Jeanie Forrester: Camp Menotomy sale is not a done deal until NH weighs in

A recent news story suggesting that a green light has been given for the sale of the Camp Menotomy property on Lake Winnipesaukee to a private developer included a number of incorrect statements. As a member of the Meredith Board of Selectmen, I believe I am in a good position to offer some corrections, as well as provide the public with some timely information about an upcoming presentation on the Camp Menotomy property that directly impacts our town, the Lakes Region and the state as a whole.

To be clear, the Sept. 2 decision by a Massachusetts probate court judge — to allow the five trustees of the Camp Menotomy Trust to proceed with a sale — does not determine the fate of this undeveloped 94 acres of shoreland on Lake Winnipesaukee.

The recent news article — “Judge approves $18M sale of former Girl Scout camp in Meredith” — leaves out a very critical fact: appeals of the probate judge’s entry of a proposed decree to allow the proposed sale were filed on Sept. 14, and those appeals are pending. Additionally, the New Hampshire Department of Justice is also investigating the proposed sale.

The article also inaccurately asserts that a potential sale of the Camp Menotomy property would benefit the Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts. The Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts are not owners of the property. In fact, the trust was established during the “Green Umbrella Movement” when local girl scout units objected to the proposed national consolidation of the Girl Scouts, and it was established to keep the national Girl Scouts from taking ownership of the Camp Menotomoy property to prevent a sale just like the one being proposed. The Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts were tenants under a lease agreement, dated January 1967 and which they terminated in May 2023, and they have no standing in court. The filing before the Massachusetts probate court to allow a sale of the property and thus circumvent the trust deeds was done solely by the Camp Menotomy trustees’ lawyers, not any Girl Scout organization.

People in opposition to the sale — the “Objectors” who filed the appeal — contend that the mission of the Camp Menotomy charitable trust cannot be forfeited if there is another organization that desires to run a camp on the property. Even though the trustees did not look for potential organizations to continue the charitable mission of the trust, at least two camps have stepped forward with offers to operate a camp on the property. One is an existing local camp; another is a wellness camp for military families and their children. The news article in question does not at all touch on these opportunities for the property.

The Camp Menotomy property is in New Hampshire, is established in law as a charitable trust, and is governed by the terms of a trust/deed recorded in the Belknap County registry of deeds. Its future should not be decided by a Massachusetts court without any input from our state and its charitable trust division. Keep in mind that the charitable trust division’s job is to enforce the terms of charitable trusts and to prevent trustees from forfeiting assets just because those assets could translate into income for beneficiaries.

And further, keep in mind that this is not a private trust but a charitable trust, where fiduciary duties are owed to the charity's purposes rather than to a specific person or persons.

I would hope that any future news reporting on the fate of the Camp Menotomy property would emphasize the role of our state government in this matter and would not implythat Massachusetts is solely in the driver’s seat.

I want to thank Executive Councilor Joe Kenney for his dogged pursuit of the facts in this complicated matter. He has spearheaded meetings with the NH attorney general to ensure that New Hampshire has a voice in this and he has published opinion pieces that clearly express what will be lost if a camping opportunity for generations of kids is traded for a half-dozen or so new luxury residential properties on a lake that is already over-developed. Councilor Kenney has graciously offered to appear at the selectboard’s meeting on Monday, Oct. 26 at 4:30 p.m. at the Meredith Community Center, to help guide us through the maze of information and misinformation that surrounds this case.

Please join us on Oct. 26 to hear more about the future of Camp Menotomy.

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Jeanie Forrester is a member and the former chair of the Meredith Selectboard.