CAMP NEWS

News from Bill Hartley
September 24, 2002

We finished up our summer 2002 season and things have been going very well. Dave Minnihan ran his first Cub Resident Camp program this year and it looks like the kids had a great time. Dave Hopkins, the Summer Resident Camp, Camp Director, had a very good summer and is looking forward to returning next summer. Tina Renzullo had a great spring program, her official first season as Program Director and she did a wonderful job. Buddy Renzullo will direct this falls weekend program which begins this coming Labor Day Weekend and will run program on the weekends until the end of October. Andy Balindy is also beginning is second season at Cherry as the Program Director for Catalina Island Marine Institute, Cherry Cove program.

I should also mention Karen Hartley's efforts as the Food Service Director for both the SGVC spring and fall weekends and Summer Resident Camp. In my bias opinion and that of the Program Directors she works with she has done an incredible job. She and her staffs have provided excellent food, kept the kitchen and Dining Hall as clean as possible, and smile at campers, while producing up to as many as 5,000 meals a week.

Mark (Bear) Serratt, our Camp Ranger for over six years, has been busy around camp. Following a very productive winter and spring building and development phase he shifted his focus to program support, repairs, and facility service. He is currently shifting back to improvement and development for the up coming fall. He is one very talented man. He is also a very good friend to every program staff member that works here.

Speaking of what we are planning on doing this fall. We are very close to receiving L.A. County's approval for our water storage tank and will begin on it as soon as we do. We also have been working on the permit to replace one of the Commissioner Cabins and hope to start on that very soon. We our in the planning phase to start make some improvements on the waterfront. Decking, walkways, program equipment storage, boat racks, and more are being work on. We also will need to spend some time on the regular camp maintenance needs like painting, landscaping, equipment maintenance, and on and on and on.

Following the water tank project completion we can really begin to make the bigger improvements. Beginning with getting the "New" Camp Store on line then relocating the Warehouse and housing improvements. I would like to make a point at this point in the story. The costs of these improvements are way off the charts. Fire suppression alone will cost us close to one million dollars to complete. The anticipated cost to replace the Dining Hall was $350,000 in 1993. Today the proposed Dining Hall is around two and a half million and I'm confident that when it is competed we will have spend over three million, assuming we are able to start within the next couple of years. My point is that by the time you have a plan, raise the money, get the permits, and begin the construction, the project will already cost more than you planned.

On August 1, 2002 we had the dedication ceremony for the new lighthouse. Thomson's Light has become a great asset to the camp and everyone is most grateful for it. The Alumni visited CCV twice this year and each time the staff waddled out of the Dining Hall. Thanks everyone.

Domestic and Fire Water Storage and Distribution System & Lighthouse
By: Bill Hartley        April 2002

Note: The following narrative is supported by photos provided within this website.

The San Gabriel Valley Council - BSA is improving Camp Cherry Valley. The process began in 1993 when we wanted to replace the camps existing Trading Post with a new Camp Store and Craft Center. Following the on site arrival of the two building sections the Fire Department notified us that we needed to upgrade our fire suppression systems to meet current County Fire codes before we could finish and occupy the new store.

It was also recommended that we develop an over all master plan for the property. By December 1998 we had completed all of the necessary studies, reports, and planning required and received approval from LA County Regional Planning and the Coastal Commission for the CCV Land Use Plan. I should also mention that this process not only took five years but cost several hundred thousand dollars to accomplish.

The fire suppression requirements for an isolated youth camp in fire zone 4 are as extensive as any property. We are required to store enough water on site to keep the system operating for 2 hours at specified pressures and volume. The code also calls for the system to be replenished within 12 hours, which the island water system cannot do, so we had to more than double the size of the tank. We are required to have every building internally suppressed with sprinklers, each building must have external hose boxes for exterior fire suppression, and fire hydrants throughout camp for fire truck connections. All of the fire system components must be connected to the storage tank with a dedicated piping system.

To meet the camps current and future development plans and comply with these fire codes we needed to replace all of our existing domestic plumbing supply lines as well. So beginning in early March of 2002 we started digging a 3'x3' trench from the beach all the way to the top of the camp road. In the trench were placed a 3" domestic fill pipe, a 6" fire supply pipe, a 3" domestic supply line, several electrical pipes with boxes, and many other components such as valves, connectors, tracer wires, and more. All of this was done while running program and maintaining our existing utilities.

