2021-04-14 Youth Commission MinutesPage 1.1.1
Youth Commission Meeting Minutes, 4/14/2021
Commission Members Present:
Co -Chair Jacob Sawyer
Treasurer Sydney Pearson
Finn Paynich
Grace Kamila
Aaron Nateephaisan
Commission Members Absent:
Chair Owen Lee
Secretary Brook Roberts
Hunter DeLeon
Zane Marulitua
Brooke Rinehimer
Audrey Lim
Staff Present:
Casey Colley, Youth Commission Coordinator
Shannon Burley, Parks & Recreation Deputy
Director
Michelle Bennett, Acting Chief of Police
Councilmembers Present:
Laura Johnson
Guests Present:
Bill Phipps
Caitlin Chung
I. CALL TO ORDER
Co -Chair Jacob Sawyer called the meeting to order at 6:02 pm over Zoom.
Finn read the land acknowledgment statement.
II. APPROVAL OF THE CONSENT AGENDA
Co -Chair Jacob Sawyer moved to approve the minutes of the April 24th, 2021 Youth Commission
meeting with two revisions.
Secretary Grace Kamila seconded the motion.
Motion carried unanimously.
III. DISCUSSION WITH ACTING POLICE CHIEF BENNETT
Michelle Bennett is the current Acting Chief of Police for the Edmonds Police Department. She
was appointed to the position by Mayor Nelson after former Acting Chief Jim Lawless resigned,
and is an applicant for the full-time position. Chief Bennett used to be the Chief of the Maple
Valley and Sammamish Police Departments, where she worked with the Youth Boards in both
cities to address issues such as equity and inclusion, alcohol addiction, dating violence, and
mental health.
Questions:
What is the plan to identify issues in Edmonds such as the mental health crisis?
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o Include stakeholders, including a diverse group of students, as well as parents,
counselors, etc. and brainstorm solutions with those groups and identify the roots of
problems. Utilize different input and feedback between different angles.
In regards to diversity and equity, what is the plan to implement diversity and equity within
Edmonds policing, as well as accountability?
o As of now, the Police Department is diverse in terms of its officers, especially in regards
to differing age groups of staff.
o Recommendations made by the Mayor's Equity Taskforce are currently being reviewed
and considered for implementation into the policies of the Police Department to better
serve the community.
o She has previous experience in working with diverse populations and serving them.
➢ Are there plans for supplementary training for officers?
o Officers are regularly training with online courses, simulation -based issues, etc. and
there are two dedicated officers who train fellow staff of the Police Department. About
half of officers have between 3-5 years of experience.
What is her opinion about bike patrol in Edmonds? Is there a plan to implement it?
o Because she is in a temporary role, she is unable to make many structural changes to the
Police Department, although the Mayor has been supportive of the idea. The day before,
she met with an officer who would be interested in leading the program, so it is a matter
of purchasing bicycles and training officers for this line of duty.
o In Maple Valley, she led the bike program which was used as a community engagement
program. They would hold events where bike officers could reward the community for
wearing a helmet or racing them with an ice cream from McDonalds. She noted that this
was helpful in engaging the community as police in bicycle shorts seem to be less
intimidating than officers in a normal outfit.
How does the Police Department plan on engaging communities not located in the Bowl, such as
on the Highway 99 corridor?
o When she worked for Shoreline, they held volunteer patrols in the Aurora
Avenue/Highway 99 area, in addition to having a Police Station within the vicinity of
those areas.
o Based on her conversations with the Mayor, he seems to be receptive to having a
storefront Police Office on the corridor and a small court for misdemeanors (which
would allow residents to not have to go to the court in the downtown area).
How does she plan on improving opportunities for citizens to become more educated about
policing, and the need for diversity and inclusion and bridging the gap between those who don't
understand the need for it?
o Utilizing the Community Engagement Officer more and developing a Community
Academy where the general public can ask questions to officers and learn more about
how the Police Department polices.
o She noted that the Police Department can not respond to certain calls (such as a black
man simply walking around an area) at its discretion, but also having the duty to respond
if there was a disturbance.
