Boy Scouts to stay in Port Townsend's Legion Park
By Erik Hidle, Peninsula Daily News
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American Legion Park, near the entrance to Port Townsend, has acted as the location of the Scout House since the previous location on Morgan Hill was sold in 2004.
A clause in the deed to that land said that if the American Legion did not use the land "for park purposes only" then the land was to revert to the Port Townsend Parks Department.
The Boy Scouts' occupation of the property triggered Monday night's Port Townsend City Council discussion of the clause and what it meant for the Scouts.
The council unanimously decided that the Boy Scouts could stay in the American Legion Park.
"I am thrilled for the Boy Scouts," said Mayor Michelle Sandoval.
Sandoval and other members of the council agreed that since the location on Morgan Hill had been removed, the Scouts deserved another home, and that their presence at the site still constituted "park purposes."
The old Scout House, a log cabin used by Port Townsend scouts since the early 1930s, was dismantled after the Chief Seattle Council of the Boy Scouts in 2004 sold the Morgan Hill property on which the structure sat.
The new site is about four acres between Discovery Road and state Highway 20 at the entrance to Port Townsend.
The American Legion offered the site to the Scouts immediately after the purchase and worked with local contractors to reconstruct the Scout House on the new location.
Also on Monday, the City Council:
The council voted to revisit the minutes of meetings in September, when the original law was approved, before proceeding.
The council accepts and considers requests for proclamations that have local implications.
Edits will be reported to the council prior to becoming official.
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Erik Hidle can be reached at 360-385-2335 or erik.hidle@peninsuladailynews.com.
Last modified: March 03. 2008 9:00PM