By Tim Rowland
The former family-run North Pole Campground and Resort in Wilmington will reopen next year as a Kampgrounds of America branded RV park, while its motel will be open for the coming season, KOA managers told a meeting of the Wilmington Planning Board last week.
KOA, which owns two other campgrounds in the town, purchased North Pole in 2021 and bulldozed much of the site, save for the motel, which representatives said will continue to rent to tourists, as well as serving as employee housing.
North Pole had been a quintessential 20th century Adirondack campground, with a camp store, mini-golf, boat rentals, playground, liquor store and cabins, with spaces for RV and tent campers. The new site will include 56 RV spaces and four cabins, but none of the old amenities — a point that did not sit well with Town Board Member Laura Dreissigacker Hooker, who, in a letter to the planning board, said KOA had “razed a beautiful campground” and replaced it with plans for one with little in the way of the attractions that KOA advertises on its website.
She wrote that KOA won approval for a site plan in January 2023 that included a pool, playground and pickleball courts, features that are gone from the new plan, which had to be resubmitted to the planning board for approval because it had materially changed. KOA representatives, who have come on board since the first plan was submitted, said they did not know what precipitated the changes. The old plan called for more cabins and fewer RVs.
Other residents and planning board members were generally supportive of the campground, which they said is an important component of the Wilmington economy, but has been out of service for nearly three years.
Septic concerns
About 25 people attended the public hearing, primarily voicing concerns about the park’s planned septic system. The property is located on Route 86 in Wilmington, and borders the West Branch of the Ausable River, where residents said the groundwater is high.
Kevin Franke, director of environmental services for Landscape Architecture and Engineering Group in Saratoga Springs, said the new system will be a significant upgrade over the legacy park, which relied on a dry-well septic system and piped stormwater directly to the river. “I’ve fished that river for 40 years, so I’m sensitive to the resource,” Franke said.
Franke said the septic system as planned has passed muster with the Department of Environmental Conservation, but indicated KOA might be open to added protections. The campground is about 220 feet from the West Branch.
Planning board members and town residents saw the transfer of ownership as a chance to build added precautions into the system, including a pre-treatment system to catch silt and petroleum spills.
“We rely on that river for its scenic value and recreation and I’d hate to see a rainbow of color in the water,” saId planning board member Tony Nickinello. “I’m concerned with the environmental impact.”
Two neighbors of the campground said they were also concerned because the new plans place the leach field on their property line, which will necessitate the clearing of trees and shrubs that had served as a buffer to the campground bustle.
“We’re talking about a leach field that’s really close to where we live,” said Jane Sibalski, who lives next door. “This is our front yard.”
Her neighbor, Dan Hansen, agreed. “We want to see (KOA) succeed, but not at the expense of the people of the town,” he said.
Franke said KOA will take the comments into consideration as it modifies the plan to meet the board’s requirements. “Believe me, (your position) is not lost on us,” Franke told the neighbors.
Stephen Sullivan, general manager for KOA’s Wilmington properties, said he expects construction on the KOA-Riverside campground to begin following the 2024 season, making it ready for 2025. Refurbishment of the KOA-Mountainside across Route 86 is underway, while the KOA on Fox Farm Road remains in the development phase.
Sullivan said RV-ing skyrocketed following the pandemic, but has since settled back down to pre-Covid levels. “We’re trying to find out what the new normal is going to be,” he said.
It’s too bad that the KOA bought the North Pole Campgrounds and then destroyed them. Jim and Mary Ellen ran a beautiful, clean and affordable campground. We spend several weeks there every year, ate at the local restaurants, ice cream, pizza, etc., stayed there the first year KOA took ownership and will never stay there again. So sad.
i agree with GEORGE. KOA HAS TOTALTY RUINED IT. THERE IS SOMETHING TO BE SAID ABOUT MOM AND POP OPERATIONS. THEY ARE THE BEST HANDS DOWN
It was such a great place to work and play I miss the North Pole Resorts
It’s completely baffling what KOA has done so far in Wilmington. Completely clearing EVERYTHING from Fox Farm Rd, then pretty much doing the same to The North Pole Resort. It would be nice if they got their act together and built something worthwhile on BOTH properties.