Camporee pays $125K deposit to return to Gillette in 2029 and will pay Cam-plex $90K for repairs

GILLETTE (WNE) — The International Pathfinder Camporee has paid a $125,000 deposit to return to Gillette in 2029, and repair work is being done at Cam-plex to fix damages to infrastructure that occurred during the 2024 event.

Camporee paid Cam-plex $250,000 to rent the entire facility for the 2024 event, and it will pay $250,000 again for the 2029 event. 

In addition, Camporee will be billed for about $90,000 in repairs and expenses stemming from this year’s event. 

Cam-plex Executive Director Aaron Lyles said repairs were expected after an event of Camporee’s size.

“Nobody wants to get a repair bill, but there wasn’t anything that was jumping off the page,” he said. “It was just voluminous because of the number of people on the grounds.”

Specifically, the event put a “real heavy strain on our plumbing system, with the vehicles driving over the top of RV campsite plumbing infrastructure,” Lyles said.

Camporee also will pay the City of Gillette for trash pickup, water and electricity. Camporee racked up a solid waste bill for $50,837 while it was here. 

This includes the cost of labor and equipment, as well as the tipping fees at the county’s North Landfill, Lyles said. And the power and water bills come out to about $50,000, of which Camporee will pay $25,000, because that was the maximum amount agreed upon in the contract for this cost, Lyles said.

And roughly between 6,000 and 10,000 square feet of grass will need to be re-seeded at Cam-plex Park. Lyles said Camporee has an agreement with G&G Landscaping to restore the grass.

Combined, Camporee will pay Cam-plex and the city about $165,000 for repairs, expenses and utility bills.

This story was published on September 28, 2024.