Mr. Neil Stegall from the Scottish Rite at the Lake Worth City Commission.

The information provided by Mr. Stegall on June 5th was very important community news. So much so there will likely be public workshop scheduled in the near future between the City, the public, and this crucial nonprofit. Just the idea of the Scottish Rite structure being razed and replaced by condos is unthinkable for many of you reading this.

You can watch and listen to Mr. Stegall for yourself in the video below at Public Comment. Briefly, the nonprofit Scottish Rite of Lake Worth needs support from the community and they also want to work with the City to help save their amazing 5½ acre, 40,000 s/f facility at 2000 North ‘D’ St. But the Scottish Rite membership has been dropping year after year as is the case for many fraternal organizations. They are at a fork in the road, so to speak.

The Scottish Rite is being approached by developers who would most likely tear the building down and construct new housing or condos. Yes. This City needs more housing but at what cost? Losing a historic treasure? Losing the Grey Mockingbird Garden and one of our traditional voting locations and so many other things our community has counted on for so many decades?

Click on this link to see photos of the inside and outside of the Masonic Center.

The list of things the Scottish Rite has done for this City is impressive. I could regale you with stories over the years about what they’ve done for this City, communities, and neighborhoods. And they never ask for anything in return. But now after all these years the Scottish Rite is asking for help.

This community organization has been located in the City of Lake Worth for one hundred continuous years.

One idea brought up by Mr. Stegall was a workshop with the City and that looks like it is going to happen watching the reactions on the Commission dais. Another idea was considering a co-op public-private partnership where the City of Lake Worth could gain by having access and use of the Scottish Rite property and facilities while at the same time preserving the structure. All of these ideas will be considered and many others as well.

Stay tuned for more information about this very important topic.

Click play to watch the video: