Though the Baldwin County Wilderness Camp is now in the hands of a private company, county commissioners discussed an agenda item during this week’s commission work session that would close out the books on the facility for the county. Kim Creech, Baldwin County’s clerk/treasurer, said the county would need to transfer $1.2 million from the general fund to the Wilderness fund to help bring the fund back to zero to be able to close it out. “This is because of the shortfall that we incurred since 2012-2013 fiscal year,” Creech said, attributing most of the issues to the camp’s continuing increased payroll costs. Commissioner Chris Elliott said. “These are budget deficits after budget deficits after budget deficits that have added up to $1.2 million that we’re having to deal with now,” Elliott said. “It’s the cost of the inefficient management we had at that facility, and I’m glad we as a commission have decided to tackle this issue.” Other commissioners agreed with Elliott’s stance. “This is just unbelievable,” Commission Chairman Tucker Dorsey said. “This is just another reason why I’m glad this commission has gotten us out of the Wilderness business.” While the commissioners were less than pleased with having to approve the agenda item, they recognized it was necessary. “We have to do what we have to do to get it balanced,” Commissioner Skip Gruber said. Commissioner Frank Burt, who initially opposed making changes to the Wilderness Facility, said he was thankful for Elliott’s leadership in helping move the commission forward on the issue. “I appreciate your leadership on this in showing us what was going on up there,” Burt said. The facility is now being managed by Pathway Inc., a move commissioners have said will both reduce liability for the county and provide a source of revenue while still providing needed services for troubled youth. “We still have access to this facility for our young people who need that service, but it’s no longer costing the county millions to run this facility,” Elliott said. “It’s about making sure we’re being good stewards of the taxpayers’ money, and I think we’re definitely living up to that with the decisions we’ve made with Wilderness.”