2021-10-27 Youth Commission MinutesEdmonds Youth Commission - Minutes of 10/27/21
Commission Members Present:
Acting Chair Sydney Pearson
Sam Yi
Acting Secretary Brook Roberts
Mara Yenter
Chelsea Beck
Finn Paynich
Brooke Rinehimer
Julie Andres
Audrey Lim
I. CALL TO ORDER
Meeting
Commissioners Absent:
Chair Owen Lee
Aaron Nateephaisan
Staff Present:
Jay Sandstrom, Youth Commission Coordinator
Guest Speakers:
Tabatha Shoemake, EPD Community Engagement
Coordinator
Acting Chair Sydney Pearson called the meeting to order at 6:02 PM.
Brook read the land acknowledgment statement.
II. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA
Acting Chair Sydney Pearson made a motion to approve the meeting's agenda; Brooke seconded
the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
III. APPROVAL OF OCTOBER 13, 2021 MEETING MINUTES
Acting Chair Sydney Pearson made a motion to approve the minutes of the October 13, 2021
meeting; Brooke seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
IV. PUBLIC COMMENTS
No members of the public were present to make a public comment.
V. CONVERSATION WITH TABATHA SHOEMAKE, EPD COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT COORDINATOR
After spending 13 years as the Senior Animal Control Officer, Tabatha took up the newly created
Community Engagement Coordinator position within the Edmonds Police Department. The EPD
is looking to start the Explorer's Program, which would engage youth in the department by
teaching defensive tactics, working with the K-9, traffic stop academies, case law, and hosting
opportunities to earn volunteer hours. Officers will be engaging more with the Boys and Girls
Club, as well. The EPD is looking to collaborate with youth whenever possible; Youth
Commissioners should not hesitate to offer ideas. Her email is
tabatha.shoemake@edmondswa.gov.
Brook: Will the Police Department be engaging with the community at city -held events,
such as the Uptown Evening Market and the upcoming Holiday Market?
o Yes, there are more plans to do so and plans for a storefront office on Highway
99 for folks to access the police department easier for support services.
Brook: Is there an established timeline for the storefront office on the Highway 99
corridor?
o There will be a space toured tomorrow and could be used temporarily until a
long-term office can be found. The office will include the court system, police
department, and 1-2 other departments (full service). It will lead to a higher
police presence in the area.
Brook: Has there been discussion on bringing back the Citizens Patrol Program?
o Yes. It will be instrumental in helping the Highway 99 corridor, especially by
engaging community volunteers and people taking more ownership of their
communities. In addition, the Community Academy will start in March of 2022.
It will allow police to take control of their narrative to enable the public to see
what being an officer is actually like. After the academy, the program will begin
and encompass things such as speed patrol while taking the workload off
current officers (the department is down nine officers). Standards will not be
lowered.
VI. SETTING MEETING NORMS
We will be setting norms for youth commissioners to follow. The standards will be posted on the
agenda. Youth commissioners used this time to create the norms agreed upon unanimously,
shown below:
• Read the previous meeting's minutes/the upcoming meeting's agenda before the
meeting starts.
• Approve meeting minutes/agenda after the meeting.
• Stay engaged in discussions.
• Give others the chance to speak during meetings.
• Communicate in the group chat when meeting info is unclear.
• Being open to adding things to meeting agendas.
• Step up, step back.
• Keep up communication with city staff.
• Start and end meetings on time.
• Prioritize attending meetings and provide advance notice if you will not be present.
• Set attainable goals in committee meetings.
• Try to follow Robert's Rules of Order during meetings.
• Be open to new ideas and adjustments to already made ideas.
• Read meeting minutes if you are absent from a meeting.
• Try to make decisions by consensus.
• Demonstrate our respect for our fellow Commissioners, the City of Edmonds, and the
citizens we represent by: being present, being prepared, actively listening, participating
in meetings, completing our individual assignments, and holding ourselves accountable.
• Utilize the "Ouch Rule" (assume positive intent; resist the temptation to be offended).
• The camera is on during meetings (when able).
VII. INTRODUCTION TO ROBERT'S RULES OF ORDER
Brook presented the Robert's Rules of Order adapted to the Youth Commission's use. The
presentation is attached to the minutes.
VIII. OFFICER NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS
Now that we are in a new Youth Commission session, we need to elect officers. The
responsibilities of the officers are below.
