Kutz Camp could serve the growing senior population

To the Editor:

If there is one thing that sets the Town of Warwick apart from everywhere else we know, it’s the commitment to the protection of open spaces. From PDR, to the Community Preservation Fund, to Orange County Land Trust, to the preservation of most of the undeveloped area of the Mid-Orange Correctional Facility, we who live here should be grateful to the efforts of many people to limit development and preserve our rural heritage.

Two years ago, the Town Board again demonstrated its support for a vision of a green Warwick when it assumed ownership of Kutz Camp. It’s an impressive complex, encompassing 37 buildings, including a large commercial kitchen, cafeteria, dormitories and residential cottages, swimming pools, ponds and walking trails on more than 80 acres.

Unfortunately, to date no plan has emerged for guaranteeing a stream of funding to maintain the buildings on the property. Even driving by one can see signs of wear, and these will only get worse with time. We the undersigned would like to request that the Town Board consider making the property available for a suite of services that will provide a support network for our growing population of seniors. It is estimated that those over 60 already comprise 17% of the U.S. population, and this rate is expected to continue to climb until at least 2050.

This is the time to plan ahead for that eventuality. Examples of the type of services that could potentially put that space to good use would include respite care, an independent or assisted living facility, perhaps a hospice program. This would also allow current residents to receive the services they need while continuing to live in a community they love.

We hope the Town Board will seriously consider pursuing this option, and to aggressively pursue the development of a plan to protect the future of those facilities.

Prof. Robert E. McGrath

Prof. Richard W. Hull