by Dennis Dalman
news@thenewsleaders.com
Four Girl Scouts from Sartell Troop 783 are going to roll up their sleeves and make improvements to the Huntington neighborhood park in Sartell.
The four Scouts appeared before the Sartell City Council at its last meeting to share their plans and to ask the city permission to do the improvements. The Scouts are Ally Haus, Emily Hoppe, Kali Enstad and Jessica Morgan.
The girls intend to earn the “Silver Award” for doing the park project. It is the highest award possible Girl Scouts can achieve.
The girls plan to plant 10 shade trees, including burr oaks and elms. They also want to raise money to install some fitness equipment in the park, such as a sit-up board, a push-up stand and a leg press. In a careful examination of the park, the girls also noticed the ground is rather hard under the playground equipment so they intend to raise money to buy redwood chips to place on the hard ground. The park department, which was notified of the girls’ efforts, has agreed to help them with some aspects of the improvement project. The girls also noted the park could use some benches.
The girls said their project should be completed by Sept. 30, depending on how much money they can raise.
Council member Amy Braig-Lindstrom told the girls to check the school district because it has two fitness equipment items it does not need that could be used for Huntington Park.
The council members and Mayor Joe Perske thanked the girls and wished them luck with the project.
“Girls, good luck,” Perske said. “We appreciate that.”