HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-10-18Dryden Youth Commission
Minutes, October 18, 2011
resent: Justin DiMatteo, Johllen Bailey, Stephanie Mulinos, Cynthia Waterman, Chrissy Guest, Melissa Bianconi, Kris
ennett, Linda Scholiel, Dave Hall, Nikki Nease, Mary Ann Sumner(for part of meeting), Kathy Gehring (T. Dryden rep.
to County Youth Services Board)
Justin called the meeting to order at 6:35 PM, introductions were made.
September minutes were approved unanimously.
CCE program reports & updates Dave Hall — handed out program update. All programs are full, many 6'r' graders are
participating. Highlights: overnight & behind- the - scenes tour at zoo; youth employment — 3 youth employed at library
have completed their hours, Dave also had one assistant during the summer. Offers teen challenges 4 days/week at
lunchtime, including 1 day for all girls and one for all boys. Nikki Nease— distributed program update. She's the new
OURS program manager, started mid -Sept, has met all kids and families. 33 youth have submitted permission slips;
usually �22 attend on a given day. Also working with Cornell a -board and more than 50 Cornell student volunteers who
have great enthusiasm. Some mentors from last year have returned and been re- matched with OURS participants on
Mondays; Tues. is career exploration for teen /tween leadership council; Fri. is fun for all ages and has included nutritional
cooking (apple cider press), fitness, arts & crafts. Challenges — lots of time on van.; having clear expectations and
consequences for youth behavior. Chrissy suggested connecting with TC3 students when volunteer ops. come up, either
for this program or others. Melissa will call her, may also be an option for Cornell winter break fill -in. Linda Schoffel —
distributed budget update; summer participation fees were lower than expected. OURS has done a good job with
fundraising. Higher cost for van drivers in past months since Ruben, interim OURS program manager, was not a licensed
driver. (Nikki is now approved to drive the van.) Melissa suggested marking the van in some way with CCE; she fielded
a call from a concerned citizen about a suspicious unmarked van going into Congers Mobile Home Park.
Town updates Over 130 kids are participating in fall programs. Have started some shorter, between season, skill building
rograms. Hoping fora good turnout at the public hearing about the proposed Town park on Nov. 3, 7:00 PM. is also
W orking with Community Cafe; Rec. Dept. will host some programs there since the cafe can open for special meetings,
groups. Cafe is open to accepting youth employees next summer.
Discussion/updates on possible DYC /DRC restructuring Melissa reported that Mary Ann asked town board members
Jason Leifer and Steve Stelick to contact DYC; no one has heard from them yet. Justin reported that he talked with DMS
principal & Rec. Commission member Larry Hinkle; he spoke with the rec. dept. about taking the lead on the Assets work
started by the Dryden Youth Development Task Force, Melissa applied for a grant to the community foundation to help
roll out Assets into the community. Funding would go toward direct mailing, radio ads. Justin and Kris reported on their
meeting with Freeville mayor Lome Carpenter; she was not pleased with the proposed merger but Stephanie advised that
perhaps she did not fully understand that this is a planning structure change only. Kris and Justin will attend the Nov. l
Freeville trustees meeting to provide more info. JoEJlen reported that she and Justin had not heard back from Mary Ann;
they had requested a meeting to get a clearer picture on what next steps the Town Board wants; direction and leadership
from the Town is needed. Justin stated his desire that making this decision doesn't take so much time that it gets in the
way of other work we need to do. It is likely that once the Nov. elections take place the elected officials will have more
time for this. Stephanie asked whether resource allocation and needs assessment decisions will be handled by the new
entity? Feels we need a joint meeting soon. She was unable to attend the Rec. Commission meeting. Melissa stated that
perhaps a merger is not the best idea, an alternative might be 2 joint ineetingsiyear. Next steps: each group will make a
list of potential benefits and challenges to a merger; schedule a joint meeting after the first of the year. Kathy Gehring
offered to attend both DYC and DRC meetings for the near future and to help communicate between the groups.
Other Justin distributed a commission self= assessment which we have done in the past t
working and what improvements could be made. All members are asked to look it over
group at our next meeting. Justin will not be requesting reappointment when his term is
baby is due in Dec. Our next meeting date was changed to Nov. 29 at the Dryden Cafe,
!arrangements. ("Phis will take the place of the Nov. and Dec. meetings.)
Meeting was adjourned at 8:30 PM.
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