Youth Commission

1 2 3 MINUTES OF A MEETING OF A REGULARLY SCHEDULED 4 YOUTH COMMISSION MEETING 5 VILLAGE OF NORTHBROOK 6 COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS 7 August 27, 2014 8 “Lead, Serve, Shine” 9 10 Adult Commissioners Present (5) 11 Carla Slawson-Martens, Chairperson 12 Gary Moriello 13 David Whitlock 14 Kelli Christenson 15 Jodie Dinelli 16 17 Student Commissioners Present (4) 18 Danny Martens, Student Chairperson 19 Kent Steinberg 20 Grace Elisco 21 Lucia Bosacoma 22 23 Adult/Student Commissioners Absent (7) 24 Kay Ellen Stein 25 Ethan Kirschenbaum 26 Andy Han 27 Adam Wagner 28 Zainab Ahmed 29 Emily Schwandner 30 Shaina Hakimian 31 32 Village Staff Present (2) 33 Jason Batalden, Youth Commission Staff Liaison 34 Gale Cerabona, Recorder 35 36 1. Call to Order 37 Chairperson Slawson-Martens enlisted a Chairperson from student commissioners. Commissioner 38 Martens volunteered and called the meeting to order in the Terrace Room of Village Hall, 1225 Cedar 39 Lane, at 7:05 p.m. A quorum was present. 40 41 2. Welcome & Introduction of New & Returning Members 42 Members introduced themselves, & Jodie Dinelli was welcomed to the Youth Commission. 43 44 a. Membership/Recruitment 45 It was discussed how to recruit Youth Commission members. Suggestions are via the 46 Student Advisory Board. Commissioner Elisco was asked to make an announcement as to 47 the Youth Commission’s mission & how to become a member. Commissioner Whitlock  Page 2 Minutes of the August 27, 2014 Youth Commission Meeting 1 volunteered to accompany Commissioner Elisco. Interested parties may visit the Village web 2 site & complete an application. 3 4 Chairperson Slawson-Martens recommended that contact be made (letters be sent) to 5 junior high students, National Honors’ Society members, those attending the upcoming 6 debate, & Student Government Day attendees. 7 8 Discussion ensued about active & non-active Youth Commission members. It was suggested 9 to mandate minimum meeting & event attendance/requirements. It was decided that two 10 meetings & two events annually, sponsored by the Youth Commission, be attended by every 11 member. 12 13 Commissioner Martens moved, seconded by Commissioner Moriello, that a mandate be instituted 14 whereby a minimum of two meetings & two events must be attended by each Youth Commission 15 member annually. On a voice vote, the motion unanimously carried. It was noted an email of this new 16 requirement will be distributed to current Youth Commission members. 17 18 b. Background Check Forms 19 Staff Liaison Batalden advised that Adult commission members must complete a background 20 check. An email will be forthcoming, & this task may be done on-line. 21 22 3. Approval of Meeting Minutes 23 Commissioner Whitlock moved, seconded by Commissioner Martens, to approve minutes of the May 21, 24 2014, Youth Commission meeting with the following corrections: 25  Add Ross & Kent Steinberg & Grace Elisco to the attendance portion 26 27 On a voice vote, the motion unanimously carried. 28 29 4. Hear from the Audience 30 There was no audience. 31 32 5. Review of Commission’s Mission & Events 33 The mission was illustrated via the Village web site & reviewed. Staff Liaison Batalden noted that adult 34 members are appointed & the Chairperson has discretion in appointing new youth members. 35 36 Chairperson Slawson-Martens highlighted the Commission’s five annual activities: 37  Police/Fire Appreciation BBQ 38  Caroling & Crafts at a Senior Center 39  Quiz Bowl 40  Film Festival 41  Operation Santa Clause/Book Drive (co-op) 42 43 It was noted that most of the above are Village-initiated events. These annual activities & their 44 correlation to the mission were discussed along with current language (i.e. review, coordination, 45 evaluation, etc.). Regarding review and evaluation, a suggestion is to identify what students are 46 interested in as well as the needs of the community.  