Changes in store for Salem’s Sna-Z Spot Campground on Gardner Lake

Facilities don’t comply with public health codes

Salem — The Sna- Z Spot Campground by Gardner Lake provides camping and recreation in a setting reminiscent of “the way the lake used to be,” said Sue Coffee, one of the owners.

The campground offers no electricity or restrooms. The smallscale camp site instead has portapotties, and some campers use solar installations or generators for power.

“Our ‘back to basics’ approach provides a quiet, peaceful getaway from the stress of everyday life,” its website says.

But in light of health code requirements, some changes may be in store for the campground founded more than 60 years ago.

The campground will remain the same for this season, which runs from May 1 to Oct. 15, but it may be the last year campers can stay overnight.

For next year, its owners said they are proposing to make the site a picnic area that would continue to have recreational activities, including swimming and boating. The campground would only be open during daylight hours.

The Uncas Health District, which became the town’s health district last summer, notified the campground this spring of several changes that would be required for the site to meet code requirements for a family campground.

The requirements include electricity, a water supply approved by the Department of Public Health, and facilities with toilets and hot and cold running water, said Patrick McCormack, the director of health for the Uncas Health District.

The campground can continue its current use this year, as long as all water supplies are sealed off, he said.

The campground— one of several near Lake Gardner — was founded in 1954 on land owned by Jennie and Edward Snarski and Helen and Peter Zaleski, according to itswebsite. Coffee said everything will remain the same at the camp this year, though the campground isn’t accepting any new campers. Coffee said the campground is not for sale and the owners plan to keep it in the family. But she said the upgrades required by the health department for the next season aren’t affordable or what the owners want to do. While she said everyone is “devastated,” the campground owners are searching for options for next season that would work for the campers.

“The day picnic area is the best option, at this time,” she said. She added that the site would continue to have a nice swimming area and boat slips.

Coffee said 80 percent of visitors to the camp don’t stay overnight, but the visitors who travel from far away will be most affected by next year’s change.

She s a i d she understands the town, health district and state are just doing their jobs, but she said it’s too bad the campers will be affected.

McCormack s a i d the health district, which began serving the town on July 1, 2014, had scheduled its annual inspection of the campground in April, so the review wouldn’t take place when the site already was in use.

Prior to the inspection, the state Department of Public Health found the camp’s water supply didn’t meet its requirements for a public water supply.

McCormack said the district has been communicating with the campground owners and held a meeting at Town Hall with the owners and First Selectman Kevin Lyden in June. McCormack also addressed a group of about 50 people at the campgrounds at the end of June.

He said the campground owners will need to submit a proposal with their future plans for review by the health district and local departments.

He said the continued use of the boat launch would probably not require any upgrades to comply with code, but the district would likely need to review a proposal for the continued use of the swimming area.

McCormack said he has received some comments about why the camp wouldn’t be considered “grandfatheredin.” McCormack said he explained that he can only speak for the department, not the whole history.

He said most people have acknowledged the need to comply with the code.

“Once we become the local health department for the towns we serve, we verify compliance with the public health code,” McCormack said, “and that was what we were doing when we made the first inspection.”

Lyden said the Uncas Health District is following the state public health code.

“It’s very fair, very standard procedure that has to be followed,” he said. “It’s no stricter in Salem than in any other town. It’s up to the owners to decide what they want to do in the future.”