Mayor Joe Yochum has received 16 applications from local teenagers interested in serving on his new youth council.
And as far as he's concerned, they're all in.
“I didn't have a definite number in mind to begin with anyway,” he said Wednesday. “So we may just start with whatever we get.”
During his State of the City address last month the mayor expressed his desire to see a more youthful influence at City Hall, and he immediately began efforts to develop a youth council comprised of students from both Lincoln and Rivet high schools.
He got two from each to start the process, he said, and he picked up another 14 students from Lincoln. He expects more next week, he said, from Rivet after students have returned from spring break.
The applications asked students about their extra-curricular activities, plans for after graduation and, most importantly, what “leadership meant to them,” the mayor said.
“And all of their answers were outstanding,” he added.
He's looked into other youth councils all over the state, and some of them, he said, have as many as 40 members.
“I'm not sure we need that many,” he said with a chuckle, “but even if it ends up being a group of 20, a large group, I don't think that would be bad.
“We can start there and see where we end up.”
The mayor hopes the students will meet regularly and offer insight into quality of life projects while developing an interest in local government, too.
Though they won't be approving resolutions or ordinances, Yochum hopes the group will review those coming before the city council and offer their input. He said he'd like to even see them vote and offer recommendations on projects and investments that particularly concern local youth.
He hopes to specifically get their opinion on continued updates to the city's parks system and the Vincennes' application for the state's multi-million dollar Stellar Grant.
Of the new applications from Lincoln, Yochum said all age groups were represented with the exception of seniors, who will be finished with high school in May anyway.
“I've got five freshman, three sophomores and another eight juniors,” he said. “And I'd love to see them start out as freshman. They can stay on all four years, if they want. They're welcome as long as they're participating.”
Yochum said he has a meeting set up for March 30 with those who submitted applications. He hopes to get everything organized quickly as there is an event planned for youth councils at Launch Fishers, a co-working space in Fishers, in April.
“I want them to be able to meet up and see what other students out there are doing,” he said. “I think it's important for them to make those contacts.”
Yochum said he also wants to talk to the group about how often they want to meet.
“Do they want to meet every two weeks?” the mayor asked. “Do they want to meet monthly? Do they want to meet once a month through the summer and then more when school starts again?
“I just want to get their input on everything,” he said. “They have their lives, their activities, and that's important, too.”