Berkeley City Council – Critical Vote on April 4, 2017

Dearest Campers,
Since the Rim Fire in 2013, many campers and The Friends of Berkeley Tuolumne Camp, along with City of Berkeley staff, have been working tirelessly to rebuild camp.

We are now at the crossroads of this effort!

We have just been informed that on Tues April 4th 5:30pm, at a special worksession on Camp Tuolumne, the City Council will be making a critical decision to set aside City funds in the FY 18-19 budget to help pay for the next phase – the design and reconstruction of camp.

A YES vote means we stay on track, with design and reviews in 2018, construction starting  in 2019 and finishing in 2020,  and Camp could be open as early as summer 2021.

A NO vote means the project gets delayed, the City prioritizes other needs and we come back to appeal for funds in a year and camp is further away from reality.

                                                                                 Big Picture:
The city is negotiating with insurers, FEMA and the state of California for funds that will pay over 90 percent of the estimated $60 million cost to rebuild camp. The federal government requires the city to pay a small share of the total cost; this share is estimated to be about $3 – $5 million.

To get the camp rebuilding process going in 2018 – 2019, the city needs to invest for design and some initial construction. If the city makes this investment, then we are well on our way to having camp reopen by 2021!

What You Can DO!
Here are the three CRITICAL things we need you to do in the next two weeks:

1. Activate All Campers! Ask all Campers you know to get on the FOBTC Distribution List. We need to gather as many campers in our database, so we can activate our community when needed.

2.  Write and/or Call Your Council Member: Find contact info for your council member HERE:  Tell them how much camp means to you and how important and imperative it is to you that camp be rebuilt ASAP. The more council members hear from their constituents, the more they’ll feel compelled to support camp! They MUST feel how much support there is for Camp. If you live outside Berkeley, please send an email to the entire City Council at council@cityofberkeley.info.

3.  April 4th 5:30pm  Attend the City Council Meeting!
We must show up at this meeting!  This is IT! The critical moment for camp. Please bring as many friends and family as you can to this event.  It is imperative that we pack the house, to demonstrate our passion and commitment to the new Council.

 This is our opportunity to stay on track and take one critical step closer to being back by the river…with a gorgeous new camp!

Please let them hear from you before April 4th
and we’ll see you at the City Council Meeting!

In Camp Spirit and Appreciation,
Scotty and the Board of FOBTC

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