Scouts seek community support for new Litchfield Park lodge

A group of us just decided that it was time to build a designated Scout lodge that was owned by the Scouts, so we’re pretty excited.”

Meredeth Stucky

IF YOU GO

WHEN: Oct. 31 from 11 to 1 p.m.

WHERE: 299 W. Fairway Drive

PARKING: The Church at Litchfield Park, 300 N. Old Litchfield Road.

Supporters of Litchfield Park’s 72-year-old Scout Lodge will invite the public inside Oct. 31 as they seek money, materials and labor for a $1.2 million replacement in nearby Scout Park.

The current lodge at 299 W. Fairway Drive was built in 1954 by town founder Paul W. Litchfield for Troop 90, according to Meredeth Stucky, president of Litchfield Park Scout Lodge Preservation Inc.

Stucky said Troops 90 and 99 serve nearly 200 youths combined, and that Girl Scout and Cub Scout groups also use the building.

The city eventually envisions a parking garage on the lodge site, but City Manager Matthew Williams said no governing body has formally approved demolition of the existing scout lodge. 

The city owns the existing lodge and land, but a memorandum of understanding with the scouting organization calls for the old lodge to remain until a replacement is built.

“The scouts have to have a place to meet,” Williams said.

No final agreement for the replacement lodge has been made. Under the current proposal, the city would retain ownership of the Scout Park land and the scouting organization would own the building through a long-term lease.

Stucky said organizers considered moving the existing building, but learned that relocation would be risky and more expensive than starting over. 

“A group of us just decided that it was time to build a designated Scout lodge that was owned by the Scouts,” Stucky said. “So we’re pretty excited.”

Plans for the new lodge include a 2,060-square-foot meeting hall, plus a covered patio and a 1,067-square-foot garage with two trailer doors. 

Stucky said organizers have raised about $440,000 in in-kind donations and commitments from various local contractors for the new lodge. She hopes donated labor and materials will cover at least 70% of the project.

Work on the building’s dry shell, once targeted for early 2027, could be delayed depending on fundraising, she said. 

Joni Sheesley, whose two sons are scouts, said her older son was disappointed about losing the lodge where he earned his merit badges but looks forward to the replacement.

“We can move the history over and have something that’s more streamlined for what our needs are,” Sheesley said.

The Litchfield Park Scout Lodge Town Hall is scheduled for 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31, at the lodge. Visitors can tour the building, walk through a full-scale outline of the proposed lodge and meet local scouts.

Organizers also plan to offer bricks near the current lodge’s flagpole for $100, including personalized engraving, with the bricks intended for a walkway or entrance at the new lodge. Parking will be available at The Church at Litchfield Park, 300 N. Old Litchfield Road.

Noah Flug
Reporter | Litchfield Park and Goodyear

nflug@iniusa.org

Community: Litchfield Park and Goodyear

Education: Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication with a minor in Digital Audiences from Arizona State University

Random Fact: I only have one biological cousin.

Hobbies: Watching movies and TV, spending time with my friends, aspiring stoic.