Va., and a site in Arkansas.
But in June, the scouts announced plans to build the high-adventure base in Fayette County and the Jamboree Center in Rockbridge County, Va. "If it wasn't for the Goshen site, Fayette County would likely have gotten the Jamboree Center back then," Wender said. "Their intention was to do all of this at one site."
At the time, the Boy Scouts balked at building the Jamboree Center on the Fayette County property because of topography, Wender said. "They felt the site was a bit too rugged," he said. "But now I think they're seeing it as less of an obstacle after discussing ways to overcome those topographical challenges. After a second and third look, there's plenty of property that's relatively flat that can be reconfigured as a place for the jamboree."
In a press release, Boy Scouts national chairman Jack Furst acknowledged the group was trying to determine whether the Fayette County site could support the jamboree, but added, "We have a lot of work to do there before we can make that determination."
In Goshen, Va., residents complained the jamboree center would cause traffic problems. Wender said that wasn't a significant concern in Fayette County. The proposed site is within minutes of U.S. 19, a major highway. Preliminary plans call for the Boy Scouts to build four "access points" for entering the Garden Ground Mountain property.
"We handle Bridge Day without too much interruption," said Wender of the annual Fayette County BASE-jumping event that attracts 155,000 people. Wender said the biggest issue would be providing adequate water and sewage services at the scouting site.
The Boy Scouts held its first jamboree in 1937.
Since 1981, the National Jamboree has taken place at Fort A.P. Hill in Virginia, a 76,000-acre facility. During the event, the jamboree site is divided into regions: West, Northeast, Central and Southern. Each camp has its own bathrooms and shower facilities. More than 18,000 tents and 3,600 patrol kitchens are set up.
Scouts take part in outdoor, environmental conservation and leadership programs. There's entertainment, a re-created American Indian village, and a "merit badge midway" where scouts have a chance to finish incomplete merit badges. Scouts also trade patches during the event.
After finding a permanent home of the National Jamboree, the scouts plan to hold the event there for at least 100 years. "The long-term benefit is we would get young people coming to the county and having a great experience and wanting to come back," Wender said. "We've let the scouts know we want to be a partner. We're anxious to play a role in making this happen."
If selected for the National Jamboree Center, the Fayette County site also could potentially host future World Scout Jamborees, which attract tens of thousands of scouts from around the world. Upcoming world jamborees are in Sweden and Japan. "It's amazing," said Hayden Moore, a 16 year-old Charleston Boy Scout who attended the World Jamboree in London in 2007. "A National Jamboree would be really good for West Virginia because there's not enough scouting places here."
The Boy Scouts plan to start construction on the high-adventure base in Fayette County next year and open the facility in 2012. That project could bring as many as 80 full-time jobs and 1,000 seasonal workers to the area. The high-adventure base would host as many as 50,000 scouts a year. The West Virginia site would become the Boy Scouts' fourth high-adventure base, joining camps in Philmont, N.M.; Ely, Minn.; and Sea Base, Fla. The jamboree and high-adventure centers would likely be built simultaneously, if Fayette County secures both projects.
"We're excited," said Art King, president of the Boy Scouts Buckskin Council in Charleston. "Due diligence on the West Virginia site is still continuing. They haven't made a final decision that the jamboree is coming here, but we're hopeful it will."
NER Area 4 COPE/Climbing Chairman
NE Area 4 Venturing Chairman
"If You Ain't a Bear, You're a Meal!"
