2019-06-05 Youth Commission MinutesPage 1.1.1
Youth Commission Meeting Minutes 6/5/2019
Commission Members Present:
Alissa Berman
Caitlin Chung Treasurer
Cole Albaugh
Emily Sanger
Kaleb Nichols Co -Chairman
Nathanael Perdomo
Noah Erickson
Owen Lee Secretary
Stephany Janssen Chairman
Sydney Pearson
Commission Members Absent:
Caroline Wills
Staff Present:
Casey Colley
Elected Officials Present:
Councilmember Mike Nelson
I. CALL TO ORDER
Chairman Stephany Janssen called the meeting to order at 6:00 pm in room 123 in the Frances
Anderson Center, 700 Main St, Edmonds
II. MINUTES - Approval of 5/15/19 Minutes
CO-CHAIRMAN KALEB NICHOLS MOVED, SECONDED BY NOAH ERICKSON, TO APPROVE
THE MINUTES FROM THE 5/15/19 MINUTES. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
CHAIRMAN STEPHANY JANSSEN MOVED, SECONDED BY ALISSA BERMAN, TO EXTEND
THE MEETING AND AMEND THE AGENDA AS FOLLOWS:
1. REMOVE MONTHLY PARTNERSHIPS
2. TIME REDUCTION ON "DISCUSS SPIN ALLEY & CREATE PLAN"
3. ADD "DIVERSITY COMMISSION MEETING DISCUSSION" PRESENTED BY
CHAIRMAN STEPHANY JANSSEN
4. ADD "COUNCIL MEETING DISCUSSION" PRESENTED BY CASEY COLLEY
5. THIRTY MINUTE EXTENSION FOR "ADDITION OF MEETING/WORK SESSION",
PRESENTED BY CO-CHAIRMAN KALEB NICHOLS AND "MCCLEARY DECISION"
PRESENTED BY CHAIRMAN STEPHANY JANSSEN
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
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III. DISCUSS SPIN ALLEY & CREATE PLAN
- Planning a bowling night may not bring that many people because people can plan their
own events
Not the most effective use of commission time
NOAH ERICKSON MOVED, SECONDED BY CHAIRMAN STEPHANY JANSSEN, TO ANULL
THE MOTION IN SECTION "III. DISCUSS'TEEN NIGHTS"' OF THE 5/15 MEETING.
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
IV. DIVERSITY COMMISSION DISCUSSION
- Diversity Commission does a really good job releasing press releases as soon as issues
come out, which would be a good direction for the Youth Commission to take
- The commission would like a member of the Diversity Commission to come in and field
questions about their press release process
- Goes through the mayor
- They had to release a statement about hate crimes in Edmonds
- The commission would like to better understand the Diversity Commission's
process of establishing public opinion
- Will require outside work
- They have their own networks
- How do they form their statement? The commission wants to know their process
including how they choose their topics, who writes the drafts, the bureaucratic
process they go through, etc.
- The commission should start doing this
- A good way to get the commission's name and opinions out
- Maybe do a practice round so the commission can make sure the press release
process will go well?
- The commission would decide who drafts the press releases on a case -by -case
basis
- Would require people texting the group chat about things that are interesting
- Commission members would have to start asking their peers their opinions so
the commission can ensure the representation of all youth
- As long as the releases are based in fact there shouldn't be problems with
creating cohesive and respectful statements
V. CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS
- The commission needs to establish a system to stay educated and up-to-date on
everything that happens in Edmonds
- All commission members subscribed to My Edmonds News
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The commission will begin regularly attending City Council meetings
- Watch the Public Comments section at least
- Going to the meetings can be dull because you hear about news that isn't
relevant, but you can watch them online and fast -forward through the
unnecessary parts
- There are three meetings a month (two regular and one special council) that the
commission assigned people to attend so that the commission always has
well -researched current council events
- This can enable the commission to address issues as they are coming up in City
Council so the statements have more weight
- For example, the commission may release a statement on teen
homelessness due to its current weight
- Budget time at the beginning of every meeting to review City Council
meetings/news
The commission then watched important sections of the most recent City Council
meeting (6/4/2019)
- In these there is (explained by Mike Nelson):
- Approval of the Consent Agenda, which are things that just need to be
approved
- Audience Comments
- Public Hearings
- Action Items, which are the most important part of the meeting
- Mayor's Comments, Council Comments
- Civic Park Development
- Public Hearing
Write a summary of what you thought was interesting/should be discussed and send
out an email (each person writes their own); use GroupMe to say that you send out a
summary, and EVERYONE HAS TO CHECK IT
- The commission would then discuss it during following meetings as well
City Council Meeting Assignments:
- First Tuesday: Stephany, Emily, and Caroline
- Third Tuesday: Kaleb, Sydney, Caitlin
- Fourth Tuesday: Owen, Alissa, Cole
It's important to get the opinions of people who disagree with you
- Diversity Commission gets a diverse group of people's opinions
After agreement within the commission on a rough draft, opposing views would be
collected from the public
- This applies to other things to (like Youth Forum topics); bring things up with
your friends and ask them what is important to them
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You can also help to educate people
VI. QUARTERLY YOUTH FORUMS
- Do something in September in the room on top of the library
- Have a variety of topics being discussed so the commission can get people's opinions on
a variety of issues
- The commission's goal is to learn what others are thinking
- What is the best possible way to hear and collect their opinions?
- Round -Table format is good
- Have an array of topics and have people choose which table to go to
- Switch topics every 30 minutes
- Two hours total
- Issues:
- Mental Illness (including social anxiety)
- Sexual Harassment
- Homelessness
- General Puget Sound Environment (Orcas, Marsh, etc.)
- Affordable Housing
- Violence Prevention
- Diversifying Edmonds and schools
- Social Media
- Transportation Lines?
- Hate (Crime) in Edmonds
- The commission would send out a survey because the people who come will be
the people who would fill out a survey
- The commission can also give members of the public a survey on their way out
so that the commission can get feedback on how effective of a forum it was
- The commission is considering creating a survey in the near future
- Bring up at least two of these topics with your friends
VII. FUTURE MEETINGS
- The commission is going to have a work session meeting (non -voting) every second
Wednesday of the month
- On this meeting next week, the commission will work on the survey and look at local
news for research (as well as learning how to write a press release)
VIII. MCCLEARY DECISION
- People don't understand what the McCleary Bill is
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Arts programs are getting cut and teachers are getting fired because teachers are
getting higher salaries and school districts are being made more equal
It's important to talk about how complex the process of people getting fired is (teachers
have to be fired because of seniority as opposed to "merit")
Misinformation is being spread a lot because people are saying that the district just
doesn't care
- The positives of the bill and the bigger issues aren't being discussed
- People were saying it was a district decision as opposed to a statewide decision
- My Edmonds News had confusing wording that made it seem like it was the
district's fault
- People aren't taking the levies into account
The McCleary decision is about giving equality to different school districts
- It is a great first step but more steps will be taken and it will be better, although
there are currently unfortunate side effects
There was a student -led walkout at Meadowdale possibly based on misinformation
- Seattle School District has about 7.6 million dollars per school, Edmonds has about 8.2
million dollars per school
The commission has strong intentions to release a statement regarding McCleary.
IX. HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS:
Talk to people you know about the issues (which are on the minutes).
Keep track of Edmonds News.
X. ADJOURNMENT
Chairman Stephany Janssen adjourned the meeting at 7:59 pm