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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/24/2008 Town of Southold Youth Bureau Board Minutes of November 24, 2008 Present: Louise Hug, Elaine White, Tom Rabbitt, Liza Coppola, Jim Gorman, Sara Maaiki, Barbara Sheryll, Irene Tsontakis-Bradley, Councilman Vincent Orlando, Officer Tom Hudock, Karen McLaughlin and Phillip Beltz. Review of October 27th Minutes: Approved. Report of Subcommittees: ?? Youth Outreach and Representation-Barbara distributed a list of active Youth Advisory Council (YAC) membership and reported that two new members were interviewed and have joined the YAC. In reviewing the list of current membership, a number of seniors will be vacating and need to be replaced. School liaisons will work with Barbara to replace members as needed. A holiday party is being planned for Sunday, December th 14 from 1-4 p.m. at the Human Resource Center with pizzas and sodas. YAC members will provide holiday charitable assistance to CAST and San Simeon—the current plan is to get gifts for CAST and bake cookies and write cards for San Simeon residents. ?? Events- “Open Mic Night” sessions have not been well attended and may be eliminated if attendance does not improve. After considerable discussion, it was agreed to continue outreach efforts to increase attendance at the Recreation Center and hopefully it will improve through the winter months, as it is advertised within the Recreation program. Ideas to consider for the future: Possibly host battle of the bands at the Recreation Center and host “open mic” event at the Human Resource Center’s community room that might be a more appropriate setting. Karen expressed concern that the Rec Ctr is central to Town as Mattituck is too far for kids who live out east—it was also agreed that by moving program to HRC, it does not solve problem that Rec Ctr is perceived as “unappealing” by many youth. Youth need to be involved in saying what they would like the renovation to become, as well as several board members (Irene, Barbara, Liza and Jim). Phillip will set up a meeting in the New Year. ?? Resource Directory-Irene reported that the subcommittee has done a lot of research and the surveys will be entered within a database. The resource directory will be a work in progress and produced annually—the initial production will be simple 8 ½ x11 black/white. ?? Internships and Employment-Tom Rabbit reported that he met with Phillip and he will schedule a meeting with school representatives working on this topic. The Youth Bureau’s role will be to facilitate with Chambers of Commerce and Town government. ?? Fundraising: Phillip reported that the Town Attorney confirmed that municipalities cannot fundraise. However, she reported that “ fundraising activities can be undertaken by private individuals or community groups not affiliated with the Town, and then the $$ can be gifted to the Town for a specific purpose. If individuals that are Town employees wanted to participate in the fundraising in their capacity as a private citizen, that is ok, however elected officials should not be involved.” 1 Cornell Cooperative Extension Parenting Workshops: Parenting workshops were poorly attended, especially the second workshop. Tom R. suggested that a notice is provided to the Special Education Parents Teachers Association. Board members agreed that the concept of parenting workshops is new and will take time until participation increases. It may be beneficial to engage parents and youth for a “family workshop”. Additional suggestions for future workshops include: ?? Karen- adolescent emotional intelligence- Dr. Ruth Bruun ?? Tom R & Tom H.-computer safety- Suffolk County Detective Lori Forestal (sp.?) ?? (Liza) Erase Racism ?? (Liza) Urban Poetry th Youth and Family Conference: Flyers distributed for February 16 conference. Trust and Agency Funds for Substance Abuse Committee: Phillip reported that the Town Comptroller stated that the Town was holding $1470.30 in donations for a “substance abuse committee” and the Supervisor thought the funds could be utilized by the Youth Bureau for a community-based initiative. It was agreed that the Events Subcommittee will utilize funding with an appropriate theme for one of its functions next year. Other: Phillip expressed concern that Sara Maaiki appears to be only YAC member representing youth at Youth Bureau Board meetings. After considerable discussion, it was agreed that YAC meetings will follow the Youth Bureau Board meetings to ensure greater attendance. This requires CHANGING YOUTH BUREAU BOARD MEETINGS TO THE FIRST MONDAY OF THE MONTH, RATHER THAN THE FOURTH. In addition, student liaisons will remind designated students of the Youth Bureau Board meeting to further a presence of school representatives and alternates. It may be necessary to select new representatives for the New Year if designated members cannot attend the meetings. Next Meeting Date: Monday, January 5th at 5:30 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Phillip Beltz 2