Mount Pleasant Youth Council

TOWN OF MOUNT PLEASANT, SOUTH CAROLINA MOUNT PLEASANT YOUTH COUNCIL Thursday, November 19, 2020, 5:00 PM Video-Conference Meeting Public Live Streaming Link: https://youtu.be/os1ZtaXCfvs MINUTES Agenda amended to reflect change from in-person to virtual meeting, include the public live streaming link, dial-in number for public comment and link to the October 15, 2020 minutes Ms. Massenet called the virtual meeting to order at 5:05 p.m. Ms. Isabelle Turner, Mr. McClain Stoklosa, Ms. Eliza Taylor, Mr. Walker Carswell, Ms. Cally DeMoura, Mr. Chad Weis and Mr. Myles Chisolm were all present. Ms. Isabel Raykova, Mr. Ethan Curb and Ms. Abby Sullivan were absent. 1. Public Comments Anyone who wishes to make a comment during General Public Comment can call in at *67-843-790-7541 and enter Conference ID: 412 256 20# (Please be sure to dial *67 so that your phone number is not publicized.) Ms. Sims stated Kathryn Whitaker from the Culture, Arts and Pride Commission was present and asked if she would speak under the Updates on priority projects item so that the Youth Council Members could ask questions if they wished. 2. Approval of the minutes from the October 15, 2020 meeting Ms. Massenet moved to approve the minutes, seconded by Ms. Turner. All present voted in favor.  Mount Pleasant Youth Council November 19, 2020 Page 2 of 4 Ms. Taylor moved to amend the agenda to switch items three and four, making Update on priority projects item three, and Discussion regarding mental health initiatives item four, seconded by Ms. Massenet. All present voted in favor. 3. Update on priority projects Ms. Sims asked Ms. Whitaker to introduce herself. Ms. Whitaker said she was representing the Culture, Arts and Pride Commission. She said the arts portion of their Commission has been in the forefront recently but they want to do more cultural work. Ms. Whitaker said this is a great opportunity to partner with the Youth Council on the Cultural Fair and she wanted to get some ideas as to what ideas they have and how the Commission can be supportive. There was discussion on having cultural food, focusing on the countries that make up the Charleston community and having food trucks representing food from around the world. It was suggested that the spring would be the optimal time if the fair is to be held outside. Ms. Sims stated they would look for some dates that would not conflict with other Town events, and have discussions with Town events staff and the Culture, Arts and Pride Commission. Ms. Whitaker said one of their Commission members is a sweetgrass basket maker and he also gives presentations on Gullah-GeeChee culture and talks about the art, food and music associated with that culture. Ms. Sims said that the Town Public Services Department has been in contact with the Department of Natural Resources and they have recently re-started volunteer projects after being on hiatus during the height of the COVID epidemic. She said they will work on locations for the oyster bed re-nourishment project. Oyster shells will be bagged from now through May, and a project could be done this summer or there is an option of constructing an oyster bed out of an environmentally safe wire material, asking if the Youth Council Members had a preference on which route to pursue. Ms. Taylor said  Mount Pleasant Youth Council November 19, 2020 Page 3 of 4 she did not have a preference but would like to choose the most environmentally friendly option. Ms. DeMoura said she would like to choose an area that is not as popular with re-nourishment projects. Ms. Sims asked the group to continue looking for alternatives to plastic bags that would hold liquid and be re-usable for their litter clean-up initiatives. She stated she is working with Public Services to narrow down dates and asked the members to submit their suggested clean-up locations so that notices can be sent out asking groups to adopt a location. One to two Youth Council Members would be stationed at each location to hand out supplies and help with coordination. 4. Discussion regarding mental health initiatives Ms. Sims stated she was unsure if the Our Community, Our Children event was going to be held due to the pandemic. Ms. Sims said she had a great conversation with one of the guidance counselors from Lucy Beckham High School. The counselor wanted to know more about the Youth Council’s mental health initiatives and concerns. Ms. Sims said she did not want to solely rely on the Our Community, Our Children event and have that be the only way the Youth Council goes about addressing this priority in case the event did not come to fruition this year. Ms. Sims asked the Youth Council questions about mental health, pressure, stress and anxiety, triggers and ways they could be addressed. Discussion was held and suggestions made to potentially reduce the impact of these issues, such as decompression times, peer assistance, utilizing or creating mental health clubs at the schools and potentially having the clubs that are established connect with resources and clubs from the other schools. Ms. Sims asked the Youth Council Members to send her any agenda item suggestions via e-mail if they wanted to discuss specific topics at the next meeting.  Mount Pleasant Youth Council November 19, 2020 Page 4 of 4 5. Adjourn There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 5:45 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Christine Barrett Clerk of Council November 19, 2020