Dear Neighbors,

Over the past year there has been a lot of interest regarding our plans to expand Camp MiVoden. Some inaccuracies have spread, partly due to miscommunication and partly due to changes we have made to our original plans. The purpose of this document is to clearly state our intent and try to clarify any misunderstandings.

We need to make improvements and expand the facilities at Camp MiVoden in order to continue serving our constituency and community members who use it now, and continue providing these services in the future. It is our intent to do this in a manner that is considerate of our neighbors and provides protection to our shared environment.

The main objective of the proposed improvements is to meet the needs of our youth campers, while improving noise and visual aesthetics for our neighbors. We need to do this because the current dorm-style facilities are woefully inadequate and cause numerous problems due to their style and location. Building new cabins away from the lakeshore will create a better atmosphere for the youth activities and will reduce congestion near the lakeshore as well as reduce noise for neighbors.

We are not increasing the daily number of youth participating in the week-long summer camp sessions. We will still offer six week-long sessions (mid-June through July) with a maximum of 192 youth campers per week-long session as we have done for the last 30 plus years. We will also be able to offer four week-long camp sessions in August for specialty camps and for the special needs youth, with a maximum of 75 youth per session. We have hosted Blind and Deaf Camp for the last 19 years. This will allow us to address other types of special needs camps.

A secondary objective is to provide an increased opportunity and level of comfort for Family Camps and Adult Retreats. Once the new cabins are completed, we will remodel the existing dorms as family units for Family Camps and Adult Retreats. This remodel will reduce the number of beds in the existing camp from the current maximum of 280, to 166. This expansion is needed in order to provide two very different types of accommodations to meet the needs of our users. Currently the facilities are shared and do not adequately meet the needs of either youth or adults.

Additionally our development plan is to relocate the RV campsites away from the lakeshore.

We believe these goals can be achieved in a way that has minimal impact on you, our neighbors – yet enables us as property owners to make responsible use of our 540 acres.

The attached sheets provide additional information and updates on our application process and some background, and answers to some of the frequently asked questions. We encourage you to contact us directly if you have any questions or concerns.

Respectfully,

Bruce L. Christensen

Director of Development

Office: 208-772-3484 Cell: 208-699-7045

brucec@mivoden.com

17415 E. Hayden lake Road • Hayden Lake * ID • 83835 • office 208.772.3484 • fax 208.772.7106

www.mivoden,com • gs@mivoden.com

Background, Updates, and Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

Background

The facilities at Camp MiVoden can no longer adequately serve the youth who come for summer camp, nor the families, church members and community members that come year round for spiritual renewal, training, and outdoor education. The facility design and capacity are woefully inadequate for our needs. In 2000 we began Master Planning using a environmentally sensitive process resulting in decreased noise and minimal traffic impacts. Many of the youth camp activities will be relocated further from the lake.

Obtaining a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) is the first step. The CUP allows Camp MiVoden to engage in specified activities,"Private Resort (non-profit)", to a certain level. The CUP is the first step toward accomplishing a master plan remodel and expansion of the existing camp facilities in order to accommodate the specific needs of our campers and to accomplish much needed improvements. Once the CUP has been approved, we will still need to go through the building permit process before any renovations and improvements can be made. Additionally, the phasing of site improvements is subject to funds being raised.

What is the current status of the application?

In January 2005 the Kootenai County Commissioners denied Camp Mivoden’s CUP application. We believe there were some misunderstandings regarding the application, so we have appealed that decision; we expect a decision in November or December of this year.

Did the public have an opportunity to provide comments during that process?

Yes. On December 9, 2004, we presented the CUP request for expansion at a public hearing. Significant turnout occurred at the public hearing through personal appearance. There were many written, telephonic, and verbal comments. The total number of public comments exceeded 1,683, with 998 supporting Camp MiVoden’s application, 642 opposed, and others either neutral or undeclared. The county provided the following description of the comments received:

· The comments in opposition to the proposal included: impacts on public services; increased traffic; excessive use of the lake; currently have a sewage problem; lack of fire protection; not compatible to surrounding property; water quality concerns; and the camp is run like a business and not a non-profit organization.

· Comments in support of the proposal included: current facility does not meet the needs of the youth; camp is good neighbor; not a resort but a ministry; positive asset to the community; stewards of the land; land could be sold to developers and densely developed; no profits to the camp; the lake is for the public; and the camp is a valuable resource.

What is the Camp going to do now?

