SALEM — Though the 70-acre swath called Camp Lion lies in Salem, locals might be hard-pressed to find it on a map.
"A lot of people don't know it's there," said Patricia Wakeham, scoutmaster for Lynn Boy Scout Troop 466, which calls Camp Lion home and uses its grounds and facilities year-round, for free.
"It's a hidden jewel," she said.
But it's become a lot more visible of late, as Lynn neighbors of the property have begun scrutinizing Camp Lion's plan to sell 15 acres to Kennedy Development Group, abutting the Highland Avenue plaza where Walmart is located. The developer wants to build a larger Walmart store, replacing the one that's there now, and add a new Lowe's home improvement store.
The project will have its next hearing before the Salem Planning Board on Sept. 16.
Camp Lion sits behind a residential neighborhood along Fays Avenue in Lynn and up a narrow, paved road. Surrounded by woodlands, the recreational area has been frequented by youth groups like the Boy Scouts since the property was donated in 1952.
Camp Lion board members, who are all members of the Lynn Lions Club, say the property is well-known to them, their families, youth groups and neighbors, but to few others.
"I think the Lynn community knows more about us," said Sean Crowley, Camp Lion vice president. "It's just because of the fact we don't have any members who are from the Salem community."
The camp's mission has been to make the property available for the social, physical and mental betterment of youth.
"We let the children use it for free," said Paul Crowley, treasurer of Camp Lion and a Lynn councilor-at-large.
The Boy Scouts use the function hall weekly and for many of their outdoor activities, including day hikes and skills tests at the fire pit, Wakeham said.
"Our boys love meeting up there," she said.
Though the sale of a part of the property would have no bearing on her troop and the facilities they use, Wakeham said she is disappointed about it.
She believes wildlife will be displaced with the new construction.
Nevertheless, she said the troop appreciates all they can do at Camp Lion.
"They're very generous," Wakeham said of Camp Lion. "We try to give back to them as much as they've given to us."
Lodge & Camp Fire space
The section used most by Camp Lion members includes a well-appointed lodge with a full kitchen, pool tables, a flat-screen TV and a wet bar. The camp also has a separate function hall with kitchen, a caretaker's house and a large outdoor pavilion.
For decades, Camp Lion has also leased part of the land to the Northshore Council of Camp Fire, which provides club programs and a summer camp for kids.
Camp Fire, accessible from Highland Avenue, will be temporarily displaced if the sale goes through, but Camp Lion members have pledged to work with their tenants to ensure their programs continue.
"We're working closely with them so they won't go without a summer program," Crowley said.
Camp Lion has also asked the developer to create a new access way for Camp Fire, which will be moved to another section of the property, he said.
"We're bending over backwards for them," said John Baker, president of Camp Lion.
The board members say that the 15 acres they hope to sell gets little use because much of it is ledge.
"It's unusable at least to us or the youth groups who use it," Sean Crowley said.
The sale of the 15 acres would actually reduce the value of the remaining property, making it less attractive to future development, board members say, because it would in essence be blocked off permanently.
"That's the last of the frontage," Baker said.
Camp Lion hopes to put the money from the sale of the property into an endowment that would allow them to extend their charitable work, which grows harder as their members age and the economy flounders.
"It's difficult to have the members to put in the time for charitable endeavors," said George Brennan, a Camp Lion past president.
In 2007, Camp Lion's total revenue was $37,525 and expenses were $23,790, according to the most recent tax filings available. All their board members are volunteers and no one receives a salary, according to the filings.
'Not Route 1'
But Lynn City Councilor Dan Cahill, a vocal opponent of the Lowe's-Walmart plan, said he worries that Camp Lion could continue to sell off its property.
"Route 107 is not Route 1 or Route 114. It was never meant to be that," said Cahill, who bought his house on nearby Belleaire Avenue in July 2009. "It's a one-way out and one-way in in Lynn, into a residential area."
Camp Lion board members — who agreed to sell their property about eight years ago — said they have listened to concerns from neighbors and Lynn politicians, and sought concessions from the developer, including drainage improvements and buffers between the edge of the retail property and their neighbors.
"We put the developer under some pretty huge pressure so the real concerns of the neighbors are addressed, not the fabricated ones like the sky is falling," Baker said.
Cahill said he appreciates board members' willingness to bring his concerns and those of other neighbors back to the their membership. But he's still hoping to stop the sale.
"We hope that they see upon review that this is a bad project for the surrounding area, the surrounding community — except for Salem, obviously — and possibly the club itself," he said.
Ultimately, however, Camp Lion is under contract with the developer, board members noted. The sale will essentially be complete when the project receives Salem building permits, they said.
"A contract is a contract," Paul Crowley said. "This is the United States of America, and you run by the rule of law."
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