San Marcos Youth Commission

Meeting Minutes Wednesday, August 16, 2017 6:00pm San Marcos Activity Center 501 E. Hopkins I. Call to Order With a quorum present, the regular meeting of the San Marcos Youth Commission was called to order by Michelle Hamilton at 6:00pm, Wednesday, August 16, 2017, in the multi-purpose room of the San Marcos Activity Center, 501 E. Hopkins, San Marcos, Texas 78666. II. Roll Call Present: 11 – Tellef Ault, Calvin Medrano, Becca Baergen, Aaron MacEmerich, Fatima Cardenas, Nicholas Laughlin, Benjamin Murdoch, Fallon Sheffield, Dakota Fernandez, Gabe Ortiz Absent: 3 – Kayla Wortham-Brown, Edie Allmond, Andrea Garcia, Amanda Della Vecchia Excused: 0 Staff Present: 2 – Jessica Ramos, Selena Garcia, Aubrey Ashton Others Present: 9 – Mariana Zamora, Julie Eckert, Richard Reid, Deshon Ridge III. Citizen Comment Period (each individual will be limited to 3 minutes; no specific action may be taken on these items) None. IV. Approval of the minutes-April and May 2017 A motion was made by Benjamin Murdoch, seconded by Gabe Ortiz, to approve the minutes from the April and May 2017 meetings. The motion carried by the following vote: For: 11 – Tellef Ault, Calvin Medrano, Becca Baergen, Aaron MacEmerich, Fatima Cardenas, Nicholas Laughlin, Benjamin Murdoch, Fallon Sheffield, Dakota Fernandez, Gabe Ortiz Against: 0 Abstain: 0 V. Discussion and/or Recommendation-Review of absence policy for the San Marcos Youth Commission Kim Porterfield suggests to the commission that if there are any parts of the ordinance that pertain to this board that they’d like changed, now is the time to consider those changes. (i.e. whether or not to have a June meeting, since there wasn’t a quorum this past June because the members were so busy). Kim Porterfield reviews the absence policy, which states that members are relieved from their positions on the board if they are absent 3 consecutive times. Jessica Ramos says that on a total for the year, the absence policy is based on a percentage. Kim Porterfield asks for input on the 3 1  consecutive absence policy—does the commission want to leave it as is or remove the June meeting? Board agrees that the June meeting should be done away with. Jessica Ramos lists the reasons for an excused absence, which do not count towards the 3 absences. She will also ask clerk’s office if removing the June meeting is something the board needs to petition city council for. Benjamin Murdoch and Kim Porterfield have discussed in the past the possibility of creating subcommittees. If the council agrees to change the policy to not meet in June, subcommittees can still meet. A motion was made by Dakota Fernandez, seconded by Benjamin Murdoch, to petition the San Marcos City Council to change the ordinance related to the Youth Commission and remove June as a meeting date. The motion carried by the following vote: For: 11 – Tellef Ault, Calvin Medrano, Becca Baergen, Aaron MacEmerich, Fatima Cardenas, Nicholas Laughlin, Benjamin Murdoch, Fallon Sheffield, Dakota Fernandez, Gabe Ortiz Against: 0 Abstain: 0 VI. Discussion and/or Recommendation-Review Core Values for Operation of the San Marcos Youth Commission The core values of the youth commission describe their beliefs on how the commission should be conducted. These are the ideas that were given in the second meeting:  Group 1: creativity, service, autonomy, leadership, leaving behind a strong, positive legacy  Group 2: community involvement, evidence based decision making, realistic, fairness, equality, communication.  Group 3: engagement, fairness, cooperation, collaboration, transparency Kim Porterfield suggests the commission pick 5. They agree on: 1. Service 2. Autonomy 3. Leadership 4. Community involvement/engagement 5. Evidence based decision making VII. Discussion and or Recommendation-Panel discussion on youth health (i.e. obesity, vaccinations, health issues with children and youth) Kim Porterfield opens the floor for the panel guests to introduce themselves and discuss different aspects of health.  Julie Eckert is the assistant director of the student health center at Texas State and the director of Health in Motion. Their mission is to create and sustain a healthy campus environment so students can succeed both personally and academically.  Robert Reid is a doctor at CTMC Live Oak 2   Deshon Ridge is a probation officer as well as a personal trainer; he coaches youth and high school kids Michelle Hamilton says that in regards to the youth master plan, health and mental health are one of the six priority areas. She asks the panelists what they see as the most challenging issues with health/mental health in youth in the San Marcos area. Julie Eckert says that mental health is the number one health issue on college campuses. Per the most recent national college health assessment, the top 3 issues affecting academic success of college students are: stress, sleep, and depression. 