SCHENECTADY COUNTY — Inner-city children will have a chance to swim, play tennis, boat, fish and more at a licensed day camp in Central Park this summer.

The Schenectady County Legislature approved the project Tuesday night. The half-day camp is scheduled to run July 7 to Aug. 15 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. It will offer children ages 8-12 swimming, tennis, boating and fishing at Central Park, computer activities at Central Park Middle School and horticulture activities at the Schenectady Horticulture Education Center at Central Park.

The camp will be staffed by up to six people, depending on enrollment. It is open to a maximum of 75 children on a first-come, first-served basis. The county will charge $50 per child per week to attend.

The camp, the first to be offered by the county and its Youth Bureau, raised concerns among county legislators, nonprofits offering similar programs and members of the Youth Bureau advisory board.

Minority Leader Robert Farley, R-Glenville, criticized the program as helping only a select sector of the county, namely the inner city.

“Tonight we see the commencement of yet another social services program that is not mandatory and which is competing with nonprofits that can do it better and more efficiently,” Farley said.

Christian Engle, vice president of operations for the Capital District YMCA, told legislators Tuesday night the county never approached his agency to act as a partner prior to announcing the program. “We would rather see the county as a partner and not as a competitor,” he said.

The YMCA runs a summer day camp in Jerry Burrell Park. Tuition for this full-day weeklong program averages $80 per child, he said.

Legislator Gary Hughes, D-Schenectady, called the summer day camp “a good idea.” He said the program would tie together the summer lunch program with recreation and educational programs. “Let’s try something creative for one summer,” he said.

The Youth Bureau advisory board voted 4-4 Monday night to support the program, said board Chairwoman Betty Ewing. A ninth board member left prior to the vote.

Ewing said Ed Kosiur, special assistant to the commissioner of social services, never discussed the project with the board prior to pitching it to the Legislature last week. “We saw the legislation for the first time yesterday [Monday],” she said Tuesday afternoon.

The board’s vote is non-binding, as it has no authority over Kosiur’s actions and decisions, Ewing said. “We are an advisory board, but we do discuss and try to understand the direction things are heading. If we have real concerns about an idea and we voice our concerns, we hope we are heard,” she said.

Ewing said the tie vote indicates the board believes the bureau should expand youth services in the community, but also hopes that someone other than the bureau will manage the summer day camp.

Ewing said there are programs the youth bureau needs to do, such as helping youths develop leadership and job skills. “But we don’t want to be in competition with services already offered to children in the county, particularly to children in the city,” she said.

Ewing said the advisory board also wants to see the summer day camp expanded to serve youths throughout the county. “We certainly are trying to keep an open mind and we see our role as youth development, but there is always a place for new programming,” she said.

Kosiur is attempting to expand the Youth Bureau’s programming since his appointment Jan. 1. He replaced former Youth Bureau director Shane Bargy, who was popular and had developed several youth-development programs in the nearly six years he ran the bureau.

Some youth-service providers are concerned Kosiur is changing the mission of the Youth Bureau by focusing more on direct-service programs. Kosiur said he is following the county Legislature’s direction to develop more robust youth services programming.

County Legislature Chairwoman Susan Savage, D-Niskayuna, said the Legislature was unhappy with Bargy’s job performance, that he resisted changing and expanding programs to make the Youth Bureau more relevant. “We had years of the same old tired initiatives at a time when our county was looking for change and innovation,” she said.

County Manager Kathleen Rooney, who was Bargy’s direct supervisor, had no fault with Bargy; she gave him exemplary marks during his last performance review. And Ewing, a Youth Bureau advisory board member for six years, said she never heard of any problem with Bargy’s performance.

Ewing said she continues to support the programs and services Bargy developed during his tenure. Nonetheless, she said, “growth and change don’t have to be bad things. We want to deliver better opportunities for the youths we serve.”

She said she hopes the county, Kosiur and the advisory board can work together on programs and avoid confrontations over direction.