Wilmington City Councilmembers search for residents in grades 8 through 12 to join the Wilmington Youth Advisory Council.
The WYAC will consist of 20 members who are students and residents in Wilmington. They will serve one year terms and can reapply for up to three consecutive years.
The group will put together a Youth Master Plan, which will act as a suggested roadmap for the city based on young people’s priorities and perspectives.
Councilmember Latisha Bracy is the Youth and Family Services Committee Chair and sponsored the ordinance creating the Council. She said City Council wants to give young people more opportunities to get involved.
“And instead of us creating a master plan in a silo here on City Council, why not work with our city youth to really hear what they're thinking about, how we use our parks, and how we do after school programmings and how we support our community centers?” Bracy said.
Councilmember Coby Owens also sponsored the ordinance creating the new group. He said his colleagues want to see at least two children from each district represented for a minimum of 16 students.
“We want to make sure that we give an opportunity for everyone to have a say and no more than three individuals from each grade level,” Owens said.
Owens said as the youngest Councilmember, it’s critical to highlight youth perspectives on a wide variety of topics, including education, public safety, jobs and housing.
“I think it's important to make sure we're highlighting their voices on what they want to see in the city to make them want to stay here right when they go to college,” Owens said. “We want kids to be able to say, ‘hey, when I graduate from college, I want to come back and pour into my city.’”
The WYAC agenda states its first meeting will be in City Council Chambers at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 3. The group will meet six times through June, though the dates are subject to change. They’ll be paid $50 per meeting, with compensation capped at $600 per year.
Young people interested in applying can do so at City Council’s website. Folks are strongly encourage to submit by Monday, Jan 19.
