SWAMPSCOTT — Plans to transform the shuttered Girl Scout Hut into a suitable place for scouting activities are moving forward after enough funds were raised by a local nonprofit to reseal the roof and revitalize the building.
On Wednesday night, the Board of Selectmen authorized Town Administrator Sean Fitzgerald to work with the Cub Scouts, led by Cubmaster Mark Shilo, to negotiate a lease, pending a follow-up with the building inspector to ensure that the property is usable.
The 76-year-old building in Jackson Park has been empty since 2007. Shilo has said that Cub Scout Pack 55 and the Swampscott Girl Scouts plan to reuse the vacant hut for den meetings, cookouts, camping skills, and an outdoor classroom.
The Boy Scouts also plan to make use of the dwelling. The hut hasn’t been occupied for a similar purpose since the Cub Scouts used it in the 1990s, Shilo said.
“It is exciting and it is going to be an excellent, fun thing for the kids in the town,” Shilo said.
Shilo said the scouts’ campaign was able to raise more than $6,000 to reseal the roof, which far exceeded the $3,500 estimate he previously received for that project from a contractor. He said the roof is going to get a cover, which is a durable surface that provides complete cover and is bonded to the existing concrete slab.
To raise those funds, he said SwampScouts, a new nonprofit comprised of Swampscott Girl Scout, Boy Scout and Cub Scout leadership, set up a GoFundMe page. He said the town’s rotary club also helped a lot, by setting up their own fundraiser for the scouts and donating funds. Private donations from friends and colleagues also added to the amount raised.
“This is one of the most extraordinary pieces of public property that we have and to have our scouts really take the lead to try to renew a commitment that Swampscott has had for many decades to use this property in such extraordinary ways is really exciting,” said Fitzgerald. “I really want to thank the SwampScouts for raising over $6,000 to help improve and better the hut.
“I think it reflects a great spirit of community that both Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts have bestowed upon their hometown. I’m excited to collaborate with the scouts and I would look forward to really a grand reopening and perhaps there are some scouts from a few decades ago that will join us and recommit their oaths to help serve and support their hometown.”
Shilo said the reuse, which was approved by the selectmen last year, is not exclusive to scouting activities. He said there might be educational activities for other groups that can be held there.
The hut is a shell of a building, with four stone walls and a gravel floor. The building inspector hired a structural engineer last year to evaluate the building, who found that it was structurally sound, officials have said.
Shilo said the labor to revitalize the building will mostly be done by the scouts and volunteers, who are friends and families of the scouts. The town’s Department of Public Works would be helping with some of the labor.
For the upcoming work, Shilo said Home Depot has donated a lot of materials, including cement, graffiti removal for the stones outside, paint and anti-rust compound.
The hut lacks running water, electricity and bathroom facilities. With so much money left over from the fundraising, Shilo said those funds could go toward solar panels, a generator, picnic tables, firepits, or renting out a herd of goats to eat up the poison ivy.
Fitzgerald said the hut needs a lot of repair, and that the town is going to have to ensure that the building is safe and meets town code. With a few changes, he said “I think we could really put together an exciting place for community programs. I like the idea that it’s not just going to be exclusive to scouts.”
“I love the idea that we can really bring the building back into use and so appreciate the kind of fundraising that you’ve done to make this happen,” said Naomi Dreeben, chairwoman of the Board of Selectmen to Shilo and the scouts on Wednesday night. “It’s quite a commitment for the troop to have done this kind of work to make it possible for the town to bring the building back to life and for you to be able to use it. That’s pretty wonderful.”
