Scout hut moved

PATTERSON — After an arduous, yearlong process, the Boy Scout hut in Morey Park was moved across the street today to its new home at 1105 Main St.

City council members voted to move the hut Oct. 26 at a special meeting. Boy Scout Troop 41 leaders and members were prepared in the event the council voted against their wishes.

Troop 41 Treasurer Jeff LaGrange made a deal with Lee Felterman to purchase land for the hut’s new location.

Reportedly, the hut was built in 1957 after the original hut burned down. The first hut was constructed in 1942.

Originally, troop leaders had a verbal agreement with city officials for the hut to stay in the park, Assistant Scoutmaster Phillip Begley of Troop 41 said.

But the agreement was null and void when city officials approached troop leaders in 2014 about park renovation plans.

Mayor Rodney Grogan cited a city ordinance from 1942 that allowed the Boy Scouts to build the hut. It also gave the city authority to remove the building on 90 days’ notice.

The majority of the Cultural Committee voted not to include the hut in the plans to renovate Morey Park on May 22, 2015, Cultural Committee member Frank Guarisco said.

Guarisco also serves on the Boy Scouts of America Evangeline Area Council Executive Board.

Troop 41 maintained the hut over 58 years.