HAYDEN LAKE - Construction of a new duplex cabin at Camp MiVoden on Hayden Lake's Mokins Bay is to begin next month and should be completed by October, a camp representative said.

It's the first new cabin there since 1973. It will have nearly 1,600 square feet of floor space and will provide sleeping quarters for 16 people.

"We've been needing to upgrade and make our changes and this is the start of it," said Bruce Christensen, camp director of development. "We don't meet the needs of our kids."

It will be one of 12 new duplex cabins at the 540-acre camp, all the same size, said Christensen. A groundbreaking was conducted Sunday at the camp.

The Kootenai County commissioners approved that expansion work in February 2009. Plenty of Hayden Lake residents opposed the project since it became public in 2004, doubting the narrow and winding East Hayden Lake Road would be able to handle more drivers heading to and from the camp. There also were concerns about water use and increased noise coming from the camp.

The camp currently has four dorm facilities that can accommodate 260 campers and staff personnel, Christensen said. The camp also has a cafeteria and auditorium building with approximately 12,000 square feet of floor space and an indoor pool, and an administrative building with 8,000 square feet of space. There also are two staff houses, he said.

Overall, the camp has a total capacity now of 356 people if every bed is filled and the 25 recreational vehicle spaces are occupied, Christensen said. With the new cabin duplexes the capacity would go up to 496 people, he said.

Much of the construction of the cabins will be done by volunteers.

"We have a large volunteer base with lots of skills," Christensen said.

The camp is owned by the Spokane-based Upper Columbia Corporation of Seventh-day Adventists. The church founded Camp MiVoden in 1940; before that, starting in 1925, it was a YWCA camp.

The camp hosts between 1,000 to 1,200 kids during the five weeks of youth camps during the summer. The camp hosts a similar number of people during the five weeks of family camps during the summer, Christensen said. The camp is put to use during the rest of the year hosting retreats, outdoor schools and other events and functions.

Once the 12 duplex cabins are built during the next five years, the dorms will be completely remodeled, he said.

While the dorms are all next to the lake, the duplex cabins will be spread out around the camp property.

"We would like the kids to be in the woods," he said. "These cabins are up the hill in the woods. It will definitely change the flavor of how we can run the camp."

Following construction of the duplex cabins and remodel of the dorms, there are plans for construction of a new cafeteria, new gymnasium, and nature center, he said.