We see only two options for the camp:

1. If the appeal is denied, we will immediately resubmit a revised application, based on the denial.
2. If the CUP is not eventually approved, then the camp may be forced to sell and relocate to another area.

Why do we need to change?

This expansion is needed to provide facilities because we need two very different types of accommodations to meet the needs of our users. Currently the facilities are shared and do not adequately meet the needs of either youth or adults. This reason is and has always been the catalyst for Camp MiVoden's Master Plan. To address those needs, our Master Plan identifies three main issues:

1. We need separate cabins that would meet the needs of the youth campers.

2. We need improved accommodations for the Family Camps and adult Retreats.

3. We need to relocate the RV sites away from the lakeshore.

What does your Master Plan include?

The Master Plan is a long-range look for the entire 540 acres which approximately 23% will be developed. The primary basis of our Master Plan is new youth cabins and renovations to the existing dorms, other supporting facilities are included but it will take us close to 20 years to be able to raise the funds to construct the items in the adjusted Master Plan. Also, adjustments have been made to the original Master Plan to address concerns expressed by neighbors, such as:

• Noise attenuation measures

• Reducing the overall number of camp users

• Moving additional youth activities away from the lakefront

• Reducing the number of RV Sites

• Deleted the Mountain Lodge

• Deleted the 10-plex staff housing

What is the camp's capacity going to be?

• Currently the camp has a capacity of 356 people. This includes staff, guests and RV’s. (In the original proposal our current numbers were said to be 280, this only reflected guest beds, no staff or RV’s)

• The original CUP proposal asked for an expansion up to a capacity of 600 people. This number includes all staff, guests and RV’s.

• The revised proposal requests a capacity of 496. This again includes all staff, guest and RV beds. This is an increase of 140 over current capacity. (If you would like even more information on this subject feel free to give me a call.)

Are you going to increase the amount of activity at the camp?

Yes, but we will be spreading the density of campers over a larger area. The density on the lakefront will be diminished substantially by moving many of the Youth Activities away from the waterfront. The programs being conducted dictate the number of people using the camp, not the number of beds available. All use at the camp must be connected to an organized activity, such as one of the week-long camp programs or a retreat, which dictates the number of people who can participate. For example, even though there are currently 192 beds available for any of the youth camps, we don’t use more than 75 of the beds on the weeks we are conducting special needs youth camp because that is all the program can handle.

How much will noise and lake activity increase as a result of the expansion?

We anticipate minimal impact and in some cases actually a decrease in impact! The majority of camp activities now take place near the waterfront. This can cause considerable noise in the bay. By moving the ball field 1,700 feet away from the lake, making acoustically engineered changes to the existing campfire bowl, building a new campfire bowl 1500-2000 feet from the lake, and by reducing the number of concentrated lakefront accommodations, we should actually reduce the noise level.

The majority of the buildings and activities are now visible to the neighbors and lake users. When the existing buildings are remodeled they will be visually more appealing. Additionally, the planned improvements take into account the privacy of neighbors and provide buffers for adjacent landowners. Regarding noise and visual impacts, The Board of County Commissioners stated in their report, “The vast size of the overall site leads to ample buffering from adjacent properties.”

MiVoden currently owns three ski boats plus one pontoon boat, which is sufficient for the youth program in the future. At this time there is no plan to increase the numbers of boat. Whether or not the CUP is passed our program could change and require additional boats or even less boats. In fact with the same number of youth using the camp under the CUP proposal and additional recreational activities being developed away from the lakefront, we anticipate less demand on the waterfront program. Additionally it should be noted that MiVoden does not operate its ski program on either Saturday or Sunday. We use our boats five week-days a week for an average of about five hours per day. Also, it needs to be noted that the boats that use the sandbar are not part of the camp's program.

Is the camp run like a business or a non-profit organization?

Camp MiVoden is a non-profit organization owned and operated by the Seventh-day Adventist church. The camp is a spiritual retreat center and a religious summer camp for kids and adults. It is funded in part by donations from church members who believe in and support the camp's ministry. Prayer and worship are conducted at the camp at least 2-3 times a day over the summer months. We do use accepted business practices and accounting principals in the operation of the camp. This doesn’t detract from our ministry or non-profit status, it is only good stewardship.

What about the people who will use the RV sites?

