The Hollister City Council will get a youthful perspective in the future after it approved the creation of a seven-member Youth Committee that will provide advice to the city’s elected representatives.
Following months of planning by Councilman Raymond Friend, the council on Nov. 16 voted to establish the committee of young people between the ages of 12 and 18 who either live or attend school in the city of Hollister. Youth Committee members will be appointed by council members and serve two-year terms, with a maximum of three consecutive terms.
It is expected that the committee will meet once a month and report back to the council regularly. The committee’s bylaws indicate that it will hold forums about youth concerns and develop events and activities “that connect the youth with their community.”
City Manager William Avera committee members will also be “encouraged to work with other committees and boards that affect the youth of the community.”
Councilman Karson Klauer praised the idea of getting more perspectives on issues facing the community: “I think there’s going to be a huge benefit of gaining a point of view we don’t necessarily get at every meeting,” he said. “Sometimes we think we know what would be good for the community and we don’t necessarily reach out enough. This will be an opportunity to reach out.”
Committee members’ two-year terms will be staggered so that four of the founding members will have partial terms ending in Sept. 2017 with the other three will have terms ending a year later.
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