Camp Quinipet Director Greg Nissen is preparing to move a building from Stearns Point Road to the campgrounds and give it an environmentally friendly makeover.

This new Welcome Center for the camp will house an office, a reception area and new energy-saving systems on its main level. An infirmary is planned for the lower level. The new rooms will be outfitted with skylights and large windows, to take advantage of the view of Shelter Island Sound but also to save on lighting costs. An on-demand water heater, hybrid heat pump system, low-flow plumbing fixtures and high efficiency air conditioning units will reduce utility costs.

These new systems have a large up-front cost but will provide huge long-term savings. Quinipet has found help through LIPA subsidies and rebates, but is still searching for further financial support, according to Mr. Nissen. The upgrades will both reduce Quinipet's annual energy bills and mitigate the camp's impact on the environment.

Perhaps the greatest environmental savings comes from recycling an existing house, removing demolition debris from the waste stream and using no new materials for the structure's shell.

Mr. Nissen is still pursuing a number of avenues to fund the project. “We're giving contributors three years to fulfill their pledges to the project, but since the house has to be moved this fall, I can't wait to build a bank and then build” the facility, he said.

One major donation drive is the “Sue Klein Campaign,” named after Reverend Sue Klein who led a family camp at Quinipet for 40 years. The campaign has been soliciting contributions from people who have attended the camp over its long history and from the Newton United Methodist Church in Newton, Connecticut, where Sue serves as deacon. It is hoped that about $100,000 of the $400,000 project will come from this campaign.

The project found two of its most generous benefactors in Islanders Sam and Karen Seymour, who donated the building. They were originally planning on demolishing it to make way for a driveway to their adjoining property, but after contractor Bob Reylek mentioned that Quinipet might want it, the Seymours contacted Mr. Nissen and offered the structure to the camp.

“We are delighted to be able to support Quinipet,” said Mr. Seymour.  “Our son was a camper at Quinipet several years ago, and we have always had a fondness for the camp.”

The plan requires that the home be physically relocated to the campgrounds, which is, of course, no easy task. The house will be loaded onto a large moving truck with a hydraulic lift, driven first down Stearns Point Road, then along Shore Road, and finally up the Quinipet driveway to the baseball field, where it will sit until the camp secures the last of the necessary permits, a building permit. It will then be moved to its final location beside the current dining hall.

Despite the scope of the endeavour, a number of factors have simplified the project. For one, the house donation cut a huge chunk from construction costs. “It's like somebody said, ‘Here. Here's $130,000 you don't have to raise,'” Mr. Nissen commented. The house's long, narrow shape and low profile will minimize the number of trees removed from the Seymour property and will allow the building to slip down the roads without costly and time-consuming removal and replacement of wires.

Also, the original proposed blueprint of the center's layout, which was approved by the Shelter Island Zoning Board of Appeals in 2007, happens to fit the actual architectural layout of the Seymour's house almost exactly. Only a few feet of new wall will have to be built. As Mr. Nissen put it, “Even someone who doesn't believe in God would look at this and say, ‘this is really weird, it must be a God thing.'”

Despite the hard work ahead, Mr. Nissen is looking forward to the end result and having a little fun along the way. “I want to ride the house down Shore Road,” he joked.  

To become a part of the effort, call Mr. Nissen at 749-0430, or email him at greg@quinipet.org to make a donation.

Add your comments below:

Your name:

Your email:

Subject:


Comments:



Enter text seen above: