Blue Jay’s back and better than ever

by Dan McClelland

Blue Jay Campsite, a popular vacation spot here for generations of camping visitors to Tupper Lake, is back and better than ever.

The tourist venue closed over a year ago when the Scotti family sold it to Stanley Rumbough’s limited liability company SHR Ventures LLC. None of the facility’s 101 campsites were rented last summer, as re-construction began.

In the past year there have been many improvements, and now the private camping area is open again, and awaiting new and old guests.

The facility has also become affiliated with the national campsite organization, KOA, and its new name is “KOA Tupper Lake.”

Tupper Lake’s Jill Trudeau, the general manager of the campground and Stanley Rumbough’s associate, Mike McNally, showed the Free Press around the renovated facility last week- and the improvements are impressive.

Entering the place off Moody an existing overflow parking area to the right is being regraded by Josh Trudeau’s Trudeau Construction, which has been working there re-manicuring the grounds and vistas overlooking the Big Lake.

That day Josh and some of his crew of ten were building a gravel ramp to one of the new sections of dock that have been installed in recent weeks.

Next to the overflow parking lot near the entrance is another section of campsite which have always been there.

All 101 campsites remain and all of them have been improved with new water, sewer and electric services.

Before more of those services were supplied by long time hosts Mr. and Mrs. Frank Scotti and their children- but using mains on the surface. All of that infrastructure has been buried now.

The electrical system transformers which once hung on utility poles will all now be pad-mount.

Mr. McNally said all the road in the campgrounds have been regraded and resurfaced by Trudeau Construction.

The old campground store, where campers for decades bought their groceries and snacks and where anglers purchased their worms and tackle, has been completely razed.

On the day of our visit, the concrete contractors had just finished a new pad for a brand new store on the original footprint. The building is expected to be up and finished in coming weeks for the facility’s July re-opening.

Most of the same groceries and camping supplies will be sold there, plus a national brand pizza by Hunt Bros. will be served hot every day from a new pizza oven. It will also be the check-in building and laundry area for the campers.

Right beside the new store there will be a dog run built to accommodate the pets of the campers.

Opposite the store building, to accommodate the campers and their sometimes large rigs as they enter the campgrounds and register there are three long parallel parking lanes.

On the large lawn in front of the lake where campers have always had picnics and played lawn games and which sports one of the best views of the Tupper’s main lake, a large wooden play structure apparatus to entertain the campers and their kids has been installed replacing the old playground and swings. It features tiny elevated cabins and ramps and such, made out of logs and timbers.

Campsites continue to be along the main road into the place, and leading up to the Scotti’s former family home, the exterior of which has been all re-stained. Exactly what the residence will become is still up in the air right now. Plans are to rezone the residential property on which the house sits, so someday soon it might be a new restaurant for the campgrounds and the community. “Right now, however, its use is to be determined,” noted Mr. McNally.

“We are offering a new and improved version of all the good things that were here,” Mr. McNally explained of the approach that has been taken.

Two new and very deep wells have been dug- one that produces 60 gallons per minute. The other one produces more- about 110 gallons per minute, so there’s now plenty of fresh water for all the campers.

All the docks in the marina have been replaced with brand new sections- all at least five feet wide and decked in a non-slip plastic material. In all about 34 dock section have already been installed by Josh Trudeau and his crew, and about 11 more coming for another section- for about 46 slips in all. The marina is now open for dock rentals.

Aerial shots of the shorefront were used to make sure the new docks were situated exactly where the old ones were. New concrete anchor were constructed by Trudeau Construction to secure the new docks in place.

There is also a new section of parking designated for locals who rent boat slips this summer.

The new system is designed to meet state DEC specifications.

The best news, perhaps, for local and visiting boaters, is that gas will continue to be sold at the new KOA Tupper Lake. The old gas pump was moved off a section of dock and a new modern one has replaced it, situated on higher ground 20 feet or so from shore, where it sports a very long fuel hose.

Even though the new owners kept the old pump running last summer, with all the work going on at the site, many boaters figured there was no gas being sold there, so didn’t pull up to the old docks to refuel. Instead boaters here carried heavy five-gallon cans of gas to their moored vessels here last summer.

The old path from the docks to the campgrounds was upgraded in gravel, with a foot high retaining wall of large stones.

There were many state-required improvements to the actual fuel system and to the existing tanks behind a brand new wooden building beside the new pumps. The fuel supply system is all brand new to meet the many environmental requirements from the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

“We assured both the town supervisor and the village mayor that we will always provide gas on the lake- because it’s so important for both local and visiting boaters!” Mr. McNally stressed.

The new improved marina and dock slip network are right where they were before, Josh Trudeau explained that morning.

The pre-fab shoreside cabin will be the marina office. Fishing supplies will also be sold there.

“So this summer we’re open to leasing slips and to providing gas to all boaters,” according to Mike.

“Are we ready to pump gas today, he asked Mr. Trudeau, who said they were.

Josh’s mother, Jill Trudeau has been the onsite manager of the renovation project for over a year- working alongside her son and his construction team. Mr. McNally said she “is the ultimate perfectionist” when it comes to the making of applications to government agencies to meet regulations they had to meet. She also won the KOA designation for the place, and even attended two KOA management schools over the winter to learn the system.

KOA campgrounds are unique and popular with even non-campers as they usually provide small sleeping cabins to rent. KOA Tupper Lake has at least five on order- and all come with bathrooms and small kitchen areas. “One of our new cabins is arriving shortly,” Jill announced that morning.

Editor’s note: the Free Publisher and his wife stayed in one at a KOA campgrounds in St. Augustine, Florida one week this winter and the cabin was small but extremely comfortable. It has all the amenities.

Those new cabins will be situated on five of the 101 campsites in their own neighborhood on the spacious grounds. The cabins are manufactured by Lancaster Log Homes in Pennsylvania.

The renovated campgrounds will be open to both seasonal and transient campers, beginning in July.

“All along our approach has been taking the great things that the Scottis offered and making them better,” she said the philosophy of Mr. Rumbough and his company.

The exact date of opening depends on the arrival of the new pad-mounted transformers from the village electric system. All winter Electric Superintendent Mike Dominie has reported at village board meetings the difficulty he is having obtaining the two types of transformers- and particularly the pad-mounted type, due to long supply chain delays.

Ms. Trudeau said Mr. Dominie was very helpful to their project when he was able to convince KOA officials that seven new transformers would be enough to handle the power needs there, as opposed to the 17 the KOA officials were requesting.

One improvement the new operators didn’t need to make was to the septic system, which had been improved by the former owners in recent years and which meets state requirements, and the gray water system on the hill which Mr. Scotti installed some years ago and which was considered state of the art at that time.

Jill Trudeau noted that they’ve had several inquiries from either former campers or new ones who are interesting in renting sites this summer. She said they welcome everyone to come and enjoy their much improved facility.