Cub Scout leader sought to resurrect Pequot Lakes pack

PEQUOT LAKES — Pequot Lakes is in need of a Cub Scout leader.

Debra Bultnick, district executive for the Boy Scouts of America Central Minnesota Council, asked the Pequot Lakes City Council at its regular meeting Monday, May 1, to think about anyone they know who could lead a Cub Scout pack for a year or so while new parents learn the ropes and then take over.

“We had a pack in Pequot Lakes up until last fall, and the cubmaster burned out and we lost her,” Bultnick said, showing a long list of kids in Pequot Lakes who want to join Cub Scouts but have no place to go.

There’s a Scout troop in Pequot Lakes, and almost all those kids started at the pack level, she said.

“They are intimidated about the idea of taking on a leadership role,” Bultnick said of potential Cub Scout parents.

The community wants a pack, but temporary part-time leaders are needed.

Packs are for kindergartners through fifth graders, while Scouts are for sixth grade and older students.

Total estimated cost to redesign Patriot Avenue from Lake Street to Sibley Street is roughly $1.1 million. A total redesign won't happen yet.

City Engineer Tim Houle, with Widseth, said that cost could be cut in half if the council didn’t change the street much from what it is — a two-lane highway, as it is the former Highway 371 — to a city street.

The entire Patriot Avenue from County Roads 168 to 17 is part of a shared chip sealing and striping contract with Crow Wing County, which will be done this summer.

The council agreed work needs to be done on the road downtown to clean up painted lines.

The chip sealing/striping shared agreement contract was approved with the city’s share totaling an estimated $170,000.

It also includes some striping on Main, Rasmussen and Front streets.

Chipsealing and striping will be a Band-Aid for this summer while the council continues discussion on rebuilding Patriot Avenue or parts of it.

Some design changes will be made, but not all that have been proposed.

In other business Monday, the council:

• Agreed to ask the park commission to recommend a location to fly the official city flag the council recently adopted.
• Agreed to meet with the city’s Economic Development Commission in a workshop to discuss projects the EDC should be pursuing.
• Approved spending $31,500 for the Ninth Avenue project. 

A joint project with Loon Lake Township, gravel construction will take place for the majority of the road, including shaving down the hill for safety, along with adding pavement to allow traffic to be on asphalt from Krist Court to County Road 112.
Total estimated cost is $63,000 with Loon Lake Township paying the other half.

• Authorized the city to enter a service agreement to provide credit/debit and e-check payment processing services for customers making payments.
• Approved a six-month contract extension to provide oversight to the Pine River Area Sanitary District facility to continue to allow PRASD time to attain appropriate licensure.

PRASD will pay the city $1,297 per month and $70 an hour for any additional services.
Nancy Vogt, editor, may be reached at 218-855-5877 or nancy.vogt@pineandlakes.com . Follow her on Facebook and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/@PEJ_Nancy.