Local Girl Scouts Getting Kicked to the Curb

The Girl Scouts of Fayette County have been stationed in the little green hut on the corner of Milam and Vail for the last 80 years, but now the local scouts have less than 30 days to gather their things and vacate the property so it can be put up for sale.

The Fayette County troops fall under the umbrella of the Girl Scouts of Central Texas Council, which is headquartered in Austin. There has been communication between the lawyers and representatives of each party since early June, attempting to determine who owns the property and the legality of a proposed sale.

“The deed we have is old and written in a very lawyeresque style, but the way that it reads is that the La Grange Girl Scouts own it outright,” said Michelle Messer, former service unit director.

When the land was given to the Girl Scouts in January 1947 by William Hermes, the property deed named three trustees in charge of the property. Hermes also noted conditions for the use of it.

“To hold said property for the use and benefit of the La Grange Girl Scouts, and such local Girl Scouts group only, as a meeting place to accomplish the purposes and objects and aims of that organization,” according to the deed signed by Hermes in 1947. “If there is no such discontinuance or abandonment within [10 years from the date of signing], this grant shall be, and is being made as, a perpetual one.”

In an email exchange between Girl Scouts of Fayette County and Girl Scouts of Central Texas, the latter claimed ownership and disclosed the plan to sell.

“We engaged a property attorney to help us understand our options, and we now know that Girl Scouts of Central Texas has been determined to be the property owner and has a clear title,” said a representative of GSCTX in an email to the troop leaders in Fayette County. “With this information in hand, we will proceed with a sale of the Girl Scout House.”

Messer has requested access to the documents that GSCTX’s attorney used to base their claim of ownership. A title company or attorney figures out who has the legal ownership of the property using various legal documentssuch as deeds, probate records, easements, court orders and other recorded instruments.

GSCTX was formed from the merger of four legacy councils in 2007, one of which the La Grange Girl Scouts belonged to at the time. Without further legal searches, it’s currently unclear to Girl Scouts of Fayette County whether or not the merger into the council included the property rights.

“We currently don’t know whether or not the council ever acquired ownership of the hut,” Messer said. “A troop joining or belonging to a council is not the same thing as transferring ownership of local real estate. That’s exactly why we’re asking GSCTX for the basis of their conclusion.”

Girl Scouts of Fayette County has been advised by a connection at a title company to do a 100-year title search to confirm the chain of title, but unlike GSCTX who has the funds for a legal battle, the Girl Scouts of Fayette County simply doesn’t have the budget necessary for the search.

“If we wanted to do that, it would cost about $375 for the first two hours and $200 every hour thereafter,” Messer said. “That’s not money our service unit has.”

At the time of this publication, the representative of GSCTX has not yet responded with the documents used to determine the ownership of the Girl Scout Hut.

Girl Scouts of Central Texas have offered to help research alternate storage methods and meeting places for the Girl Scouts of Fayette County, but the future of the program remains ambiguous.

“We’re up against a wall,” Messer said. “The Council has given us no time at all and they know we don’t have the money to fight a legal battle. They were just hoping we would go away.” Messer is asking that if anyone has any information or legal connection that can help, to please reach out to her at michellelynnmesser@gmail. com

“If there’s any former Girl Scouts or Troop Leaders that can help, please reach out,” Messer said. “I’m afraid that if the hut gets taken away, then that will be the demise of Girl Scouts in Fayette County.”