|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
The City of East Palo Alto is moving forward with a youth representative program, or youth commission, as local kids seek change in housing, downtown development and opportunities for leadership development, according to a presentation that the City Council heard Tuesday evening.
Past City Council members, like San Mateo County Representative Lisa Gauthier, had pushed to create a youth commission for years, characterizing it as a channel for students to participate in their local government, Community Services Manager Maurice Baker said on Tuesday. But that idea is finally coming to fruition as city staff study local youth desires for civic engagement.
Across two design workshops, Baker said, city staff and consultant groups asked attendees two questions: Would students like to see a youth governing body in the city? And what should that group focus on?
They were given the opportunity to discuss the creation of a youth commission, which is a more formal, student-led group that would work directly with the council to create policies, and a youth task force, which would bring together community-based organizations to connect youth with leadership opportunities.
Students expressed interest in forming a more formal governing body that would increase civic engagement, provide leadership opportunities and create a pipeline for those who are interested in working in local government, said Wendy Pacecho, senior trainer with the Youth Leadership Institute, a city consultant.
“Young people said, ‘Actually, I love that the commission has that direct relationship to city council,’” Pacheco said.
So far, youth showed most interest in focusing on affordable housing issues, downtown development, youth leadership investment, workforce development and education, with some interested in recreational programming and public transportation, she said.
City council members Ruben Abrica, Carlos Romero and Vice Mayor Mark Dinan expressed general support for a youth commission, but also urged staff to consider expanding the program to engage youth in other governing boards like the Ravenswood School District and the Public Works and Transportation Commission.
“This youth commission in a way should be one that covers city government and the school boards,” Abrica said. “I think that would be more empowering for youth to understand who runs what, who makes the decisions, instead of only being limited to city government, even though we do a lot.”
Abrica and Romero also advised staff to remain cautious about the diversity of their outreach, making sure to include students of all backgrounds, including those who may not speak English.
Separately, Romero showed interest in studying further options for youth leadership that may be more “radical” or less institutionalized.
“I would not like to create a youth commission for the sake of creating a youth commission, so we can say ‘Yes, we have youth that are somehow engaged, yet they don’t have that ability to move outside and contest perhaps the policies that we might be considering,'” he said.
City staff plan to garner more feedback on possible programs through an additional design session with youth on Nov. 6, pop-up workshops at local public schools and a community-distributed survey on all digital platforms. Staff plan to present more formal feedback to the public during a Dec. 6 council meeting as well as the possible financial effects of creating a commission.
Community members also showed support for a youth commission during public comment.
“This is the opportunity to show our youth that they are being heard and it’s also bridging that generational gap, that divide,” said previous East Palo Alto Vice Mayor Donna Rutherford.
