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cmd100421 Special Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes October 4, 2021 Page 1 EDMONDS CITY COUNCIL VIRTUAL ONLINE SPECIAL MEETING APPROVED MINUTES October 4, 2021 ELECTED OFFICIALS PRESENT Susan Paine, Council President Luke Distelhorst, Councilmember Diane Buckshnis, Councilmember Vivian Olson, Councilmember ELECTED OFFICIALS ABSENT Adrienne Fraley-Monillas, Councilmember Kristiana Johnson, Councilmember Laura Johnson, Councilmember STAFF PRESENT Shannon Burley, Deputy Parks & Recreation Dir. Casey Colley, Youth Commission Coordinator Scott Passey, City Clerk Dave Rohde, GIS Analyst 1. CALL TO ORDER/FLAG SALUTE The Edmonds City Council virtual online special meeting was called to order at 5:00 p.m. by Council President Paine. The meeting was opened with the flag salute. 2. ROLL CALL City Clerk Scott Passey called the roll. All elected officials were present, participating remotely with the exception of Councilmembers K. Johnson, Fraley-Monillas, and L. Johnson. COUNCIL PRESIDENT PAINE MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER BUCKSHNIS, TO CHANGE THE INTERVIEW ORDER OF YOUTH COMMISSION CANDIDATES, TO MOVE CANDIDATE #3 TO BE INTERVIEWED LAST TO ALLOW COUNCILMEMBER DISTELHORST TO EXCUSE HIMSELF FROM THE REST OF THE MEETING. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 4. INTERVIEWS FOR APPOINTMENT TO CITY BOARD OR COMMISSION 1. YOUTH COMMISSION CANDIDATE INTERVIEWS Deputy Parks & Recreation Director Shannon Burley explained more young people applied for the positions than there are positions available which demonstrates the growth and power behind the Youth Commission and the great work they have been doing. She introduce Youth Commission Coordinator Casey Colley who assisted with the recruitment process, explaining the current Youth Commission members were in charge of the recruitment process and made this happen. She requested each Councilmember ask each applicant a question and following the interviews, email her their top three choices in priority order and she will submit them for appointment on next week’s Consent Agenda. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes October 4, 2021 Page 2 Councilmembers interviewed each candidate (responses in italics). Following each interview Ms. Burley described how candidates would be notified. Julie Andres Council President Paine asked what has been your favorite volunteer activity or what volunteer activity would you like to do next? My favorite volunteer activity was cleaning up invasives like ivy at Yost Park where that is a big issue, the entire forest is covered in ivy. I would like to get more people involved in that. Councilmember Olson said she loved that answer, commenting she has done ivy removal herself and plans to continue doing it in the future. Recognizing that life has been back and forth between virtual and in- person, what has been your favorite in-person and favorite virtual way to make a difference? My favorite way to reconnect with everyone again was to be more involved in school. I joined LINK Crew at school which helps incoming freshmen who are probably very nervous because they did not have an 8th grade or get to know everyone in their grade. LINK Crew has an orientation for incoming freshmen, helps them make the transition and it was great to see everyone. Councilmember Buckshnis said she was impressed with her answers and enjoyed that she was looking into environmental protection. She asked her to elaborate on the comment in her application about limited dining experiences for teens in Edmonds. That is a really big thing, especially among my friends too. I live close to downtown Edmonds so I go there often to eat. It caters to an older crowd and not young kids, it’s very expensive and there’s no casual dining whether people can pick-up food to take somewhere without spending $15 or eating inside. The experience for teens would be better if there was more casual dining and places that are legal for teens to go. Councilmember Distelhorst asked her to talk about her passion for social justice that was mentioned in her application and if there were specific areas she wanted to address while on the Youth Commission. I’m very passionate about social justice like BLM and LGBTQ rights, and always want to strive for a very diverse group of people and inclusion. I like the pronoun inclusion at the City and I would like to include more things to make everyone feel welcome. Chelsea Beck Council President Paine asked what has been your favorite volunteer activity or what is the next volunteer activity you would like to do and why? My favorite volunteer activity was one in downtown Seattle that my and dad did related to donations for families that do not have baby supplies such as diapers, toys, etc. Councilmember Olson commented since we are in an on again/off again virtual and in-person world, what were your favorite ways of connecting or making a difference virtually and in-person? In my lifetime we’ve always had social media and phone, but connecting with people by phone meant a lot more than it did before COVID. It was really cool to have groups of people texting each other. I had a virtual book club group and it was cool to have a book club, but not have to meet in person. In-person school has been very helpful. It has also helped in-person that everyone has been very cooperative, perspectives have changed and people are nicer than they used to be. Councilmember Buckshnis said she was impressed with her wish to run a non-profit homeless shelter and asked her to talk about helping the planet and to describe her goal. My goal/dream since I was little was to run a non-profit homeless shelter because I would see homeless people everywhere and I don’t want them not to have homes. I will go to college and major in business and also work in Red Cross or something where they react to national problems and help manage it. I would not be a good first responder but I’m good at managing things and I want to help the environment and people. