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HomeMy WebLinkAboutYouth Advisory Board - Minutes - 12/02/1998E YOUTH ADVISORY BOARD MINUTES Regular meeting — December 2, 1998 7:00 p.m. Council Liaison: Will Smith, 223-0425 Staff Liaisons: Peggy Bowers, Recreation, 221-6357 Scott Gammon, Police, 221-6560 Board Chairperson: Phillip Chavez, 223-2137 Board Members Present: Phillip Chavez, Jo Faith Warsteane, Bill Leary, Ki Shih, Robin Horak, Dondi Barrowclough, Steve Hill, Farah Inam Board Members Absent: Ben Brooks Staff Members Present: Peggy Bowers, Staff Liaison — Recreation Division Scott Gammon, Staff Liaison — Police Department Will Smith, City Council Liaison Suzy Danford, YAC Staff — Recreation Division Janet Urban, Admin. Support Supr. — Recreation Division Guest(s) Present: Bob Lenk Call Meeting to Order: The regular meeting of the Youth Advisory Board was called to order by Chairperson Phillip Chavez at 7:14 p.m. Approval of Minutes: The minutes of November 4, 1998 were approved unanimously on a motion by Robin Horak, seconded by Dondi Barrowclough. Agenda Review: No changes to the agenda. Citizen Participation: Bob Lenk, chairperson of the City's Human Rights Commission attended the meeting to invite Youth Advisory Board members to submit ideas they feel the Commission should address. YAB members are welcome to attend the meetings as well — 2"d Thursday of the month at Human Resources, generally at 7:30 p.m. Mr. Lenk also invited Board members to attend the 501h Anniversary Celebration of the Declaration of Human Rights on Thursday, December 10, 7:00 p.m. at the Lincoln Center. The Human Rights Commission was involved in the initial draft of the human rights ordinances that were defeated in the November election. The issue of diversity in the city is of prime importance to the HRC. Youth Advisory Board Minutes. December 2, 1998 Page 2 Aeenda: COMMUNICATION PLAN Bill Leary distributed the Communication Plan he had drafted for presentation to the Coloradoan staff. He also led the discussion on ideas to be discussed with Dave Greiling of the Coloradoan. The Board felt that consolidating topics of interest to teens and consistency of publication schedule are key issues to this proposal. A once -a -month schedule would be preferred to something more frequent. Dave Greiling of the Coloradoan thinks the idea of a youth page is feasible. He reported that he is meeting with a group of students from Poudre High next week to discuss a similar topic. Currently, the Coloradoan prefers to spread information relevant and of interest to teens throughout the publication rather than clump it together. He stated that for a teen page to be an effective tool, an effort needs to be made to get teens accustomed to looking for the feature on a regular basis. He also stated that most teens are not regular readers of the newspapers. Ki Shih feels that kids who see the teen page as an outlet to express themselves in an editorial capacity will create interest in both writers and readers. Mr. Greiling reported that the Coloradoan did Teen Focus 8-9 years ago for a couple of years and utilized journalism students from the high schools; it became a huge time commitment for Coloradoan editors. In order for a teen page venture to be implemented, it would need to be determined what the newspaper's time commitment would be and what the pipeline would be. Bill Leary reported that the YAB subcommittee would work out logistics of getting information to the Coloradoan. Mr. Greiling stated that the less the Coloradoan staff has to do with a teen section (except for final production), the more likely it would be done. The Teen Focus section of several years ago utilized school liaisons who decided on articles, submitted articles, etc. Bill asked what the next step would be if the Youth Advisory Board wanted to pursue a teen feature. Mr. Greiling would have to talk to advertising staff and a couple of editors. An insert is probably not an option because it would require additional funding, and it is unlikely that additional advertising dollars would be available as there is a lot of competition locally for the advertising dollar. Advertisers would need to be shown it is to their benefit and would have to build over a period of time. Mr. Greiling will be able to respond by