County Legislature Calls for Answers Following Report on Camp Nooteeming

Chair Yvette Valdés Smith Says Report Raises Serious Questions About County’s Contracting Practices and Due Diligence

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY — Dutchess County Legislature Chair Yvette Valdés Smith is calling for a deeper investigation into the County’s purchase of Camp Nooteeming and its relationship with the for-profit Pathfinder Academy. Following the release of a special report from the Dutchess County Comptroller’s Office, Chair Valdés Smith and county legislators have questions regarding the camp, which was purchased in 2022 for $4.2 million under former County Executive Marcus Molinaro.

“In 2022, when the County moved to purchase Camp Nooteeming, then-County Executive Marcus Molinaro assured the legislature that the property was being acquired to increase free outdoor opportunities for Dutchess County youth,” said Chair Yvette Valdés Smith. “From the very beginning, the County Executive’s office misrepresented the nature of the purchase and minimized and outright hid the extent to which taxpayer dollars were being used to prop up a financially unstable for-profit entity. I want to thank Comptroller Dan Aymar-Blair for his office’s thorough audit.”

The report found that, since 2022, the County has subsequently spent upwards of $600,000 for upgrades to the property, with an additional $1.2 million appropriated to pay Pathfinder for professional services and rental fees related to the operation of the Camp.

Legislator Brendan Lawler (D-Hyde Park) and Chair of the Legislature’s Budget Committee said, “Camp Nooteeming is just the latest example of poor decisions made out of public view and which offer little to no benefit to residents. The public demands a full accounting of what happened and who’s responsible.”

“This report makes it abundantly clear that the Legislature was sold a bill of goods. What remains less clear is who really benefitted from the public purchase of a property that most residents aren’t allowed to use.’ said Legislator Brennan Kearney (D-Rhinebeck) and Chair of the Legislature’s Government Services and Administration Committee. “Since local use of this Park by Pleasant Valley or any other Dutchess County residents was obviously never the point, as revealed in this report, it’s time for some answers - honest ones, this time.”

###