Lisa Hlavinka | The Gazette

WADSWORTH — The fate of Wadsworth House, a camp and meeting place for Girl Scouts, hangs in the balance as Girl Scouts of North East Ohio officials decide whether to close the camp permanently.

In late June, Girl Scouts of North East Ohio announced it would be closing six of its 14 camps, including Wadsworth House in Memorial Park, for financial reasons.

Altogether, GSNEO said the properties selected for sale or relinquishment make up less than 1 percent of member usage from all of the camps combined.

However, Judy Roth, leader of a troop of girls from Wadsworth High School, said she believes the GSNEO board of directors underestimated how much local Scouts use Wadsworth House.

At least 10 troops, many with 12 to 15 girls, use Wadsworth House as a meeting place, Roth said. Troops from Akron and other local areas use the site for camping on the weekends.

“It’s used almost every day of the week,” Roth said. “They weren’t aware of how much the building was used.”

Roth presented her updated figures to the GSNEO Properties Committee, the board that manages GSNEO properties, in the hope it might change the decision to close Wadsworth House, which Roth said would “be a great drawback” to local Girl Scouts, who often earn cooking and nature badges at the camp.

“If we made a good point, they said they would re-evaluate their decision,” she said. “We’re all just kind of biding our time here.”

The Properties Committee said it would have an answer in about three weeks, Roth said Thursday.

GSNEO chief operating officer Brittany Zaehringer declined to comment on the committee’s discussions regarding Wadsworth House.

“The board members present at the meeting indicated that they would share information they received with other board members,” she said. “Beyond that, I cannot comment on any possible or future board decisions regarding the property.”

Whatever the decision, the camps scheduled to close will stay open at least until Oct. 1, allowing about 150 girls to participate in the annual Twilight Camp at Wadsworth House.

Roth said she was “blindsided” by the decision to close the camp.

“This came clear out of the blue,” she said. “We had no indication this was happening.”

Wadsworth Service Director Chris Easton said if GSNEO relinquishes control of Wadsworth House, built in 1960, it would fall under control of the city, which would seek out other groups to rent it.

However, the city hopes to continue working with GSNEO.

“We’re certainly interested in working on a continuing arrangement with Girl Scouts,” he said.

Contact Lisa Hlavinka at (330) 721-4048 or lhlavinka@ohio.net.