After going on hiatus in 2013 due to issues with drug control, a new and reformed Camp Bisco was set to return this summer. However, the community of Mariaville, NY is making this return difficult. After an incident in 2012 left a woman in a coma and a staff member dead of an apparent drug overdose, the county of Schenectady doesn’t want the festival returning until a strict zero-tolerance drug policy is put in place. Though Camp Bisco is under a new organizer, County Attorney Chris Gardner still has his concerns:
…there is concern about what in the past has been open drug dealing at Camp Bisco, so we are seeking a police presence within the festival grounds to deter that and reduce it significantly, and we’re asking for a higher insurance rate because of the issues that arose in 2012.
For seven years the festival was held at Indian Lookout Country Club in Mariaville. After MCP Presents announced the festival’s hiatus, country club owners Frank Potter and Ken Hays had hopes of bringing it back with a new focus on safety.
We have contracted with Albany Medical Center to have a minimum of three physicians on site and to have an on-site field hospital. We’ve gone far beyond the state-required regulations as they apply to emergency management and keeping everyone safe. – Ken Hays
After submitting an application for the festival’s return, Potter and Hays were unfortunately presented with a 22-page denial from the county. The county’s main concern of drug use was voiced by Sheriff Dominic Dagostino:
Camp Bisco has failed to create a zero-tolerance policy towards drug use in the past and the applicant has not provided any evidence that the proposed 2015 event would mitigate this very serious issue
The county of Schenectady is allowing Potter and Hays to resubmit their applications, but at this point it is unclear whether or not it will be approved before the festival’s start date in July.