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Severance council selects inaugural youth council, agrees in concept to expand membership
Summary
Severance Town Council appointed five initial members to its new Youth Council and voted in concept to expand the body from five to nine members, directing staff to draft an ordinance amendment for the next meeting. Four additional appointees were named as preferences and would become voting members only if the amendment is adopted.
Severance — The Severance Town Council on Oct. 14 appointed the town's first five youth council members and signaled unanimous support in concept for expanding the youth council from five appointed members to nine, with three alternates.
Mayor Pro Tem Vandermark formally proposed the expansion during the council's discussion of youth-council appointments, saying, "I would like to move to revise our ordinance to include 9 appointed members to the youth council with 3 alternates." Mayor Friess and other council members discussed quorum and the need for public notice before any ordinance change and then signaled support for Vandermark's proposal. "I am in support of your suggestion," Mayor Friess said.
The council followed the procedure in the current ordinance by appointing five initial members tonight. The clerk read the results of the council's secret ballots: Mackenzie Williams, Charley Vandermark and Torrey Raul were named in the first round; Samuel and Collins were added after subsequent rounds and tie-breakers. Council members then identified four additional preferences for the expanded nine-member slate — Summer Flores, Soren (last name not specified in the transcript), Sofia Farrington Valdivia and one more Sofia announced at the final ballot — with the caveat that those four would become voting members only after the council formally amends the ordinance at a future meeting.
Town Manager Wharton and Town Attorney Jeff Wilson advised that the ordinance cannot be changed tonight because the town's charter requires public notice before an ordinance amendment. Council members voted in concept and directed staff to draft language for a formal ordinance amendment to be presented at the next council meeting; the mayor said the amendment would be considered officially at that meeting, when the public may comment.
Mayor Pro Tem Vandermark told the new appointees she would serve as the council's liaison and said the first youth council meeting is scheduled "next month on the third," with an expectation that members attend monthly on first Mondays. Summer Flores, speaking by pre-recorded video, said she would "love to be part of the Severance Youth Council" and highlighted her student-council and DECA experience.
The council also approved the consent calendar and adopted the meeting agenda at the start of the session. The meeting adjourned at 6:11 p.m.
What happens next: Staff will draft the proposed ordinance amendment to expand the youth council membership; the amendment will be noticed and placed on a future council agenda for formal consideration and public comment. If adopted, the four additional applicants named tonight will be elevated to voting members as described by the council.
