HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-11-29Dryden Youth Commission
Minutes, November 29, 2011
Present: Justin DiMatteo, Cynthia Waterman, Stephanie McConnell, JoEllen Bailey, Chrissy Guest,
Kris Bennett, Melissa Bianconi
Justin called the meeting to order at 6:35 PM; minutes from October were approved unanimously.
Town updates At 7:30 on 12 /6 the Town is holding a public meeting in Freeville about proposed
parks /trails in the Village. Still focusing on park planning and recreation to implement master plan.
There was good turnout with mostly positive feedback a recent public meeting; next step is to bet cost
estimates. Town Rec. is offering 2 new programs: intro to wrestling and intro to basketball; both
focus on skills and drills. Several holiday field trips are planned: Lights on the Lake (Syr.), holiday
shopping, ice skating, Greek Peak. Town is staring an update on its comprehensive plan; it's a good
opportunity for commissions to review goals and plans.
DYC. /DRC restructuring JoEllen heard from Mary Ann but no meeting is confirmed yet to understand
how the Town would like this to proceed. A short meeting tomorrow may be possible; Justin will
check. Meeting with V. Freeville trustees was postponed; Kris will follow up with Lotte to see if they
would like a short presentation at their Jan. or Feb. meeting. ( Chrissy would not be available in Jan.)
Melissa is trying to set up an initial meeting with Jeff Humphrey (from the Rec. Commission) and
Justin (DYC); a Wed. afternoon will work best. Kris will also try to attend; is available Dec. 7 or 14.
Next would be a larger joint meeting with more members from each group present.
Budget updates Kris shared revised budget; County cut did not materialize so there is an additional
$1208. Additionally, the state budget won't be known for months; a possible cut of $747 may not
materialize. Total additional = $1,955 more than budgeted for in Sept.; total anticipated revenue is
$59,750. DYC discussed funding priorities: would like to support first time youth employment with
most of these funds. The revised allocation was moved by Justin, seconded by Cynthia:
V. Freeville Youth .lobs
$750
V. Dryden Youth Jobs$750
Brooktondale Cam
$0
Cornell Coop. Extension — RYS
$40,466
Cornell Coop, Extension — OURS
$15,633
Municipal Jobs thru CC1d
$1,151
CC — van for OURS p ro ram
$100
TOTAL
$59,750
Discussion: All wanted to increase allocation for OURS van to requested amount. All agreed to not
restore any funding to Brooktondale Camp. All wanted to support first -time youth employment. $750
to each of the camps would fund approx. 100 hours of staffing, a meaningful employment experience.
Since the NYS funding is not totally secure, it made sense to all to allocate that to municipal jobs thru
CCE; they could adjust quickly; priority is to fund jobs at Southworth Library and program assistant:
for Dave Hall. Vote was unanimous; Kris will send to Town.
Membership updates After much thought, Cynthia has decided not to request reappointment. Justin is
also retiring. All thanked them both for their contributions over the years. Stephanie is interested in
being reappointed. 'That leaves 3 open seats: 2 fir T. Dryden, I for V. Freeville. Stephanie will •
follow up with someone who may be interested in the Freeville seat; Kris asked former DYC member
"Tracy Kurtz to consider rejoining, she is thinking about it, Melissa said the Town is planning to
include a notice about all open commission/board seats in the next tax bill. Chrissy will try to recruit a
TC3 student (preferably a DHS alum and/or Town resident). Additionally, JoPllen will follow tip with
Jeff to see if he is still interested since he has not attended a meeting or been in touch in several
months. Melissa offered to be appointed as a voting member (as opposed to her current non - voting
liaison status) representing the Town; she will wait to see if other possibilities pan out first.
Nomination of 2012 officers Chrissy nominated Stephanie as chair; seconded by JoEllen. JoEllen
nominated Chrissy as vice- chair; seconded by Stephanie. Elections will take place at first meeting of
2012. Discussion followed as to whether a person could "attend" a meeting via Skype; Melissa will
check with the Town to see if this would count toward a quorum and if the person could vote.
Commission self- assessment All present completed their thoughts on the sell= assessment form that
had been passed out last month and emailed. The group then discussed each broad category as to how
well the Commission is functioning. Kris will compile all answers into a summary document.
1) Planning giaoup structure, membe ► ship, and rclalionship to »u nicipality — members responded
"usually" to most or all questions. We have not been totally successful fillinc vacant seats; a
concern for next year is having an active core of 3 -5 members; we need to fill 3 empty seats. There
was a question about how "regularly" we should report to municipalities; currently we do
once /year.
2) Organization, meetings, and leadership — members responded "usually" to most items. "Though we •
don't always have a quorum, we do for the most part.
3) Planning — members responded "usually" to most items. One area that could be improved is
getting feedback from youth as part of needs assessment.
4) Oversight, garidance, and accountability — Mostly "usually ", some "sometimes"; it has been a
while since DYC members cot copies of parent and youth participant feedback about
programming. Kris will contact Linda for this re. Dave's and Nikki's programs.
5) Advocacy and Coordination — Evenly divided between "usually" and "sometimes "; we could
increase elTorts to network with other groups, stay abreast of local programs and coordinate
programming, "talk up" the DYC and its programs. DYC does not have it logo.
6) Youth leadership — Most responded "never" or "sometimes'' to most items. This can be an area of
focus for 2012. If Chrissy is successful recruiting a young person to serve on DYC, this could
help.
Next meeting will be Wed. Feb. 1, 6:30, at "Town Hall.
Meeting adjourned at 8:30 PM.
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