Sorry kids — Summer camp in Marlborough may be suspended for a second year in a row.

At the March 22 Town Board meeting, Town Supervisor Al Lanzetta solemnly relayed that there may be too many pandemic-induced obstacles to safely conduct summer camp this year.

“I think it’s pretty clear that we can’t do it,” said Lanzetta, who had mentioned his support at opening summer camp at a previous meeting.

Lanzetta’s lack of confidence was influenced by conversation with the camp leader, who Lanzetta referred to only as “Bill.” The camp leader submitted an informal memo to the Town Board less than an hour before the meeting began outlining a multitude of restrictions serious enough to halt camp. Some concerns pertained to the lack of vaccinations for participants and young counselors, potential inability for parents to pay and number of campers appropriate, but most of the points — such as cleaning, quarantine and mask protocols — could be resolved by state-mandated camp regulations. At this time, the state has not released any.

Last month, Gov. Andrew Cuomo did point to June as a potential reopening date for both day and overnight camps and confirmed that state Department of Health guidance will provide more details in the future. Day camps were permitted to operate at limited capacity last year, but sleepaway camps were never given the greenlight.

Despite Cuomo’s optimism, Lanzetta said Bill and his team were wary of their ability to pull it off.

“It’s just a matter of whether you want to try to do it or do you want to see all the obstacles that are in your way that prevent you from doing that,” said Councilman Howard Baker, who in a previous conversation came out strongly in favor of making summer camps available so that children could have some semblance of normalcy.

According to Lanzetta, Bill shared the list of restrictions so that the Town Board could determine whether an effort to bring back camps was worth the energy. Baker and Councilman Allan Koenig shared their belief Bill didn’t want to make the effort and wanted to pawn off the responsibility of saying “no” onto the Town Board.

The Town Board ultimately differed the conversation to the next meeting due to the time limitations between receiving the memo and the start of the board meeting.

In related Covid business, Lanzetta suggested the Town of Marlborough host an event to honor those who have succumbed to the virus. As of March 22, seven had died in Marlborough and 240 in Ulster County.

The Town Supervisor suggested inviting loved ones to share prayers and stories of those who have passed, as well as craft boards for display with photographs and remembrances. At dusk, lanterns would be released across the pond to the sound of solemn cello music.

Lanzetta suggested the boards could be donated to the library for historical purposes and that the cello player be hired locally because artists have been suffering through the past year.

“Because of Covid, a lot of people didn’t have that closure,” Lanzetta said, suggesting May as a prospective date. “Maybe this would be a good thing to offer to our community.”

Koenig supported the plan, but stated May would be too early.

“I don’t want to be a downer here, but is the pandemic over?” he questioned. “Things are getting better, but it’s spiking in certain places … There isn’t closure yet. I think it’s a little premature.”

The board unanimously voted to authorize Lanzetta to begin planning and purchasing lanterns for the ceremony, though agreed the date should not be set at this time. The board agreed to revisit the Covid situation in July and base the date on Malrborough’s case data.