The Sudbury Monitor

Happening today (Thursday, June 4): Camp Sewataro hosts a free spring resident event from 5 to 7 p.m. – lawn games, music, balloon twisting, and an all-ages comedy-juggling show. It is free to Sudbury residents, who are welcome to walk the property during the event. (A Hope Sudbury fishing derby on the grounds follows on June 13.)

The town committee studying the future of the Liberty Ledge property – the camp land the town acquired about seven years ago and home to Camp Sewataro – met for about two and a half hours on May 21. The committee was created to gather public input and present options to the Select Board; it does not itself decide what happens to the property. The evening covered a debrief of the committee’s recent site walk, a presentation from the camp’s operator, and an overview from the town’s planning director.

Site walk and public comment. Members recapped a recent walk-through of the camp and encouraged residents to visit the property and take part in the process, noting upcoming public sessions. A handful of residents spoke, several describing the camp as a valued community asset and urging the committee to consider both its benefits and the long-term consequences of any change in use.

Camp presentation. Operator Scott Brody and his staff presented the camp’s operations and finances. By the figures they presented, roughly 1,470 children are enrolled this summer, about 490 of them Sudbury residents; the camp employs around 256 people, 84 from Sudbury; it has awarded 54 scholarships to Sudbury families this year; and it will have paid the town more than $2 million in direct payments since the arrangement began, currently about $320,000–$340,000 a year in base rent and profit-sharing, while also covering insurance, maintenance, and capital costs. Brody made a case for a longer-term lease, arguing that a longer horizon would let the camp finance year-round amenities for residents – such as a splash pad or an indoor recreation building – using camp revenue.

Discussion. Members and residents pressed two themes. On access, several observed that only about a third of campers come from Sudbury, that the camp is expensive and difficult to get into, and that many middle-income families neither qualify for scholarships nor can afford full tuition; they asked whether resident-based pricing could open more local spots. On finances, a committee member asked Brody to respond to a view, raised in a local blog, that the town effectively subsidizes the camp once its bond payments are weighed against the revenue; Brody disputed that characterization and defended the arrangement’s value to the town. The committee said it will have the town’s finance director present a full accounting, including what it would cost to maintain the property if the camp were not there. A resident also asked a series of detailed questions about the residential structures on the property and their use as year-round staff housing.

Planning context. The town’s planning and community-development director explained that the parcel is residentially zoned and the camp operates under a special permit. Any change in use, including selling the land, granting a long-term lease, or building new structures, would carry different costs and permitting paths; converting the property to housing, he said, would be an especially lengthy and expensive undertaking, while new camp or recreation buildings would generally proceed as a modification of the existing permit.

Looking ahead. The committee gathers public input and will bring options to the Select Board, which holds final authority over the property’s use or disposition. The current operating agreement runs through 2032, after which the town would undertake a procurement process. The committee plans a public input session on June 15 and will meet through the summer. A Hope Sudbury fishing derby is scheduled at the property on June 13.