Page 3 Minutes of the August 27, 2014 Youth Commission Meeting 1 Commissioner Whitlock advised that the Northbrook Cares initiative aligns with the Youth Commission’s 2 mission; however, the Youth Commission has not evaluated adequate programming in the community 3 or filling a need. 4 5 Commissioner Dinelli recommended that students have a say in what the Village offers. 6 7 After some discussion, consensus is the Youth Commission can respond & offer feedback, but it is a huge 8 undertaking to evaluate youth programs at large. 9 10 It was suggested that larger-image events are created, as youth participation in the community is 11 currently lacking. Some events, with broader appeal, are recommended. 12 13 It was stated that neither restriction nor access to Glenbrook North students is there. It was noted that 14 service-based volunteer clubs already exist at the high school. 15 16 Commissioner Whitlock advised he would like to see events, that are sponsored by the Youth 17 Commission, have a student leader so practical experience is learned & shared. Community-specific 18 events were suggested. 19 20 Inclusive, external, & co-events were discussed. Commissioner Whitlock recommended modifying 21 events to include the community – i.e. give standing ovations, moments of silence at at community 22 event for the Police/Fire staff. Staff Liaison Batalden advised that the Fire staff hosts a morning service 23 on September 11th and the Police staff hosts a National Night Out event. Commissioner Christenson 24 stated that sporting or other events are a good tie in with the Youth Commission. Commissioner Elisco 25 advised that Loyalty Days would be an event where the Youth Commission could be involved so she will 26 inquire as such to the Student Advisory Council. It was suggested all of these ideas be raised at this 27 year’s Police/Fire Appreciation BBQ to gather feedback as to the best way to honor our first responders. 28 29 It was also suggested that each Youth Commission member bring a new member to every event. 30 31 Commissioner Moriello shared the evolution & process of Operation Santa Claus. 32 33 Conducting fewer events with more impact is suggested. Commissioner Moriello recommended the 34 Police/Fire Appreciation BBQ, Quiz Bowl, & Film Festival all be the focus this year. 35 36 6. Review of Film Festival 37 Commissioner Whitlock stated he believed it went well & was a great location at Glenbrook North. 38 Students weren’t necessarily aware of prizes. A college category was suggested. Matt Irvine may 39 continue his participation in the future. 40 41 7. 2014/15 Calendar of Events 42 43 a. Police/Fire Appreciation BBQ 44 45 Commissioner Whitlock suggested the Police/Fire Appreciation BBQ event be more 46 interactive. 47  Page 4 Minutes of the August 27, 2014 Youth Commission Meeting 1 Brainstorming/ideas for this event are: 2  Targeting questions to Police/Fire staff 3  Identifying trivia responses 4  Icebreaker Questionnaire 5 6 Chairperson Slawson-Martens advised a list of questions will be submitted to the Youth 7 Commission members. An alternate date of September 14th was suggested for this event. 8 9 Commissioner Moriello moved, seconded by Commissioner Steinberg, the Police/Fire Appreciation BBQ 10 event be on September 14th from 4 p.m. - 6 p.m. On a voice vote, the motion unanimously carried. 11 12 Chairperson Slawson-Martens encouraged everyone to contact elementary schools & 13 suggest that students write cards & letters to Police/Fire staff. Commissioner Elisco 14 volunteered to contact same. 15 16 8. New Business 17 There is no new business. 18 19 9. Old Business 20 There is no old business. 21 22 10. Student Hot Topics 23 School started! 24 25 11. Next Meeting 26 The next Youth Commission meeting will be held on October 15th. 27 28 12. Adjournment 29 Commissioner Moriello moved, seconded by Commissioner Whitlock, to adjourn the meeting at 30 8:50 p.m. On a voice vote, the motion unanimously carried. 31 32 33 Respectfully submitted, 34 35 36 37 Gale Cerabona 38 Recorder