Boy Scouts Get Civics Lesson at Common Council Meeting

It’s not often you see a group of 12-year-old boys at a common council meeting.

Filling half a long row of chairs, Boy Scout Troop 855 of Port Washington was at Tuesday’s meeting to learn about city government, one step to earning their Citizenship in the Community merit badges.

Mayor Tom Mlada welcomed the troop to the meeting, thanked them for being there and made sure they had handouts with which to follow along.

Earning the Citizenship in the Community merit badge teaches the scouts what it means to be a citizen and the importance of being involved in their community, according to the troop’s merit badge counselor.

Scout Noah Mueller, 12, thought the meeting was "interesting." He most liked the presentation about how the city processes wastewater and the water system of the city.

But he also found out that council topics might be relevant to him.

In preparing for the meeting, Noah and his mother had been thinking about what topics might be on the agenda and he thought that waterfront safety might come up.

He was right. One item briefly touched on at the council meeting was the death of Tyler Buczek, a Port Washington teen who died while swimming last month.

Mlada reported that the waterfront safety ad hoc committee, formed in response to Tyler’s death, had its first meeting and identified areas to work on to prevent such tragedies.