Thursday, December 10 whether or not the basic idea is feasible. He invited YAB members to attend the meeting with Poudre High students and will contact Board members with date and time of meeting. Youth Advisory Board *tes December 2, 1998 Page 3 SCHOOL REPORTS FCHS. Kids are being harassed by cops all the time; there are not enough things in town for youth to do; don't want to come to the Youth Activity Center but want something free; still upset about smoking ordinance and how it is not being enforced particularly in Old Town; like the concerts in Old Town but would like more youthful music; enjoyed "Beat Night" at the library. PHS. Kids on free and reduced lunch programs should be entitled to free fares, lower age to 16, new routes and more hours would be appreciated including Sundays and around - the -clock; enthusiastic about Battle of the Bands — word of mouth and fliers are the best way to advertise; prefer outdoor venue, maybe multi -stage, do sponsorships and concessions and don't charge, charge entry fee for bands and give prizes, advertise in Coloradoan, try to get grants (El Pomar or Fort Fund). Webber. Students want indoor skateboarding facility; want more events on south side of town. RMHS. Want something more on the south side of town like a recreation center; too many traffic lights; at school students shouldn't be allowed to wear chains — dress code should be more strict; cops shouldn't be worried about teens walking around at night; more dance clubs for teens; freshmen should be a part of high school; need a cool place to hang out. Boltz. Want the cops to leave them alone; complaints are not acted upon. BATTLE OF THE BANDS UPDATE The date has been set for April 10 at the former Montgomery Ward's building (pending approval) utilizing both inside and outside. Funding possible from Fort Fund (tier 2), Wingshadow (has shown interest in this event). Robin Horak and Dondi Barrowclough expressed an interest in working on the grant proposal for Fort Fund; Bill will work on the budget portion. Peggy Bowers will research Wingshadow. The next meeting of the YAB subcommittee will be Wednesday, December 9 at 6:00 p.m. at the Youth Activity Center. OTHER BUSINESS Peggy Bowers informed the Board about a grant proposal that was in the works to secure an AmeriCorps Promise Fellow for the purpose of consolidating information for teens and serving as a clearinghouse for local teen activities and services. Several local agencies are combining efforts to submit the grant proposal, and Peggy requested that the Board write a letter endorsing the proposal. Steven Hill moved and Robin Horak seconded to support the proposal; the Board voted 5-2 in favor of the motion. Chairperson Phillip Chavez signed a letter stating the Board's support that will accompany the grant proposal. Youth Advisory Board Minutes December 2, 1998 Page 4 Eero Teene, the Teen webpage developer/editor, requested that Board members talk to the student councils at RMHS and FCHS about the possibility of their advertising activities on the webpage. He can be contacted at http://www.teene(nverinet.com or through the Youth Activity Center. The Youth Activity Center's November participation report and December calendar were distributed. Adjournment: The Board voted unanimously for adjournment following a motion by Dondi Barrowclough and seconded by Robin Horak. The meeting was adjourned at 9:05 p.m. 9e ectfully s mitt/ed,,� Janet Urban, Administrative Support Supervisor — Recreation and Recreational Recreation Division City of Fort Collins December 2, 1998 Peggy Bowers, Recreation Administrator City of Fort Collins Recreation Division 214 N. Howes Street Fort Collins, CO 80521 Dear Ms. Bowers: Throughout the history of discussions by the City's Youth Advisory Board, the need has been identified to centralize information about services, activities, programs, etc. that are programmed by various agencies and organizations and that are available for youth. The Youth Advisory Board heartily supports the acquisition of an AmeriCorps Promise Fellow to fulfill the need for centralization of information. Good luck with your grant proposal. Sincerely, Phillip Chavez, Chairperson City of Fort Collins Youth Advisory Board PC:ju 214 North Howes Street • Fort Collins, CO 80521 • (970) 221-6640 • FAX (970) 416-2100