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City approves MOU, easement to clarify ownership and use of Girl Scout hut in Hatfield Park
Summary
The Alva City Council approved Resolution 2025-012 to enter an amended and restated memorandum of understanding and grant a use easement covering the Girl Scout hut in Hatfield Park, clarifying ownership so renovations can proceed and authorizing city signatories.
The Alva City Council unanimously approved Resolution 2025-012 to enter an amended and restated memorandum of understanding and grant a use easement between the City of Alva, Alva Friends of Play Foundation and the Girl Scouts of Western Oklahoma for the property known as the Girl Scout hut in Hatfield Park.
City staff told the council that records indicate the building itself is owned by the Girl Scouts of Western Oklahoma and sits on city-owned land. Amber, representing the Girl Scouts of Western Oklahoma, and city staff described a 1947 council record showing the Girl Scouts purchased the hut and a later memorandum of understanding recorded in February 2013 that already addressed use of the site. The resolution formalizes current practice and adds an easement for parking and occasional encampment use near the hut.
The memorandum also reflects an anticipated change in operational control: the Girl Scouts plan to transfer the hut to the Alva Friends of Play Foundation, a local 501(c)(3), which will take responsibility for planned renovations. City staff said the amended MOU and easement are intended to remove uncertainty about ownership so fundraising and renovation work can proceed without the city asserting ownership of the building.
City staff described the easement language as consistent with long-standing local practice. The easement grants use of the parking area in front of the hut and permission to use a cleared area south and west of the hut up to the fire pit for overnight encampments when needed. Staff clarified that the underlying ground remains city property and that any structural restrictions or deed limitations on the building will remain in place as part of the record.
Councilmember (name on record) moved to approve the resolution; the roll call vote was recorded as Parsons: Yes; Hoffman: Yes; Clark: Yes; Swallow: Yes; Bowman: Yes; Farris: Yes; Adair: Yes. The motion passed unanimously. Council members and staff closed the item by wishing the group luck with renovations.
The action records the city’s understanding that it holds the land while the Girl Scouts (and, after transfer, Alva Friends of Play Foundation) retain ownership of the hut itself, and it authorizes the city business manager and/or mayor to execute documents needed to implement the MOU and easement.
