Closter - Jim Oettinger of Closter Recreation does not like to see children leaving Closter for a summer camp that he thinks the town should provide. Therefore he has proposed increasing the hours of the existing summer recreation program to an all day camp, mirroring the Tenafly camp that currently attracts some borough residents.
"There’s been a groundswell of people wanting this for a few years," said Oettinger. "We are seeing a lot of people going out of town and I am the biggest believer that Closter is a great place to live. And we should never be having to send our residents to another town to get services we should be able to provide."
The existing summer program is free and runs for six weeks from 9:30 a.m. to noon. The proposed summer camp would cost $400 for Closter residents and $500 for non-residents and likely also run for six weeks but from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The camp, which would run from June 30 to Aug. 8, would provide games, sports and arts and crafts for kindergartners through sixth grade graduates. Tenakill School could be used in the event of rain and day trips would be provided at an additional charge, said Oettinger.
The idea has been met favorably by parents who would like Closter’s summer camp to offer what Tenafly does while keeping their children active for longer portions of the summer days. However, parents like Donna Kelly, who plans to send her fourth grader and kindergartner to Tenafly’s program in the summer, think Closter should not rush into establishing the camp for this summer.
"I think eventually it would be good but to try to put this together now for a June program is a little soon," she said.
"I would feel better knowing they took the time, researched the trips and counselors and put together a planned program," said Kelly. She added that she would sign her children up for Closter’s program next year if it had all the offerings that were mentioned, such as field trips and frequent swim club excursions.
At a meeting Wednesday, March 5, parents offered suggestions about what they would like the program to entail as well as their concerns.
"People brought up a lot of valid points," said Oettinger, adding he wants to "do it right" so he is investigating all the parents’ concerns.
Some ideas raised include accrediting the program with the American Camp Association, early or late drop-off hours and running the program for longer than six weeks.
Oettinger does not think the latter will be possible, saying the camp counselors who would be high school or college students may not be available for that extended duration.
"I realize we are not going to make everybody happy but we can try our best to reach as much of the needs as possible," said Oettinger.
He hopes to know by March 12 whether this program is feasible for this summer or would have to be planned for next year instead.
"The woman that [heads] the summer program is interested in doing this," said Oettinger.
He added that in case he finds it will take too much preparation to pull together for this year, "Looking ahead it would be so simple to do for next year."
E-mail: wilde@northjersey.com or call 201-894-6706
