2019-07-10 Youth Commission MinutesPage 1.1.1
Youth Commission Meeting Minutes 7/10/2019
Commission Members Present:
Brooke Roberts
Emily Sanger Chairman Pro-Tem
Jacob Sawyer
Sydney Pearson Secretary Pro-Tem
*: Left after 30 minutes.
Commission Members Absent:
Alissa Berman
Caitlin Chung Treasurer
Caroline Wills
Cole Albaugh
Kaleb Nichols Chairman
Nathanael Perdomo
Owen Lee Secretary
Stephany Janssen Chairman
Staff Present:
Casey Colley*
I. CALL TO ORDER
Casey called the meeting to order at 6:08 pm in room 123 in the Frances Anderson Center, 700
Main St, Edmonds
II. VOTE FOR A SECRETARY
IN THE ABSENCE OF A SECRETARY, THE COMMISSION UNANIMOUSLY AGREED TO HAVE
SYDNEY PEARSON AS THE OFFICE OF SECRETARY PRO-TEM.
IN THE ABSENCE OF THE CHAIR AND SECRETARY, THE COMMISSION AGREED TO HAVE EMILY
SANGER AS THE OFFICE OF CHAIRMAN PRO-TEM.
III. STATEMENTS: WHEN, WHY, WHAT?
Casey brought up the statement regarding the Edmonds Waterfront Connector and read it,
saying she received it from Secretary Owen Lee around 7:00 am this morning. The finalized
statement is as follows:
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"The Edmonds Youth Commission is in support of the decision to cease the continuation of the
connector between Sunset Avenue and Brackett's Landing. The Edmonds Waterfront is of huge
importance to the people of Edmonds, especially youth, because not only is it an important
marine sanctuary and tourist attraction but also an important place for social gatherings and an
iconic part of Edmonds. Although we acknowledge the need for rapid response time by first
responders to any emergency, we believe there are other viable options that do not infringe
upon the aesthetic of Sunset Avenue and the marine sanctuary."
- Carrie did read the statement and said is was great, but did not submit it because it is 20
days after the decision happened
- They feel it's excessive to submit it so late
- If we had had it done the Friday after the decision like we intended, it would have still
been relevant and appropriate; the decision happened June 18th, and it's now July 10th
- So, it is a good learning opportunity for us to remember to release statements quickly
- For example, the Diversity Commission has been able to release statements within 48
hours of the current events
- We should follow their example
- So, overall, the Youth Commission is not releasing the statement as it is too late
- Casey mentioned how overall, we need to improve communication:
- The statement was not a complete fail because we learned how to work
together, but we need to improve communication because we could have solved
the technical difficulty that hindered us from releasing it early if we had reached
out to each other
- With better communication, we could help each other and ultimately reach our
goals
- Such as releasing statements when they are relevant
- What we actually propose should be done and executed
IV. CURRENT NEWS
- Casey also brought up an upcoming climate change forum that talks about how we as a
city can try to work together to seek out greener alternatives and protect the nature
that we already have in the city of Edmonds
- This is organized by Shane Hope
- It is on Friday, August 9th
- It is not yet clear where it will be held or at what time it will be held
- The forum would discuss some of Edmonds' future plans for sustainable buildings with
clean energy and an overall greener city
- It would be great if we attended it and brought our views: what is brilliant about it, what
could be improved about it, etc.
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Short Introductions of New (and Old) Members:
The new members of the Edmonds Youth Commission introduced themselves:
- Brooke
- A sophomore at Shorewood High School
- Wants to serve his city and improve it for youth
- Jacob
- Ajunior at Edmonds Woodway High School
- Has lived here his whole life and wants to be more involved in the city and the
decisions that happen here
The returning members of the Edmonds Youth Commission also introduced themselves to the
new members:
- Sydney
- A sophomore at Edmonds Woodway High School
- Didn't previously see many opportunities like this to be involved with the city, so
she wanted to get involved and really likes the experience so far
- Emily
- A senior at Edmonds Woodway High School
- Was introduced to the opportunity of the Youth Commission by Mr. Quin at her
school
- Wants to get involved and thinks its cool that teens can make an active
difference within their city
Casey also introduced herself to the new members:
- Casey
- Graduated 4 years ago from Huxley in Western where she majored in
environmental studies
- Loves working with teens
- Last October, she tested out working behind the scenes for the Youth
Commission
- She then applied for her current job with the Youth Commission and got it
officially in February
- She is really excited to get teens involved in policy and let us have a voice to be
heard
- Her true passion is the environment
- Jacob asked about the start of the Youth Commission:
- Casey responded by saying that Kaleb, Carrie, and Mike Nelson started working
on the Youth Commission a year ago in the summer
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To get it started, they looked at examples of similar, already founded commissions, such
as one in Kirkland
They had just established the ordinance as the school year began
The commission then did some research on climate change in the city of Edmonds.
