Youth council opts to keep social media work within a collaborative subcommittee, staff warns about open-meeting rules

The Las Vegas Youth Leadership Advisory Council discussed whether to appoint a social-media lead or keep the work inside a collaborative subcommittee and decided to continue with a team approach.

Sheena Judy Mitchell, a staff member who spoke on the record, urged the council to consider an officer-style role rather than a plain "social media lead," suggesting the position be framed as a historian and structured later as an officer role. "So instead of just, like, social media lead, maybe it's the historian," Mitchell said during the meeting.

Members raised practical concerns about scheduling and content. Member Cohen proposed a theme that reflects the city's identity, saying the council could "embody the identity of Las Vegas" with a "Betting on You" theme and tailor posts to current trends. Several members recommended short introduction videos for each council member and using infographics or B-roll with voiceovers on days without new video content.

City staff outlined logistical limits. Dr. Tammy Malich, director of youth development and social initiatives, asked potential subcommittee leads to propose recurring dates so staff could verify room availability and coverage: "you're going to have to follow all of the public meeting rules regarding these subcommittee meetings just like you do for this meeting." She also reminded members that once a subcommittee meeting is publicly noticed, attendance records are visible to council offices.

Deputy City Attorney Tamara Canela gave a legal clarification: "If there is a quorum and deliberation, then it needs to be public," she said, adding that small working groups without a quorum may meet without a public agenda but cautioned members to avoid unintentional quorums. Members discussed rotating three-person teams or other small-group approaches to do real-time posting without triggering open-meeting requirements.

The council agreed to keep social media work within the subcommittee and to explore meeting briefly after regular meetings for filming or design tasks where practical. Staff noted that adding members to a subcommittee requires advance public notice and will be agendized; Member Burton will be added to the social-media subcommittee at a future meeting after notice is given.

The discussion ended with staff offering to coordinate schedules and remind members that city staff must remain involved with any official city accounts. The matter may return for further structuring or possible action at a subsequent agenda once members and staff have worked on a proposed schedule.