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HomeMy WebLinkAbout20131023 YCRM Minutes ROSEMOUNT YOUTH COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING PROCEEDINGS October 23, 2013 CALL TO ORDER Pursuant to due call and notice thereof a regular meeting of the Rosemount Youth Commission was th held on Wednesday, October 23, 2013 at 3:45 p.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 2875 145 Street West, Rosemount. Chairperson Alex called the meeting to order with Youth Commissioners Corrigan, Eichten, Mohamed, Narloch, Nelson, Norder, Schalliol, Simmering, Wick, and Wuellner attending. City Council members Shoe-Corrigan and Weisensel, Staff Liaison Foster, Jeanne Schwartz and John Loch (RAAC) and Recording Secretary Harrington were also present. Youth Commissioners Dennis, Munson, Neuens, and Oliphant were absent. ADDITIONS OR CORRECTIONS TO AGENDA None Motion by Alex. Second by Corrigan. Motion to Adopt the Agenda. Ayes: 11 Nays: 0. Absent: 0. Motion carried. AUDIENCE INPUT None CONSENT AGENDA Motion by Alex. Second by Corrigan. Motion to approve the Consent Agenda. a.Minutes of September 25, 2013 Youth Commission Meeting Ayes: 11 Nays: 0. Absent: 4. Motion carried. OLD BUSINESS 6.a. Rosemount Area Arts Council Representatives – Swing Dancing Event Ms. Schwartz updated the group on the status of the Swing Dance Event, noting that the band has been selected and she is in the process of selecting a dance instructor. Schwartz also mentioned that Rosemount Middle School band director Mr. John Zchunke’s band will also be promoting the dance. 6.b. Tree Lighting Event Eichten reported that Rosemount High School Choir Director, Ms. Toso approved having the Chamber singers attend the event. The band has not yet been contacted for the event, but will be soon. Mr. Loch was appreciative of the great response from the community with regards to donations. Cub Foods agreed to donate all the cookies, there was a private donation of $100, First State Bank donated $100, Dakota Electric donated $150, Paul Eggen State Farm Insurance donated $50, in all totaling $400 which will cover all expenses for the event. Due to the generosity, the 1 children’s movie, cookies, and apple cider will be available complementary. Mr. Loch suggested thank you cards be written by the Youth Commission, since the donation requests were made in the name of the Youth Commission. RAAC brought sample posters for the commission to review, upon approval the posters will go to print and should be available within the next few days. Discussion was held regarding the content, coloration, and spacing on the poster. Mr. Loch will take the changes back to the printer prior to final print. Multiple sizes will be available to leave with area businesses. A Tree Lighting sub-committee meeting will take place on November 6, 2013 at The Steeple Center beginning at 3:45 p.m. during which distribution maps will be created for each Commissioner. Commissioners not on the sub-committee should pick up their posters and distribution map at 4:15 p.m., November 6, 2013 at the Steeple Center. Discussion was held regarding the timing of events and ways in which businesses could help retain visitors with coupons or other creative marketing tools such as a city wide scavenger hunt. NEW BUSINESS Roundtable Discussion Shoe-Corrigan advised the Commission of the volunteer opportunities associated with the Haunted Woods Trail event at Central Park on October 26, 3013. Pumpkin carving and passing out candy are two possible activities. Weisensel challenged the Commission members to come to each meeting with at least one item or idea or comment. Narloch reported on the Homecoming events of last month. The school came together during the week with events such as the pep fest, football game, dance, and other weekly events. Wuellner added that the schools Super Fans are a great addition to pumping up school spirit. Weisensel explained that one of the Youth Commission’s goals should be to help the community attain the feel of coming together as the school did during the Homecoming events. Simmering noticed a decline in attendance at school dances and wonders if there is a link to a decrease in school pride. Alex agreed that dance attendance has been low the past few years, but believes the trend is turning and more people seem to be attending. Another concern which may affect school spirit is alleged alcohol use by students attending football games. Nelson said some students do not attend the games because of this concern. Shoe-Corrigan explained that such behavior is not a good representation of the youth in our community, and that this issue is addressed by school and police policy. Any ideas, such as having an officer in uniform by the student section during the game, to address the issue would be welcomed by both. Weisensel explained that trying to change culture, report behavior – accepting responsibility for those things around you encourages and defines mature youth in the community. Mohamed believes it goes beyond alcohol use, the Respect Retreat in ninth grade is a great starting place, but doesn’t last long enough. This group has previously entertained the idea of suggesting another retreat during the junior year of high school to remind the students of the basics of respect. Some retreat ideas are virtue, character, responsibility, courage, and kindness. Nelson has discussed the effectiveness of the Respect Retreat with Mr. Conboy who has found it to be 90% effective. Student leaders also view this as an important topic. Social events help bring community together, but social issues can be affected by the group as well. 2 Norder was excited to attend the ribbon cutting for the Highway 3 Underpass and thought it was a great asset to the city. Corrigan also thought the use of the underpass will be beneficial for students that need to get across Highway 3 safely. Some uses mentioned by Commissioners including those from St. Joseph’s School with activities as Rosemount High School and Rosemount Middle School, as well as the cross country and other teams using Erickson park. Commissioners agreed that a great way to bring community together is for a cause. The recent “Purple Out” to raise funds for a Rosemount High School teacher was a great example of that. Schalliol suggested a community wide cause possible serving the local military. Shoe-Corrigan mentioned having the Youth Commission more involved in next year’s Warrior Run. Mohamed suggested a less visible cause such as metal health issues. Alex agreed that both are worthwhile, but thought a more personal approach may gain more widespread community support. Weisensel believes interaction breeds involvement. Wick recently noticed posters for prayer groups at school all seem to by Christian based and was concerned that other faiths are not being represented. Shoe-Corrigan reported that such groups are student initiated with a school liaison and interested participants should contact the school to start a new group. Foster requested the Commissioners contact her with requests for future departmental tours. The city’s website www.ci.rosemount.mn.us can help provide ideas. Corrigan suggested a tour of Dakota Dispatch Center. Weisensel asked if the Commission would have an interest in viewing plans for the splash pad at Central Park. All agreed, Simmering also requested information on new tennis courts be included. Jaycee Park upgrades were also of interest to the group. Foster will tentatively arrange for the next meeting to be at the Community Center with updates from the Parks and Recreations Department. REPORTS 8.a. Commission Member Reports None. 8.b. Next Meeting Date The next meeting of the Youth Commission is scheduled for November 20, 2013 at 3:45 p.m. at Rosemount Community Center. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to discuss, it was moved by Commissioner Alex and seconded by Commissioner Eichten that the meeting be adjourned. The motion carried unanimously and the meeting was adjourned at 4:45 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Jean Harrington Recording Secretary 3