- Emily then went back to the topic of the environmental/climate change forum, asking if
we are planning on doing a statement around that same topic
- We, as a commission, could speak at the forum, having someone present a statement
out loud there
- It is a good idea seeing that we represent the youth, and we know that most of
the youth support actions against climate change
- We have a few weeks, so coming up with a statement to present at the forum would be
great
- We could use our previous statement for a template for our new one about climate
change.
- If we were to release a statement, what would we say? Would we talk about the
project, giving our opinion if the project corresponds with our beliefs and intents as a
commission?
- Further thoughts on the statement include:
- Keep it about the youth
- Edmonds is a wealthy city, so we are in a unique position that we could actually
do something about our environment
- The city cannot do anything too harsh to businesses because they would then
just move out of Edmonds
- Edmonds pledges clean energy by 2025
- How does the city really we intend to do this?
- By 2019, the city proposed to run all buildings on renewable energy, and
by 2030, the city plans to have all retail electricity sales by
greenhouse -neutral -- is all of this happening?
- The statement would be recommendations for what the city can do to help the
environment, as gathering recommendations and ideas is the intended purpose
of the meeting
- It would be a formal recommendation
- How does climate change in Edmonds affect youth in particular?
- Poor air quality has very long terms effects especially on the youth
- Dryness leads to wildfires, which all converge here, leading to very
bad, hazy, smoky air quality
What we know about Edmonds climate change:
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In Edmonds, in 2100 our 70 degree average weather would be 81 degrees in the
summer
- It'll be like California
- There hasn't been much updating to environmental plans for the city since around
2010-2013
- All of this previous planning has to do, mainly, with energy efficiency in buildings
- The city previously created a resolution, adopted by the City Council, to develop
a greenhouse gas inventory, identify targets for reducing harmful greenhouse
gases, and propose ways to meet these targets
Edmonds has been an advocate for climate change action in the past, so we need to
continue doing so
- The city saves money if we use energy efficient methods
- Recycling, etc.
- They replaced older bulbs with more energy efficient bulbs in city buildings and
it saved Edmonds $4,000 for the city that year
We have some good hybrid city cars, but the old trucks that we use could be replaced to
help the environment
More charging stations would be great (especially in the waterfront area where people
go out to dinner and actually are)
- Could act as a potential incentive to have an electric car
The numbers:
- A change in temperature of just 2 degrees Celsius by 2100 would greatly change
the environment for the worse; ocean acidity would increase by 24%
Even more thoughts about the possible environmental statement were discussed:
- The city needs to continue placing importance on environmental issues because there
were steps being taken in the right direction, but they have seemingly halted
- Consequences of climate change are very severe (give examples of such in the
statement)
- How climate change especially affects the youth
- The average age of our town is old, so it is up to us youth to fix what has been
done to our planet
- It would be great to have a statement before the environmental meeting so we could
present it there and give the commission's opinion
The commission then researched current news by finding articles in My Edmonds News:
- Edmonds Community College awarded accreditation for the College in the High School
program
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Edmonds School District received 10,000 from the Rotary Club of Edmonds Daybreakers
for the music programs
July 1st community transit will offer a low income fair for eligible riders on the Orca Bus
syste m
Benefit car show set for July 20th at a church
Energy saving tips from home and real estate weekly:
- Don't keep the house cool for no one
- Turn off the air conditioning when you leave your home
- Seal it up
- Seal things in the wall with caulk (it can lessen energy costs by 15-30%)
A state study identifies Edmonds buildings at risk of collapse in earthquakes
- Mike Nelson talked about the struggles of being a young family unable to afford the
costs of living in Edmonds
The School Board is having a school board candidate forum set for July 24 at Lynnwood
Library
- Elections for the school board
V. QUARTERLY YOUTH FORUM: TOPICS
The quarterly youth forums and their potential topics were not discussed.
VI. LOOK AT CITY COUNCIL FUTURE AGENDA
- A City Council meeting on July 12th will talk about budget goals and more of that matter
for the city
VII. ADJOURN
Chairman Pro-Tem Emily Sanger adjourned the meeting at 7:31 pm.