Mount Pleasant Youth Council

TOWN OF MOUNT PLEASANT, SOUTH CAROLINA MOUNT PLEASANT YOUTH COUNCIL Thursday, March 25, 2021 5:00 PM Rescheduled from March 18, 2021 Mount Pleasant Municipal Complex Committee Meeting Room, 3rd Floor 100 Ann Edwards Lane, Mount Pleasant, SC 29464 Live Streamed to Youtube: https://youtu.be/ljYo8nK2czM Minutes Ms. Massenet called the Youth Council meeting to order at 5:13 p.m. Mr. McClain Stocklosa, Ms. Abby Sullivan, Ms. Isabelle Turner and Mr. Myles Chisolm were all present. Ms. Eliza Turner, Mr. Walker Carswell, Mr. Ethan Curb, Ms. Cally DeMoura, Ms. Isabel Raykova and Mr. Chad Weis were all absent. 1. Public Comments There were no public comments. 2. Approval of the minutes from the February 18, 2021 meeting Ms. Sullivan moved to approve the minutes, seconded by Ms. Turner. All present voted in favor. 3. Discussion and input from Youth Council on recreation programs and other activities for teens Mr. Steve Gergick, Recreation Director asked the Youth Council Members if they had any further input on recreation programs or activities. Mr. Stocklosa said he would like to see a culinary or at least a nutrition class to be incorporated with physical activity to encourage a healthy lifestyle. Ms. Sullivan suggested scavenger hunts geared toward teens and structured basketball games. Mr. Gergick asked if she was referring  to geocaching and Ms. Sullivan said yes. Mr. Chisolm stated the consensus he received was to have more structured games. Ms. Turner concurred with more structured events. Mr. Chisolm said the desire is to have recreation events but with masks and regulations it has hampered the experience. Mr. Gergick asked how the Youth Council Members would suggest getting the word out. Ms. Turner said Wando would be happy to put things in the weekly announcements and she could pass along the contact information. She stated they will put outside events in the announcements. Ms. Massenet stated college prep programs in Charleston are expensive. She suggested putting together study groups in the evenings for students to help each other. Ms. Turner said a great time to do this would be at the end of the summer. Mr. Chisolm also suggested it could be done during the transitional time between semesters and school years. Mr. Gergick thanked the Youth Council Members for their valuable input. 4. Discuss next steps for the Cultural Fair Ms. Nicole Harvey, Recreation Department Special Events Coordinator suggested changing the date of the Cultural Fair. She had several ideas that might bring more attendees. A May or June event could be held late on a Friday afternoon/early evening on the Town Hall lawn that would capture Town employees leaving work. Also, something could be incorporated with the Sweetgrass Half Marathon on May 22 at the Park West Recreational Complex. Another suggestion is to work with the Communications Department and have a virtual event. Ms. Massenet stated she liked the idea of incorporating it with the half marathon. Ms. Turner stated virtual events would likely not have a large teen turnout as they are staring at screens all day. Mr. Chisolm agreed with the half marathon idea. Ms. Turner asked if the event would be centered around the Gullah-Geechee culture or if other groups could be included. Ms. Harvey said other groups could be incorporated.  Ms. Massenet suggested having the different cultural groups sponsor groups of runners and provide them with their food or drink. Ms. Kathryn Whitaker, Chair of the Culture, Arts and Pride Commission stated the Charleston Regional Development Alliance has a global fluency vision. She stated the people involved with that are interested in helping with the Cultural Fair and she would be happy to set up a meeting between them and one or two Youth Council Members. Ms. Harvey said she would start working on a task list and asked the Youth Council Members to bring her ideas of what they would like to see at the event. Ms. Whitaker state the Seafarers Society is still interested in assisting with the event. More discussion was held and Ms. Harvey said she knew the Youth Council wanted to have a charitable component to the event so she would start thinking through how that could be incorporated. 5. Update and continued discussion regarding priority projects Ms. Turner said she talked with the organizer of the oyster event and about how the Youth Council could help in the future. Ms. Turner said Youth Council could continue to advertise that the group does renourishment and clean-up projects frequently. Ms. Turner said it was great to see the impact of what they did. Ms. Miller said the National Alliance of Mental Illness had a volunteer opportunity with their program Art of Discovery which will be held during the Spoleto Festival. They will need help with setting up on May 27 and breaking down on June 13. Also, students in grades 6 - 12 can submit artwork. Ms. Turner asked if they are looking for any teen/youth volunteers or just from the Youth Council Members. Ms. Miller stated she thought anyone could volunteer. Ms. Turner said she can post the opportunity on Instagram. Ms. Sullivan said a lot of students are struggling to get their service hours. Ms. Harvey said they will need volunteers for the Cultural Fair, the Sweetgrass Half Marathon and Blessing of the Fleet.  Ms. Miller asked the Youth Council Members to think about groups to be contacted for the fair and who will be meeting with the Charleston Regional Development Alliance 6. Adjourn There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 5:53 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Christine Barrett Clerk of Council March 25, 2021