50% of all psychiatric disorders develop between the ages of 14-25, with 79% having developed by the age of 25. 2/3 of students assessed don’t know they have a mental health disorder and don’t seek treatment. Also, mental health is stigmatized so the Texas State health center does a lot of work destigmatizing mental health on campus so students will seek treatment. Eckert says that in terms of resources and how they relate to capacity, Texas State doesn’t have enough staff for counseling. She believes the university mirrors San Marcos in a lot of the aforementioned regards. The commission believes students in San Marcos are more likely to seek out a trusted teacher for help before they would seek out their school counselor. The school counselors mainly deal with class schedule related issues. Kim Porterfield asks Julie Eckert what the ramifications of untreated mental health are. Eckert says that it can effect personal health, relationships, academic performance, and work. Essentially, it effects all aspects of life. Richard Reid talks about how adult stresses come from very focused areas in their lives. With youth, their stresses come from many different areas of their life. Deshon Ridge says that in his line of work, he sees the result of what happens when kids don’t seek help. There’s a lot of self-medicating, drug use. A lot of it comes down to resources and people not having resources or not knowing where to go for help. He also sees youth get diagnosed and get help and for whatever reason, they revert back to self-medicating and drug use. In terms of things youth are at risk of, Richard Reid says the first problem is sugar (that does not come from a fruit). He and Deshon Ridge talk about carbohydrates and calories and how they work in the body. Reid says he is seeing diabetes (type II) younger and younger, which in turn makes heart attacks and strokes happen younger and younger. Julie Eckert recommends visiting www.myplate.gov and utilizing the center for the science of public interest website. Deshon Ridge says staying active is key to overall health for youth. Kim Porterfield says there has been talks to have an inter-level agreement between the school board and the city to allow kids to go to school parks after school and utilize those parks to be more active. Julie Eckert says basic things like sleep, nutrition, and exercise contribute to overall health as well as mental health. Richard Reid says that there is scientific proof that exercise can combat mental health in many cases. 3  Deshon Ridge says that those in charge of buying the food for the schools work well with numbers and data. If students can show proof that the food being served needs to be altered, they’d have something to base that change on. Mike Boone would be contact person on this. Some suggestions to the food issues at school: introducing more healthy options while slowly removing the unhealthy ones, having a farmers’ market, providing info on the positive effects of eating certain foods (e.g. carrots are good for eyes), have a nutritional day, incorporating a health challenge. Kim Porterfield suggests a subcommittee be formed to further health/mental health discussions with the youth council VIII. Discussion and/or Recommendation-Group discussion on youth health See above item VII IX. Discussion and/or Recommendation-Business for next meeting  Inquiry about school psychologist and mental health  Ask school district to display calorie counts and myplate.gov info  Speak with school district about getting on the right step with today’s meeting topics  Discussion on possible subcommittees that can be formed  Discuss effects of food on kids in SMCISD X. Questions and Answers with Press and Public None. XI. Adjournment A motion was made by Benjamin Murdoch, seconded by Gabe Ortiz, to adjourn the meeting. The motion carried by the following vote: For: 11 – Tellef Ault, Calvin Medrano, Becca Baergen, Aaron MacEmerich, Fatima Cardenas, Nicholas Laughlin, Benjamin Murdoch, Fallon Sheffield, Dakota Fernandez, Gabe Ortiz Against: 0 Abstain: 0 _________________________________________________________________________________- San Marcos Commission on Children and Youth Advisory Board Chairman PARD Staff Notice of Assistance at the Public Meetings The City of San Marcos does not discriminate on the basis of disability in the admission or access to its services, programs, or activities. Individuals who require auxiliary aids and services for this meeting should contact the City of San Marcos ADA Coordinator at 512-393-8000 (voice) or call Texas Relay Service (TRS) by dialing 7-1-1. Requests can also be faxed to 512-393-8074 or sent by e-mail to ADArequest@sanmarcostx.gov 4