SCRANTON , LACKAWANNA CO. (WOLF) — UPDATE (7/23/21): Just three days after Mike Hatala took to Facebook stating that the JCC’s sign had to be removed because they never applied for a permit through township officials- the Scranton JCC‘s Executive Director Dan Cardonick says that’s not required.

Click here to watch the video.

“The JCC was vindicated today when Covington Township course-corrected and issued us the proper permits allowing our JCC Camp Daleville sign to be displayed at the entrance of our children’s summer day camp. We are thrilled Covington Township authorities agreed that we have the right, in perpetuity, to operate our summer day camp on this property and display our sign at the entrance. And we do not require Mr. Hatala’s approval for any of this since it’s firmly established in the 2005 sales agreement and subsequent deed agreement that he willingly signed,” said Dan Cardonick, executive director of the Scranton JCC.

“Our number one priority is ensuring that the campers have a fun, safe, positive, and memorable summer at JCC Camp Daleville. We appreciate Covington Township’s swift and expeditious resolution to this misunderstanding. Our hope is that moving forward Mr. Hatala abides by the court orders and legal agreements that were negotiated and agreed to at the time the property was sold to him by the JCC.”

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UPDATE (7/20/21): We told you about a disagreement between the Jewish summer camp in Scranton and a gay campground that share the same location.

Well, one week later the Jewish Camp has been ordered by officials to remove their ‘JCC Camp Daleville’ sign from the property.

Due to the share of the property, tension has risen over the years on how the property should be used and when.

Mike Hatala-owner of the campground and the 12 Penny Saloon in Moosic, allegedly took to Facebook stating that the JCC’s sign had to be removed because they never applied for a permit through township officials.

However, the Executive Director of JCC Scranton argues that the Jewish Community Center has a right to post the sign according to their court-ordered agreement implemented six years ago.

The Jewish Community Center confirms that they will be working with Covington Twp. to resolve any issues.

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The Jewish Community Center of Scranton is demanding an apology after a dispute over camp signs reportedly led to accusations of homophobia against the organization.

“We deny these ridiculous allegations and demand that Mr. Hatala apologize to the Jewish community,” said Dan Cardonick, Executive Director JCC Scranton.

The JCC of Scranton has held a summer camp for over 50 years on the Covington Township campground. Mike Hatala, owner of the campground and the 12 Penny Saloon in Moosic, plans to hold what he calls a gay camp there for the first time.

Yesterday, Hatala posted about an altercation at the campground on his Facebook page, claiming that a JCC security guard tried to intimidate him from displaying his sign for the new camp.

“The security guard got frustrated and he yelled an expletive. Yes, he should probably be more professional than that, but it was not any sort of homophobic comment. It wasn’t anything discriminatory,” said Cardonick.

The JCC says they merely asked Hatala to cover the sign during their camp hours of operation so that it would not lead to confusion for campers.

“We are a tolerant and inclusive organization. There is no place for hate, there never was, and there never will be a place for hate,” said Cardonick.

The property was sold by the JCC of Scranton to Hatala in 2005. Under the sales agreement, the JCC can rent the campground back for $1/summer to hold the summer camp for as long as they’d like. According to the JCC, as part of this agreement, Hatala submitted a request to start the gay campground to the JCC for approval at the end of June, which they accepted.

“I don’t appreciate the JCC is being accused of being homophobic and discriminatory, when in fact Mr. Hatala had written correspondence with the JCC requesting as per our sales agreement that he could run a gay campground on the weekends when our camp is not in session. We did not feel that was an unreasonable request and we gave our approval immediately,” said Jennifer Novak, Board President of JCC.

We reached out to Hatala numerous times for a comment but have not heard back.

The JCC Camp Daleville operates on weekdays until 5:30 p.m. According to a sign, the gay campground will operate on Friday at 6:00 pm- Sunday at 6:00 pm.