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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: Page 1.1.2 "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. Page 1.1.3 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 Page 1.1.4 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: Page 1.1.5 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 Page 1.1.6 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.