• Chair: Presides at all meetings doing their best to use Roberts Rules of Order. The chair
runs the meeting; all remarks are addressed through the chair. When a discussion is
underway, it is the chairperson's duty to ensure that it flows smoothly by involving all
members present and by not permitting one or two people to dominate the meeting.
The chair will work with the co-chair and coordinator to create the next meeting's
agenda. The agenda must be emailed to the Youth Commission Coordinator one week
prior to the meeting. Estimated time spent a week: 1-4 hours.
• Co -Chair: Performs duties of chairperson when absent. If agreed upon, can alternate
duties of chair for every other meeting. Works with the Chair and the coordinator to
complete the agenda and have it submitted one week prior to the meeting. Estimated
time spent a week: 1-2 hours
• Secretary: The guardian of the process of meetings keeping formal records of the
commission's process and decisions. Responsible for recording meeting minutes and
submitting them by the Friday (2 days) following the meeting. Estimated time spent a
week: 1-3 hours.
• Communications Manager: Manage the Youth Commission Instagram account. Create a
weekly post with content relevant to Youth Commission's mission and current work
posting to Instagram. Once approved, send it to the coordinator to post to the Parks and
Recreation Department's Facebook page. In addition, draft or edit all statements and
help draft press releases. Estimated time spent a week: 1-3 hours.
Last year, the Youth Commission held officer elections through email. Brook mentioned that to
keep the process fair for those absent, it would be best to continue doing so. The commission
agreed unanimously. Youth Commissioners are to email Jay to run for a position or nominate
another commissioner for a role. Sydney noted that no motion is needed.
IX. INTRODUCTION TO THE CITY BUDGET
Brook showed commissioners the city's proposed 2022 budget, proposed by Mayor Nelson at
the beginning of October. The incumbent mayor proposes the budget of each year at the
beginning of October with decision packages. Decision packages are proposals from each
department for additional funding for a new position or new/ongoing project. He recommended
that commissioners start by reading the mayor's budget message and read into the departments
and categories they are interested in. If commissioners have any questions, they can reach out to
Shannon Burley, Deputy Director of Parks, Recreation, Cultural, and Human Services, at
shannon.burley@edmondswa.gov.
X. INTRODUCTION AND SELECTION OF COMMITTEES
New members received an introduction to committees and selected the one they would like to
serve on for the rest of the year. Sydney noted that she is on the Mental Health Committee; Finn
and Owen are on the Diversity and Equity; Audrey, Brook, and Aaron are on the Youth &
Government; and Brooke is on the Environmental.
• Diversity and Equity —Finn stated that the committee wants to highlight different groups
and themed months to support different folks. Recently, they've been focusing on the
houseless community of Edmonds.
• Youth & Government —Brook noted that the committee spent the summer laying the
groundwork for the Intro to Municipal Government guide and is wrapping up the outline
process. The next step is to distill the information into multiple digestible mediums for
citizens to read. The committee also is curious about the city's community court that
may be resuming soon and potential opportunities for collaboration. Audrey added that
she would like to see the youth commission's student forums resume.
• Environmental —Brooke outlined that the committee was involved in the beach cleanup
last April, developed Instagram posts, wanted to promote recycling practices to the
community this upcoming year. Much research was done to prevent misinformation
when creating Instagram posts.
• Mental Health Committee —Sydney mentioned that last year, the committee developed
a list of resources posted on the Youth Commission's website. She plans on having the
committee emphasize mental health education, especially within the Edmonds School
District.
Sydney advised that new commissioners select a committee while explaining that the Youth &
Government committee was full. Mara and Julie joined the Environmental; Chelsea and Sam
joined the Mental Health.
Brook suggested that the commission explore the opportunity of members joining multiple
committees as the majority of committee meetings are outside of regularly scheduled
commission meetings. As long as there aren't five members in a committee (which would
establish a quorum), we can accommodate that.
Youth commissioners met in their committees after discussion.
XI. FINAL COMMENTS
➢ Jay: He sent an email to commissioners regarding the officer elections. Also, with our last
meeting in November taking place near Thanksgiving, it is worthwhile looking into
moving that meeting. Lastly, the Diversity Commission would like a representative to
give them updates on what we've been doing at their next meeting on December 1st.
o Brook suggested that we meet on the 17th instead of canceling because our
commission time is limited, and we cannot achieve what we want to be
completed in a limited amount of time. Sydney agreed.
o Audrey and Chelsea will represent the commission at the December 1st Diversity
Commission meeting.
