MILFORD – Knowing the limited life expectancy of septic systems, Gene Hollenberg and Galen Jay, of Camp Mack, looked at a variety of long-term solutions, including approaching the town of Milford about running a sewer line to the camp.

It wasn’t the only solution the two and other camp staffers examined, and it never crossed anyone’s mind to ask the town for a freebie. Hollenberg, the executive director at the facility, said the camp is willing to negotiate a financial arrangement with the town to bring sewer service to the area.

How Long Has

The Camp Been Looking?

“We started looking at solutions 10 years ago when we replaced the septic on the east side of the camp,” Hollenberg said. “When the work was being done there, there were several people we talked to about it, and we had to make choices, including talking to the town to see if they were interested in coming out to Camp Mack.”

The primary consultant the camp hired was Meade Septic Design, an engineering firm in Goshen.

“They looked at all the possible solutions we had at the time, and the folks we had at the time made that decision (to install another septic system). Milford wasn’t interested in coming out here 10 years ago,” Hollenberg said.

“When I came on board back in September of 2016, Galen (the facilities manager at the camp) indicated that this was going to be an issue on the west side of camp, and it’s going to be a big deal, so we needed to get prepared.

“So we started looking at the possibilities, and one of them was to go back to the Milford Town Council and say, ‘Hey, is this something you would consider?’ This time they said they would consider it.”



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In the last 10 years, Milford had a new treatment facility constructed. At the February council meeting, the town heard the study it commissioned by Ryan Brauen, of Wessler Engineering.

The study showed the proposed sewer line is feasible and the new treatment plant has more than enough capacity to take on the extra customers along the route (along Camp Mack Road and CR 1150N, for the most part); capacity that the town did not have 10 years ago.

What Options Does

The Camp Have Now?

“We are again going to have Stuart Meade (owner of the Goshen engineering firm) do some work with us, now that we know what the feasibility study says. We’ll have a chance to look at those numbers as well as what our other options might be and find the best solution for us,” Hollenberg said.

The cost of the sewer line, if only Camp Mack were on it, was estimated to be $350,000 in the town’s study. That line would be a 2-inch pipe that would have to be flushed out regularly during the camp’s off-season.

The cost goes up $30,000 to make it a 3-inch line, large enough to handle each of the 51 homes along the route.

At the February council meeting it was made clear that the availability of sewer service doesn’t make it mandatory for the other homeowners to tie in right away. Most of the lots along Camp Mack Road are not large enough to install a second septic system once the originals wear out, and the sewer line would give those homeowners a viable option in the long term.

The town’s study also said that of the 51 residents along the route, only 19 need to hook up to make the 3-inch line feasible.

“If we can benefit everybody from doing this, that would be terrific,” Hollenberg said. “We certainly don’t want to create problems for other people. We want this to be a benefit to everyone.”

To this point the 92-year-old camp has previously been grandfathered in from changing septic system standards and allowed to make repairs, but is now limited in terms of how effective those repairs would be.

“The standards have changed dramatically over the years,” Hollenberg said. “What we have currently on the east side probably wouldn’t work for what we have on the west side, just because of the changes in the codes.

“We have space that we can create pretty large leach fields if we need to, and we have spaces that we could put in mounds if we had to. But that would probably be our last choice.

“We don’t mind looking at the full-package treatment plant option (building its own treatment plant) but the issues that come along with that make that a less attractive option.

“What the town presented is something that would work for us if we can get things negotiated price-wise. We believe that it may be the best long-term solution for us, but only if it doesn’t cost too much. If we were to have to pay the $350,000 cost of construction, then pay fees to use it, then we’re probably going to be looking at an on-property solution. We’re be looking at similar numbers in terms of capital outlay, but then we wouldn’t have fees.”

For its part the council sees the need to add customers to its wastewater system.

“Like any business, we have to look for opportunities for growth,” council member Dan Cochran said at the February meeting. “If we don’t grow, something else will happen.”

What The Camp Is And Isn’t

Willing To Do

Hollenberg made it clear that as far as the camp is concerned, the $350,000 for the camp-only 2-inch line isn’t going to happen.  

“We’re not going to pay for the whole thing,” he said. “We’re certainly willing to contribute and contribute significantly. We aren’t going to pay for it and just turn it over to the town, and suddenly they have a (financial) bonanza going on.

“We have options here. Many of the folks along Camp Mack Road don’t.”

Hollenberg said the camp would also, if needed, contribute in another tangible way.

“One of the issues the town’s study brought up is the need for 19 other homes to hook up in order to get the proper flow through the line. The report goes on to say that if you don’t have that number hooked up, you can do a flush that would clean the line enough to take care of the flow problem.

“If that’s the case, the camp is willing to do that flush until there’s enough homes hooked up to take care of that problem. That would take away the urgency to get a certain number of people signed up for it.”

The town council’s next meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday at Milford Town Hall, 121 S. Main St.