Cape Coral Youth Council keeps school outreach, names backup communications director and sets fundraising push for conference

Cape Coral Youth Council members met Aug. 8 in Cape Coral City Council Chambers and approved several program and staffing items for the 2025–26 term while agreeing on event and fundraising plans ahead of the fall calendar.

The council voted to continue its School Reach Out program and named members to lead the effort, appointed a backup communications director after a candidate ballot and formal voice vote, and set or confirmed dates for Adopt-a-Road cleanups, a meet-and-greet fundraiser, and the council’s trunk-or-treat booth. Members also discussed logistics and fundraising for an anticipated trip to the National League of Cities conference.

Why it matters: the Youth Council’s decisions shape outreach to Cape Coral high schools and set the group’s calendar of public events for the coming months. The fundraising drive is intended to cover travel and lodging for members who wish to attend the National League of Cities conference next March, and the council is seeking donations and corporate sponsors to reduce any out-of-pocket cost for participants.

The council’s advisor, identified in the meeting as Advisor Hayden, summarized recent city-level budget choices and local grants that frame the council’s work. Hayden said the city’s “consensus was not to raise the tax rate, but there was consensus, to raise the fire service assessment by 11%, which basically means that for the average homeowner, that'll be about 70 an extra $74 a year.” Hayden also noted about $1 million in Lee County tourist-development grants for beach nourishment and restroom improvements and a council priority to demolish a burned boathouse for safety and liability reasons.

On personnel and internal operations, the council followed a two-step process to fill a new backup communications role created in recent amendments to the council’s rules. Two members presented for the position and the group conducted a raised-hand ballot; Member Montes Perez won that informal ballot, receiving six raised-hand votes to three for the other candidate. The council then moved a formal motion to appoint Montes Perez as backup communications director; the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote.

The Youth Council also voted to continue its School Reach Out program for 2025–26 and assigned leads to manage outreach. Vice Chair Brown moved to continue the project and named Member Montes Perez and two junior members (Member Jax and one other junior volunteer) as heads; the motion passed.

Projects and community events - Senior project / Drive-in movie and Hope for the Holidays: Members confirmed plans to run a drive-in movie night the council will host in February and to staff booths at city movie-in-the-park events in October and December. The group discussed fundraising activities for those events (a proposed dunk tank, donation booths and games) and noted the approximate cost if the dunk tank must be rented—"I would probably say, like, 3 to $400," a member said during the meeting when describing vendor quotes. - Hope for the Holidays toy drive: Council members are coordinating with Children’s Network/Operation Santa and plan collection boxes at City Hall and the Youth Center. The council was told roughly 1,500 children are expected in care during the season and that any donations should be delivered by early December to meet distribution schedules. - Adopt-a-Road: The council debriefed its July cleanup (10 members present; 10 bags collected) and rescheduled the November Adopt-a-Road cleanup from Nov. 8 to Nov. 1 to avoid conflicts with other events. - Lovelock statue project: Administrative contact Ms. Crickland reported a company that had been under consideration can no longer help due to miscommunication about installation; "we are back at square 1," she said. Members were asked to pursue local welders and trade programs as alternatives.

Fundraising and National League of Cities travel Members discussed a fundraising plan to attend the National League of Cities in March 2026 (conference dates discussed later in the meeting). The council set an internal target of approximately $1,800 per attendee as the amount each participant would be asked to raise or secure via sponsorships; advisors estimated total costs at scale would be in the low tens of thousands for the whole delegation. The council is preparing a GoFundMe and sponsor letter with a QR code and will promote donations, corporate sponsorships (logo recognition on a council T-shirt was proposed) and multiple fall events (a meet-and-greet fundraiser Sept. 18 at Nice Guys pizza, trunk-or-treat on Oct. 24, and other outreach) to reach the goal.

Liaison and staff support Council staff and city liaisons agreed to support logistics. Parks & Recreation and Special Events staff were identified as contacts for booths and movie-night collaboration (Special Events Director Todd King was named as a contact), and staff advised members to collect signed hold-harmless forms for any out-of-city travel. Administrative staff and advisors committed to provide standard city purchasing/tax documentation to businesses that donate for tax-deduction purposes.

Votes at a glance - Adopt agenda as presented — motion passed (voice vote). - Adopt meeting notes — motion passed (voice vote). - Adopt edits to quarterly report (add meeting dates, remove resigned member photo, clarify projects) — motion passed. - Backup communications director (informal ballot): Montes Perez 6 votes; Ponte/Vasquez 3 votes (informal selection). - Appoint Montes Perez as backup communications director — motion by Member Sanchez, seconded, approved (voice vote). - Change Adopt-a-Road November date from Nov. 8 to Nov. 1 — motion passed. - Continue School Reach Out program for 2025–26 and appoint leads (Member Montes Perez and junior members to assist) — motion passed. - Assign Vice Chair Brown and Member Jax to prepare a presentation for the Sept. meet-and-greet — motion passed. - Schedule next committee meeting for Aug. 30, 9–11 a.m., Conference Room — motion passed.

What comes next Council leaders asked members to: finalize fall event volunteers and dates; prepare the GoFundMe materials (group photo, personal quotes for social posts, QR code frames for donation tables); and finalize a survey for the senior mental-health project by mid-September. Administrative staff said they will collect signed hold-harmless forms for any members who indicate they plan to attend out-of-town conferences and will provide contacts for event logistics (special events, parks and rec). The Youth Council’s next regular meeting was set for Sept. 12 at 3:00 p.m. in Council Chambers.

Ending: The council adjourned after confirming the schedule and action items; members remained briefly after the meeting to take the group photo being prepared for the GoFundMe and promotional materials.