Acting Chair Sydney Pearson made a motion to move the Youth Commission meeting from
November 23rd to November 17th; Brook seconded the motion. The motion passed
unanimously.
➢ Audrey asked Brooke for a PROS Plan update. Brooke mentioned that she hadn't
received updates in a while and will reach out for more information. For clarification, the
PROS Plan refocuses the short and long term goals of the Parks and Recreation
Department every six years; this year, there is a more significant focus on to equitably
provide enough of the "right" parks and recreation in the "right" places for the growing
city of Edmonds.
Brook mentioned that one of the applicants for the commission would become the
Student Representative on the Planning Board. He also encouraged everyone to vote if
18+ and extensively research candidates.
XII. ADJOURNMENT
Acting Chair Sydney Pearson adjourned the meeting at 7:28 PM.
INTRO & REVIEW OF
THE ROBIERTFS
RULES OF ORDER
For the Edmonds Youth Commission
Wednesday, October 27, 2021
ROBERT'S
RULES
OF ORDER
ENE WLY REVISED
12TH EDITION
Henry M. Robert III,
Daniel H. Honemann, Thomas J. Balch,
Daniel E. Seabold, and Shmuel Gerber
WHAT IS THE ROBERT"S RULES OF ORDER?
• Form of parliamentary procedure; it is a guide to conducting smooth, orderly, and fair meetings
that accomplish goals of a body
• Ensures majority rule and protects the rights of the minority, the absentees and individual
members
THE CHAIR, CO-CHAIR, SECRETARY
• Chair: Presiding officer of the meeting, recognizes members for debate & discussion, remains
fair and impartial, sets the meeting agendas, calls the meeting to order and adjourns, provides
overall leadership for the Youth Commission
• Co -Chair: Acting Chair is official Chairperson is absent, collaborates with Chair to set agenda,
can alternate duties with Chair if agreed upon
• Secretary: Keeps formal records of the commission's process and decisions, responsible for
recording meeting minutes
*Communications Manager excluded not relevant to Robert's Rules of Order
THE MEETING AGENDA
• The meeting agenda outlines the old and new business, call to order and adjournment, time
allotted for each item, and the lead presenter; members can make motions to add/remove
agenda items
• Motions covered in the next slides
• If you would like something to be added to the agenda, reach out to the Chair and Co -Chair (CC
Youth Commission Coordinator, Jay)
• Determined by the Chair/Co-Chair
QUORUM
• A quorum is half + 1 (simple majority) of the nine voting members on the Youth Commission,
so five voting members establishes a quorum on the commission
• Meeting can begin without a quorum present, but no motions or votes may be taken (ie:
approval of the previous meeting minutes, etc.)
MOTIONS
• Motions are made after there has been discussion on an agenda item and if there is a need for action
• A motion is a question to the body, and we may only consider one primary question at a time
• "I move to approve the meeting minutes of the Wednesday, October 131h Youth Commission meeting"
• Motions require a second
• "I second the motion "
• After the second, the Chair restates the motion and asks for discussion if you have any thoughts on
the item being considered that you would like everyone to know, now is the time to mention
• If there are no amendments or withdrawals, the Chair will take a vote on the pending motion
• After any discussion, withdrawals, and amendments, the group will take a vote on the motion
MOTIONS (PT. 2)
• Alternatively, one can make a motion to amend (change) the outcome of the motion or
withdraw the motion entirely, both require a second
• Amend: "I move to change the date of the event to December I01h, 2021 " requires second and majority vote
• Withdraw: "I'd like to withdraw my motion "—only the maker of the motion can do so and only requires
second (no vote)
• After any discussion, withdrawals, and amendments, the group will take a vote on the motion
• For a motion to pass, a simple majority is required (half of voting members + 1), so five
• Motions do not pass if we don't achieve the simple majority
WHAT DO WE USE MOTIONS FOR?
Motions are used if we are taking any action (approving previous meeting's minutes, extending
our meeting beyond 7:30, etc.) Chair will clarify if needed
FINAL COMMENTS & QUESTIONS?
• The use of the Robert's Rules of Order is meant to facilitate efficient and orderly meetings
• However, we should not let it hold us back we don't always have to do things "by the book"