The last time Zephyrhills tried to form a youth council a decade ago, it didn’t last very long, but it produced at least one big result: a city councilman who would later become mayor.
Now, Danny Burgess is set to resurrect the youth council concept after getting the go-ahead from the Zephyrhills City Council to form a new group designed to get young people involved in the community.
Could there be future council members or mayors in that bunch?
Absolutely, Burgess said. It also could help change the perception that Zephyrhills is primarily retirees. The community is much different than that, said Burgess, who is often greeted with odd looks when people find out he’s the mayor.
“People don’t expect to see a 27-year-old mayor from Zephyrhills. But what they don’t realize is that we’re a diverse community. We have retirees, older families, younger families. We are just a great melting pot,” Burgess said.
When Burgess served on the youth council, his group would sit at a table in front of the City Council, taking in meeting after meeting. It was an eye-opening experience for Burgess, who up until then had never considered doing anything with city government.
But this was during a tumultuous time, when the government was arguing over the renaming of Sixth Avenue to honor civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr.
“We were front and center during that whole debate,” Burgess said. “We got a crash course at that meeting, as well as in general, about what it means to lead a city.”
While he hopes there won’t be a major controversy like that one, Burgess said the new youth council will have a chance to experience government for the first time like he did, and even play an active role by advising the City Council on issues affecting young people.
The board will have seven members who are in public, private or home school, and are in at least ninth grade. Each will be selected by the City Council through the standard board application process, and after the initial board, will serve terms of two years.
The goals of the youth council include evaluating and reviewing problems facing youth in Zephyrhills, conducting community meetings with youth to learn about additional issues, and presenting their refined ideas to city leaders.
The City Council decided to revive the Youth Council because of the efforts of Victoria Tinney, a Girl Scouts member who is a freshman at Zephyrhills High School.
“She had to do a community project for a badge, and Victoria approached me and asked if there was a way to create a forum or group for the youth to be more involved with the City Council,” Burgess said. “Victoria actually came and presented to the City Council her vision, her idea, of what she wanted.”
There are a lot of issues facing young people in the community — especially when it comes to recreational opportunities and job creation — that could benefit from their unique insight.
That’s exactly what Councilwoman Jodi Wilkeson hopes will happen.
“A lot of young people are moving away as soon as they graduate from high school, and I want a place for my kids to want to come home to when they get a college education, and not live somewhere else,” Wilkeson said. “If those young people come to us and say there are opportunities to encourage other kids who are not in service clubs, who are not participating in sports, to go to school and they have ideas about that, we’re going to listen.”
Teenagers in grades nine through 12 are encouraged to apply for the youth council through the standard board selection process. The form can be found at tinyurl.com/ZhillsYouth.