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes October 4, 2021 Page 3 Councilmember Distelhorst said he liked her idea about a community garden or pea patch and asked if she had an opportunity to visit them in communities near Edmonds. He invited her to talk about that idea. I feel like I have but I haven’t been to a big one, only a small one in Renton. I like the idea of a community garden but of course it would be hard to maintain how the public uses it because people can be not good people sometimes. I feel like a garden would be a place for people to come together outside and grow things during hard times. Dylan Pham Council President Paine asked what has been your favorite volunteer activity or what is the next volunteer activity you are interested in doing and why? I’ve only participated in one volunteer activity so far, volunteering at the Edmonds Food Bank but I plan to volunteer for my school’s Key Club or other opportunities. I really enjoyed volunteering at the Edmonds Food Bank, I met a lot of new people and was able to communicate with people who do not speak English, learning to communicate with them and understanding where they’re coming from is important. Councilmember Olson thanked him for volunteering at the food bank, noting she had heard it is hard work. Our lifestyle is virtual and in-person and has been fluctuating back and forth. Can you comment on past virtual or in-person experiences where you felt like you made a difference even if it was to only one person? I have not found a way to virtually connect. In-person was volunteering at the Edmonds Food Bank and this past week I worked with my school’s ASB team planning Homecoming. This year has been hard due to COVID and it has been important to work with students and teachers and people in the community to make a difference. Councilmember Olson commented he and his peers have not had the opportunity for fun like others have had while in high school so it is important that things like Homecoming happen in a big way. Councilmember Buckshnis said she was also a huge STEM fan, recalling it was all about reading, writing, arithmetic when she growing up. She liked his idea for STEM education and invited him to expand on that. In the past year due to COVID, we attended school on Zoom, trying to get back into things and being more hands on. My big idea is to get especially younger kids in Edmonds who haven’t experienced hand-on imagination or creative thinking to experience STEM. I attended Brighton where every year a coordinator gave us a project to build and test, think about and learn about the creative, engineering process. I would like to bring something like that to Edmonds to encourage youth to get into STEM. Councilmember Buckshnis said she appreciated the reference from his engineering teacher. Councilmember Distelhorst asked what had been his favorite part of being in the STEM program. Being around so many creative people, meeting different minds, talking to seniors who have been there for a long time, talking with teachers and learning how STEM works, how their minds work is the best part, being around people and learning from them. Mariana Yenter Council President Paine asked what has been your favorite volunteer experience so far or what volunteer activity would you like to participate in next and why? My favorite volunteer experience has been Students Saving Salmon who work on bringing salmon and water quality back to Edmonds streams. I think that is a very important thing to do because it’s great for the environment. My next volunteer activity is planting native trees between Harbor Square and the Edmonds Marsh on October 23rd. Councilmember Olson said she was happy she was participating in Students Saving Salmon and had the opportunity to learn from Joe Scordino who is a great role model. She commented on the dual online and in-person life and asked her to describe her favorite in-person way and virtual way to make a difference. Virtually, I joined Key Club at my school and we participated in online service projects via Zoom which was very fun. With regard to in-person, I still participate in stream monitoring around Edmonds via the Students Saving Salmon club. Councilmember Olson asked about examples of virtual service projects. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes October 4, 2021 Page 4 Creating videos of us reading books which were sent to elementary schools so students could experience someone reading to them. Councilmember Buckshnis commented they may have met via Students Saving Salmon participating in projects at the Marsh. She agreed Joe Scordino was wonderful role model and was glad Students Saving Salmon had an opportunity to learn from him. She asked her to speak on her comment about the Edmonds community creating a platform so Council can hear more from the public. Edmonds is a smaller community so if communication could be improved, it would empower more people to voice their opinions and feel like they can make a difference even if they are not on the Youth Commission or City Council. A first step could be to review all the communication platforms the City already has and based on that, take further steps. Councilmember Distelhorst commented it is budget season for the Council; thinking about the public and youth’s input, what is an area you would like to see the City Council put more money or resources into? One place where more money and resources could be put into is park improvements and creating a better environment, but they are already great. Sam Yi Council President Paine asked what had been your favorite volunteer activity to date or what was the next volunteer activity you would like to do and why? Honestly, I haven’t participated in a lot of volunteer activities during high school. I did a little bit of volunteering for Toys for Tots. I’m interested in the Edmonds Youth Commission so I can start doing more volunteer projects like the Youth Commission’s participation in the Marina Beach cleanup. Regarding my focus on mental health, studies have linked cleaner public spaces to reduced depression and greater happiness. Cleaning up litter around the City is a future volunteer activity I