What does it take to do a job like this? Eight men, two back hoes, a crane, two utility trucks, two dump trucks, and hundreds of tools. Getting the men, equipment, tools, and materials to the camp starts the adventure. A tug and barge arrives at the cove early one morning, lowers its 40' ramp, and within two hours all of the equipment is on the beach. Everyone one takes a deep breath and the backhoe starts digging. 20' feet down the road we broke our first water pipe. Digging through CCV has been unique; we are finding old bottles, abandon septic systems, pipes, and other items but mainly we are finding out where all our old active pipes are located. We've got water, sewer, gas, electrical and communication pipes all over camp and only a small portion of which ever made it to an as built drawing for future reference and locating. A lot of hand digging and careful backhoe work was done in the lower portion of camp.

A part of this project that can be very interesting is the county inspection and approval process. Through out the planning and construction phases various agencies must inspect the drawings, work and materials. To follow the fire code to the letter we are supposed to install, fill, and pressurize all the pipes while they are exposed to insure that there are no leaks. Leaving almost 4000' of trench open down the center of the valley for several weeks is tough, impossible while operating program. The Fire Department has allowed us to cover up the days work and when we have completed the instillation we will pressure check the underground pipes and if there is no pressure loss we are good to go, if not, we dig up the pipes for a visual inspection. Not a good thing.

As I write this we are entering the finial week of this phase of construction. We are running the future attaching lines to the existing buildings and proposed building sites, installing the fire hydrants, and hose boxes. When everything is installed we will flush the pipes, cap all the ends of the pipes at the buildings, and refill the pipes with water, put the entire system under pressure and hope it holds. If all goes well we should have our finial inspection from the fire department this week.

We still need to install the water storage tank and will do so as soon as possible. We hope to begin the grading and foundation work for the tank very soon. When completed and finial approval is obtained we can move forward on our building projects. The first building to go on line will be the new camp store, we hope to make some improvements to the Resident Cabin, install some program housing, and relocate the Warehouse. By then we will be ready to start the new Dining Hall. Many other improvement projects are planned such as Sea Breeze, campsites, most program areas will be improved, another restroom facility built up canyon, and replacement of the Commissioners Cabins are also planned.

Lighthouse

Along with the underground plumbing project we are also installing the new Lighthouse. This began with a big hole (2'x12'x12') being dug in the middle of the beach. Then a form is built and PVC coated steel is tied with vinyl coated wire in to a cage, which fits inside the form. Anyone concerned about rust? The cement mixing process was different. The cement comes in ½ yard bags, the bags are lifted by the crane and held over the cement truck shoot where they are emptied and water added. When the mix is ready it is poured into the form and vibrated to insure a solid pour and slab. We are now the owners of the best concrete slab on the island, with 5000-PSI cement. The cement slab is 2'x11'x11' and will support and anchor the 28' Lighthouse.

When we began the whole project the Lighthouse missed the barge and arrived by tug when it was ready. It was another CCV adventure with the Kingfisher II lifting the pieces off the tug bring them to shore and having the crane lift them off of the beach for storage above the tide line. The next day the first two sections were installed and the catwalk was attached. After the third section was installed we ran the "over 500 lbs. test". The next morning we finished the job by installing the roof, inside ladders, and sealing the seams.

In 1998 our old Lighthouse was brought down by 70+ MPH winds. Even thought the Lighthouse was used as a lighthouse for several years when it was first built for most of its life it was a lookout tower and storage facility for the waterfront. It retained the name Lighthouse because of its appearance and relationship with the Land Ship and the camps nautical theme on the beach. The new structure will better facilitate both of its primary functions by giving the program staff a better visual advantage of the cove and improve our storage capacity.

We received the following message from Bill Hartley during the recent storm...

Hi Friends:
Just wanted to give you an update on the camps status following this recent storm. Fortunately for us the wind was very light and the damage the wind causes was light. But, the water we received was much more than the camp needed. The good news is that the islands water reservoirs and wells should receive a good recharging and the threat of drought this summer, is now way down.

What's CCV like when she receives to much rain? You may ask, well let me describe it for you. The Salina is completely full. Our ten inch drain has been releasing water for 20 hours a day for the last two days and the water still is up to the flag poles The roads to the beach are submerged. Kayaks are the preferred modes of travel in this whole areas. The Kayak locker is half flooded.

The Trading Post area has a wonderful water fall going, unfortunately the water decided to go through the store instead of around and the floor is flooded. Our stuff is staying dry but CIMI's electrical lab equipment is getting exposed to way to much water. Hope it survives, expensive stuff.

The area between the Dining Hall and my place is a river like, about ten feet wide, big holes in spots but averages about 1 foot deep. The "river" from here up throughout camp to the road is running at a good clip. At about 4:30 this afternoon I could not cross the road/creek by the ranges.

At the road intersection, were we spent our morning, is were we are having our biggest problems. Were the creek crosses the island road the water flow needs help reaching our creek bed on the other side. We spent many hours building a water berm and vehicle crossing location to prevent the water flow from running directly down our camp road. We made several attempts at it through out the day. Right at dusk Kevin came in to the house soaking wet but smiling from ear to ear. He said that we lost the first berm. I asked him why he was smiling and he said that he knew there was to much water. He was right, but we had to try.

The rain has let up a little and that gives the drain some time to catch up but it takes several days for the valley to drain following one of these soakings. There is more rain forecasted throughout the week.

If I can open the road tomorrow morning (without a road no, Baywatch access), and the rest of the road to town is open, and the campsites can be drained and dried, we can look forward to 105 people for dinner. I don't no why I took the time to write all this down, I feel better. I wonder if our painter can make it in tomorrow?

Bill









































CCV Up Date
3-18-01

Hi All:
 As the sun continues to shine CCV continues to dry out. How is it possible that apiece of ground that was mud 3 days ago now makes dust when you walk on it? Only yesterday the road between the Dining Hall and my place opened to vehicle traffic, still have a few cones out to ID the soft spots, but open. The parade ground is a mess and the flagpoles have a foot of mud covering the cement floor. Kevin and I started digging it out today, his idea, we got a third of it dug out.

 To make Cherry a year round operation we need to address several thing. First I should say that the system we have evolved works great and meets the need of the average annual rain fall. Only when we receive more than 5 inches in 24 hours do we begin to tear up the soil. And if we have several heavy rains we find our ground water backs up and eventually inundates our Dining Hall, middle septic system, and Cook's Housing. Adding an additional 10" drain through the beach would drain out the salina quicker and prevent the ground water from backing up, as much. Installing culverts under the camp road in several places would prevent the road from being washed out and installing a larger culvert at the top of the canyon where the creek crosses the island road would help us maintain year round vehicle access. And as much as I hate to say it we would also benefit from some asphalt being put down in the administrative area, say from the top of the maintenance yard to just pass the existing Dining Hall.

 In the mean time, we've began decking one of the campsites this week, have had all the residences interiors painted, completed the staff village restroom repair and deck improvement project, spend at least 3 hours a day on the tractor repairing the roads and creek, completed a small deck (back porch) on Mark's place, and have begun our spring weed abatement and annual brush clearing program.

 In the near future we will be addressing the following items. Mark will begin replacing all the vinyl pipe in my place with copper pipe. We will have professional installers over to camp to replace all the carpets and linoleum in all three residences. There still a lot of tree debris from the storm and we will be chipping it up as soon as we can take the grader off the tractor. One of the weekends in April we will have a team of professionals come in to camp and replace the dining hall septic lift station. With a few other items added to the list the camp is looking at a $50,000 plus repair. There is also a rumor going around about replacing a commissioner cabin soon.
 The camp has purchased two medal-shipping containers for storage. They are 8'x20' and are divided into two compartments with roll up doors on the side. I'm planning on putting them back to back on the lower end of the archery range, with a 8' road on each side we would lose 32' of the archery range, or about a third of it. What do you think?

 Even though Mark and I are just short of being super men I should mention that we have hired an independent contractor who has done a lot for us. Now that the storm repair work is slowing down we will begin cleaning up the place and should be good to go when weekend program begins. We are looking forward to a beautiful spring; all of you will need to brush up on your native plant flower names.

 I'm off to National Camp School the second week of April. Colby and I will be going at the same time and will have making a lot of plans so if you have any let me know so we can include them. For example, did everyone know that the summer staff will we installing a fitness area, including volleyball, this year. Thanks for listening and I hope you enjoy the photos.

Bill

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Last updated 3/20/2002