Kalamazoo Times

The green light has been given to the Parks Foundation of Kalamazoo County to move forward with the purchase of the former Rota-Kiwan camp property in Texas Township. 

The Boy Scouts of America announced in October that all Cub Scout summer activities would cease this year at the property. A meeting on May 5 had the County Commissioners all unanimously voting in favor of pursuing the purchase and to turn Rota-Kiwan into a county park, MLive reported.

A $3 million plan was presented by Kalamazoo County Parks Director David Rachowicz. In order to move forward, nonprofit funds from the Parks Foundation of Kalamazoo County would be used to make the initial purchase of the property and also be used for the first phase of improvements on the property.

Rachowicz estimates that 85% of what is needed by the county is already on the 212-acre property at Rota-Kiwan. This includes restrooms, roadways, picnic areas and parking lots. According to Rachowicz, the purchase price of the property will be an estimated $2 million, and the maintenance to get it back up and running will cost around $1 million. An anonymous, private donor has already donated $1 million of those funds to the foundation.

As of April 21, the property was not yet up for sale, and approval was needed from the council for the proposal. There was not an immediate response from the Boy Scouts on whether or not the property was up for sale or even available for purchase. The acquisition is estimated to take between three to 12 months.

During the April 21 meeting, MLive reports Boy Scout Leader David Blythe told the commissioners that the Boy Scouts program is still growing at a great rate. Blythe told the group that more than 40 Boy Scout packs remain, which involve 900 youth and 400 adults. In Kalamazoo County, 250 boys and girls joined the Boy Scouts of America in 2019.

“We are pleased that the County Commissioners have taken action towards adding Rota-Kiwan to the County park system," Blythe said, reported by MLive. "We think that this can be a win-win for the local Boy Scouts and for the entire community, and are looking forward to working with David Rachowicz to help develop Rota-Kiwan in a way that allows the camp to deliver the second century of outdoor adventure to local youth.”