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Youngtown council agrees to form Mayor’s Youth Council; councilmember to serve as advisor
Summary
The council reached consensus to create a staff-managed Mayor’s Youth Council to engage local students in civic processes; Councilmember Jodi Kaczynski will serve as advisor and staff will name a liaison. A Youngtown seventh-grader, Eco Lewellen, attended and was acknowledged.
The Youngtown Common Council on April 16 agreed to establish a Mayor’s Youth Council, a staff‑managed program intended to give local students exposure to municipal government and civic processes.
Town Attorney Michelle Stinstion (spoke to legal compliance) told the council the program would be managed by Town staff so that meetings and activities comply with Arizona open‑meeting law. She asked the council for direction on whether they wished to move forward and whether a council member should be appointed as an advisor.
Councilmember Jodi Kaczynski and Councilmember Kathryn French were credited for prior work on the proposal; the council reached consensus to proceed and named Councilmember Kaczynski to serve as advisor. Town Manager Brian Stutsman said staff will identify a nonvoting council liaison and coordinate logistics, and Youngtown resident Eco Lewellen (a seventh‑grader) and his mother, Jacque, attended the meeting and confirmed Eco attends school in the Peoria District.
Why it matters: the Youth Council is intended to foster youth civic engagement, provide students opportunities to observe and participate in local government activities such as the League Conference and the Citizens' Academy, and potentially contribute ideas to Town initiatives. The program will be managed by staff to limit legal exposure and to comply with open‑meeting requirements.
Next steps: staff will name the Youth Council liaison and return implementation details (operating procedures, meeting cadence, and any advisory scope) to the council for oversight.