When we run the week-long Family Camps and/or the adult retreats, some people like to use their RVs instead of bunking in the dorms. That is permissible, but anyone using the RV site must be enrolled in a camp program. The new RV sites will be located up the hill and will not be visible (instead of near the lakeshore like it is now). We have had up to 26 RV's stay on the sandbar, the ball field, and the parking lot during our Pastor's Retreat. Thus the adjusted proposal to the county essentially reflects no increase to existing maximum use.

How will your expansion impact the natural environment?

Close to 400 acres are undeveloped. This acreage will continue to be managed for timber and other non-developed uses allowing the natural environment to stay as is for outdoor camps, nature classes, recreation, etc. We believe that is in the best interest of all on the lake. But, our application for a conditional use permit is central to our ability to continue operating as a camp. If we are unable to meet the needs of our youth and older campers, it is probable that a portion or all of the land will be sold. Our proposed expansion is certainly a less intense use of the land, shoreline, and Hayden Lake, as compared to a major development on the same property. The camp is a good steward of its land. The County Hearing Officer provided the comments below in his report:

• “Proposed expansion does not appear to have a significant visual impact”

• “Camp appears to be a good steward of the land”

• Camp “shows concern for retaining the natural beauty of its location”

• “Camp has a history of good management of its timber resource and in maintaining a healthy forest”

We think water quality is very important. What are you doing about that?
We agree that water quality is very important. We have submitted a Water and Sewer Feasibility Study to the county. This study concluded: “Given the current data and the information gained from the investigations associated with this report, all of the factors indicate that both the water and wastewater systems could be feasibly expanded to accommodate Camp MiVoden’s proposed growth, with adequate funding and competent planning and design.”

We also submitted additional information from the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and Panhandle Health District regarding the Camp’s water quality studies. The water and sewer study included favorable letters with preferred conditions of approval from the Panhandle Health District and the Department of Environmental Quality. Both Panhandle Health and the DEQ agreed that the Camp’s engineer study constituted feasible options for drinking water and sanitary sewage systems to be expanded.

We have been monitoring water and sewage flows for the last 15 months and that has resulted in the ability to lower our daily sewage flows by as much as 50 %. We were able to find major inefficiencies and have addressed them.

Additionally, following an inspection of Camp MiVoden’s fuel storage and boat refueling operations, the DEQ wrote as follows: “Upon completion of the inspection of your facility, DEQ has determined that the site is operating in conformance with Kootenai County’s Best Management Practices (BMPs) for Containing Critical Materials During Above Ground Storage and Handling guidelines.” The Storm-water Plan noted that additional and more specific storm-water management would be further addressed upon application for building permits necessary for the actual construction of the master plan.

What about increased road traffic?
We did a traffic count during our Women's Retreat in October of 2004. We had 260 ladies attending the retreat and a group like this tends to have more vehicles than most. There were 109 vehicles at the camp for the weekend. We used roadway traffic counters plus we hired a company to manually count our peak period when the ladies were leaving on Sunday which was on 10/31/04 from 1:45 PM - 2:45 PM. The ladies generated 61 vehicles for the peak hour, that's only one per minute. Even if our attendance increased by 50%, which would be very rare due to how groups are made up and the fact that you can't fill every bed in every room, we would expect the vehicle count to average less than 1 every 45 seconds for the peak hour. This is not daily but once a week typically. We have also taken traffic counts at both peak and off-peak times in support of our application.

We submitted a Traffic Impact Analysis, together with clarification from the Lakes Highway District indicating that they were satisfied with our Conditional Use Permit application. We agreed and committed to providing mitigation measures for impacts to traffic and roads to the satisfaction of the Highway District. Specifically, we agreed to dedicate easements along the public road to the Lakes Highway District and to facilitate future road widening and straightening, as requested by the District. We also contributed $30,000 to the East Hayden Lake road improvement fund when the North Hayden Lake Road was paved.

What about fire and emergency response?
We agreed to the Fire District’s requested impact mitigation including annexing the property, east of E. Hayden Lake Road, into the District but the request from Northern Lakes Fire District was for only if there were structures planned on the east of the road since the west side is already in the district. There are no structures planned on the east of the road so at this time there is no reason for annexing the property into the District. The Northern Lakes Fire Department recommended the above described agreed conditions if Camp MiVoden’s CUP was approved.

Camp MiVoden has supported the Northern Lakes Fire District as much as possible. MiVoden provided land and half the cost of materials to install a dry hydrant on the beach. In recognition of our tax exempt status we have chosen to make a sizable annual contribution to the Northern Lakes Fire District.