Joey Bernard visited the Helper City Council on Thursday evening with a large number of young men that had a special request for the members. This request pertained to the discussion and possible approval of Helper City becoming a chartered organization for the Boy Scouts.
Bernard stated that, as most are well aware, the Boy Scouts have been chartered by the Latter-day Saints (LDS) church in Utah for quite some time. However, that is going to end of Dec. 31 of this year. Come Jan. 1, the scouts will not be chartered by the LDS church.
John Mills also joined Bernard to discuss the business aspect of chartering, as Bernard stated that he focuses on the scouts and leading them. Councilwoman Amanda Wheeler asked Mills what exactly the responsibilities and requirements would be for the city. As a charter organization, it is very different from a community than what the LDS church did. The charter organization representative would be the representative between the unit and the council. They would be able to speak the unit’s needs as well as have voting rights on the council board. The charter representative does not have to be someone from the city.
Another need would be a place for the scouts to meet. Robert Bradley, Principal at Helper Middle School, said that they are more than welcome to utilize the school. However, times would be tricky due to games, concerts and other school functions. The civic auditorium was listed as another viable meeting area for the scouts.
There is a charter fee that is $40 per unit that some organizations pay. Other times, the unit will front the amount on behalf of the charter, which is the only other true responsibility.
The Boy Scouts organization requested that the charter maintain unit principals and by-laws and, in return, the unit will not in any way interfere with the city’s principals and by-laws. It would become a partnership. Mills and Bernard then stressed that the whole purpose is for the youth. Councilwoman Malarie Matsuda stated that she believes it would be a great partnership.
The question of liability was then posed. Mills ensured the council that any occurrence would be covered financially by the organization. The council stated that they would need to have the city’s attorney, Jeremy Humes, review the liabilities and paperwork. Mills and Bernard then stated that they would discover how many troops would be chartered by the city.
Following this, Councilwoman Matsuda motioned to approve the city being a chartered organization for the Boy Scouts, pending the aforementioned stipulations.