Philly"s War on the Boy Scouts

[fgoodwin]

Philly's War on the Boy Scouts

 

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120312309480173061.html

http://tinyurl.com/3cmtwp

 

By KEVIN FERRIS

February 16, 2008; Page A10

Philadelphia

 

As Michael Nutter was sworn in as the city's 98th mayor last month, he called for a new wave of public service to clean up drug-infested neighborhoods. If he is serious about renewing volunteerism, he'll start by putting an end to the city's campaign against the Boy Scouts.

 

On May 31, the Cradle of Liberty Council, the local Boy Scout chapter, will be evicted from its headquarters on 22nd and Winter Streets -- a space it has occupied since 1928.

 

The eviction isn't for a breach of contract. It comes at the behest of the City Council, which voted 16 to one last year to kick the boy scouts out unless they reverse the national Boy Scouts of America's ban on gays serving in the ranks or as scoutmasters or start paying "market rent" -- about $200,000 a year. Local chapters can't reverse national scouting policies. So it's a matter of paying up or moving out.

 

Here's one suggestion: Sell the scouts their building. Ask for fair market value minus a generous allowance for improvements the scouts have made to the property and the resources they have devoted to its upkeep and to the city. The scouts could raise money for the purchase without touching resources needed for programs for the boys. If the goal is a safer city with an engaged citizenry, Mr. Nutter could find a way to keep the Boy Scouts in Philadelphia.

 

--

Mr. Ferris is an assistant editor and columnist at the Philadelphia Inquirer.

 

[excerpted]

[scoutmomma]

Here's a part of the story you didn't include:

 

Mr. Brockman says that all of his scouting activities are made possible because he receives administrative support and help with recruitment from the of the Cradle of Liberty headquarters. Take away the scout building and Mr. Brockman loses the professional staff he relies on.

 

This opinion piece makes it sound like all Scouting in the Philadelphia area will fold without this building, which is just plain wrong. Cradle of Liberty Council conducts most of its business from its Valley Forge headquarters.

 

And the Wall Street Journal's headline uses that word "war" again, which is completely over-the-top. And if the city was serious about wanting to evict CoL, they would have done so long ago.

[eaglescout2004]

I really think the easiest solution for all parties is to sell the building to CoL. The city won't miss it as they have not used it for their purposes for quite a while.

[kb6jra]

The city never used the building, the CoL built the building in 1928, and deeded it back to the City at no cost. The original contract stated that the council would build the building and in turn the city would lease the land to the council in perpetuity for $1 / year.

 

If the City want's to rent the building to the Scouts, they should at least pay fair market price for it. I'm sure it's worth mucho dinero, but then CoL would be playing the same game the city is playing, and 2 wrongs don't make a wright.

 

 

 

 

[CalicoPenn]

The amortized cost of the construction of a building built in 1928 has been fully satisfied for a very long time now - think decades. Even if it hadn't, the way ground leases work, that building became the property of the City of Philadelphia the moment it was built. The city owes CoL nothing for the building.