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o Working with schools and getting into the schools to educate students, and maybe
running a civics class about a person's rights, expectations, and answering questions and
concerns.
➢ Given the current state and opinion of police (polarization), what questions should citizens ask to
police and advocate for the issues?
o She believes that policing shouldn't be seen as an "us versus them" issue, but rather a
collective desire to make it better and to improve it. Based on what she has seen in
Edmonds so far, there are many folks willing to be engaged to help make a change to
improve policing.
o She has sat down with her EPD officers and discussed this in terms of what changes
could be made for community engagement and building relationships to avoid the
divisiveness.
o And at the end of the day, police are paid for by taxpayer money, so it is up to the EPD to
determine how they could be of best use to the Edmonds community (ie: implementing
social services and working with other organizations to address root issues).
➢ How should we address her?
o Acting Chief of Police Bennett or by Michelle for the youth.
IV. EDMONDS' EARTH DAY EVENT
The City will be holding its Earth Day event across multiple beaches on the 24th. Volunteers are
needed from 9:30 to 12:15. Finn, Sydney, and Grace volunteered.
V. DISCUSSION WITH CAITLIN CHUNG
Since resigning from the Youth Commission, Caitlin took on the role of Student Representative
for the Diversity Commission. She reported on the different topics that the Diversity Commission
is currently covering, listed below.
➢ The Highway 99 Community Project: came from the Highway 99 Community subgroup to
study how the Downtown area and the Highway 99 areas are significantly disconnected
and how city funding is allocated for the Downtown area, instead of the 99 corridor
(where most of the diverse representation is located). The report urged the city to invest
more money and resources into the Highway 99 corridor and communities.
Diversity Film Series: since the COVID pandemic began, it has moved to an online format.
Diverse films are shown with reflective discussions with Commissioners afterwards on
how the film contributes to the discussion of diversity and key takeaways from it.
Racial Equity Toolkit: a toolkit for local businesses to create a welcoming and equitable
culture for all (including employees and the general public). It includes media, contact
information, etc. with the goal of making Edmonds a more equitable place.
➢ Small Grants Program: working with the Arts Commission, the program makes small
grants (less than $500) to locals who pursue projects relating to diversity (stories,
discussion groups, gatherings, etc. between July and December of 2021.
Community Engagement and Listening Sessions: working in tandem with commissions
from Lynnwood and Mountlake Terrace to hold listening sessions relating to community
leaders, groups, etc.
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Questions:
What is the criteria to find people to discuss with for the listening sessions?
o Usually someone from an established group, like a City Councilmember.
VI. COMMITTEE UPDATES
Environmental: figuring out how to promote eco-friendly habits, especially recycling.
➢ Youth & Government: focusing on educating the public about City Government and what it does,
maybe including a series of Instagram posts.
Mental Health: project of raising awareness of mental health issues. Waiting for members to be
able to meet and focus on these projects.
o The new Youth Commission page could include resources that the Commission finds
resourceful.
Diversity & Equity: hasn't met since pronouns proposal. Long-term goals are unclear, although
meetings are planned to refine goals and priorities.
o Shannon has worked to target vaccination opportunities among the BIPOC communities
of Edmonds, notably the Asian community (Korean -Americans and Chinese -Americans).
Co -Chair Jacob Sawyer moved to extend the meeting to 7:40 pm.
Treasurer Sydney Pearson seconded the motion.
Motion passed unanimously.
VII. FINAL COMMENTS
Casey: along with working with the City's events, it would be great for the Environmental
Committee to make an Instagram post about how youth take individual actions to decrease
carbon impact.
➢ Jacob: wishes everyone well, especially as folks return to school.
Councilmember Laura Johnson: Fred Meyer is offering the Pfizer vaccines currently. She wishes
everyone luck in finding vaccines.
VIII. ADJOURNMENT
Co -Chair Jacob Sawyer adjourned the meeting at 7:40 pm.