would be interested in. Councilmember Olson commented we have a lifestyle now that fluctuates between virtual and in-person. Even one-on-one, can you give an example of a way you’ve connected or made a difference in the virtual world and also in the in-person world? In the virtual world, one way I made a difference was through clubs I joined at school in the past year such as the Wordsmith Club (creative writing) where I was better able to foster creative thinking with students at my school. Even though it was weird year, we could still get together and write about what was happening in our life and kind of return to a little more normal life by connecting with each other and talking about what was happening. A way I’ve connected in-person, before the delta variant came back and everything got shut down again, I was able to meet up with friends and make new friends. Before COVID, I didn’t realize how valuable social interaction was and how important it was to talk to people face-to-face and that’s part of the reason I want to join Edmonds Youth Commission and other volunteer projects is because now I see the value in connecting with people. Councilmember Buckshnis said she enjoyed reading his application, especially how candid he was and how well he communicated about his parents and their varying opinions. The City had events related to Suicide Prevention Month in September. Can you talk more about your goals related to mental health and talking about it with youth? Regarding mental health, I wanted a goal that was realistic and that could make change. In my short lifetime, I’ve seen a lot of people, even in elementary school, who struggle with depression and anxiety in the community and it’s a problem everyone’s trying to address but it’s really hard. My idea is to create a website with easily accessed resources because it is too hard for people to quickly find a solution when they need it, it requires too much research, and resources are not readily available and people may not be able to do that research when they are in a dark place in life. Creating a one-stop with resources such as an Edmonds website that could be advertised around the City would be helpful. I know people personally who would not be ready to find help unless it was put in front of them. Councilmember Distelhorst referred to the comment in his application that he enjoyed filmmaking and asked how he could bring that skill and talent to the Youth Commission and the Edmonds community. I Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes October 4, 2021 Page 5 think there is a TV channel for Edmonds although it’s not widely circulated as well as a YouTube channel. I could make videos advertising the mental health website, or other things like beach clean-ups, to help get the word out about projects the Youth Commission is undertaking. (Councilmember Distelhorst left the meeting at 5:38 p.m.) Lily Distelhorst Council President Paine asked what has been your favorite volunteer experience so far or what is your next volunteer activity and why? One of my favorite volunteer experiences was in middle school I was the manager for video announcements so I was able to bring the school community together and have athletes report on past and upcoming games, advertise school events, as well as plan and run school events. I got to know my school community better. With select softball, I didn’t have a lot of time to volunteer and I didn’t realize the change I could make in community. Realizing that now, I want to volunteer more and help make a change in the community. That is part of the reason I want to be on the Youth Commission, to volunteer more and bring a new voice and input into Edmonds and youth. Councilmember Olson commented this has been such a strange chapter, going back and forth between virtual and in-person living and experiences. Can you give me an example of a virtual and an in-person example of a way you’ve made a connection or made a difference during this last year? Last summer I went to a lot of Black Lives Matter sign holding events at the QFC corner with friends and my dad. I helped make a difference by helping people understand that systemic racism exists. Last summer I also attended a youth-led Black Lives Matter protest in downtown Edmonds. Hearing other people’s perspective on racism in Edmonds or life in general helped bring a new perspective. Those were some of my favorite in-person experience because I got to meet new people and help make a different. For online, it was definitely being able to share new information about the LGBTQ+ community, People of Color and Black Lives Matter by reposting on Instagram to help people understand how important those are to communities and meeting new people who are also interested in making a change in issues surrounding youth and everyone in general. Councilmember Buckshnis commented she is passionate about some of the same things her dad is passionate about. Can you give us a summary of what you’re passionate about? I’m really passionate about transit because climate change impacts youth’s future. Public transit is an efficient way to get out of cars and still get places on time as well as reduce carbon emissions and is really easy. I was able to go to the opening of light rail from the U District to Northgate this weekend. Seeing people riding public transit was very moving because public transit is important to youth who cannot drive as it provides a way to get around as well as reduce carbon emissions. I’m also passionate about affordable housing because it is a big issue in Edmonds. A lot of people have told me they cannot afford buy houses in Edmonds and with the pandemic, prices have increased and people are buying houses sight unseen. Affordable housing is really important and is needed to get youth, POC, families, etc. to move into Edmonds to expand diversity and bring the community together. Council President Paine thanked all the candidates for participating in the interview process. 5. ADJOURN With no further business, the Council meeting was adjourned at 5:45 p.m. ____ ____ MICHAEL NELSON, MAYOR SCOTT PASSEY, CITY CLERK