Scouts Need A New Home Now

I recently covered a Chamber Coffee at the Ulysses “Scout House,” where The Ulysses Boy Scouts have met for 77 years and the Cub Scouts for 65 years. The building has been discussed at recent city council meetings for its age and lack of accessibility as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Scout leadership wanted to showcase the growth of the local scout troop and the addition of a girl version of the troop, and Chamber Coffee was the perfect place for community leaders to get a firsthand look. They also wanted to show the need for either a remodel of the historic 1930s-era building or a completely new meeting place.

I’m no building engineer, but a simple “remodel” won’t cut it.

City Administrator Luke Grimes said at the June 12 city council meeting, “It is not ADA compliant; it is not even close to being ADA compliant.”

He ain’t lyin.’

Having experienced that building as a person with mobility issues, it’s not just “non-compliant,” it’s a liability to the city and a lawsuit waiting to happen.

As soon as you walk in the main entrance, you are faced with stairs to either go to the basement, or four stairs up to the main meeting room.

Strike one.

Wheelchair-bound individuals or those in need of a walker are out of luck. What if there’s a child or adult scout leader with mobility issues who wants to be involved?

Too bad, so sad.

Outdoor steps on the south side of the building don’t include handrails, so even if you’re a “Normie,” there is still a fall hazard.

Strike two.

I admit I was nervous when I learned the Chamber Coffee would take place in that building after everything that has been said at city council. I’ve been in Ulysses 17 months and have only missed covering Chamber Coffee for the newspaper twice during that time. It was almost three.

Getting into and out of that building that day was nothing less than humiliating. A feeling that should not be experienced at a Chamber Coffee.

Luckily, many of the scout leaders are also first responders, and they assisted me. But they shouldn’t have had to.

I wasn’t always like this. As recently as three years ago, I would have been up and down those steps in no time; I could have done it with a cane as recently as a year ago. But progressive, degenerative diseases don’t care.

I am glad councilman Mark Diaz has picked up the torch and spoken out on the need for a new meeting place for the scouts. And I know he is not the only one on the council or the community at-large who recognizes the need.

I hope the city council and community do right by these kids.

The children I helped raise for a decade are all grown up, so I don’t have a dog in this fight and will probably never go inside that building again. But that doesn’t mean I don’t support the youth around here, and I know this community does everything it can to support them. So, it’s time to rally around the Scouts and get them a new home.

Those kids deserve it.

Shawn Yorks is an area reporter for Ulysses News. He has worked in the news media for 33 years. He can be reached at news1@ulyssesnews.com