City Recorder Jennifer Robison administered the oath of office to 13 new members of the Centerville Youth City Council at the July 18 city council meeting. They are Ava Wright, Bohan Guo, Brinley Carr, Cara Vogrinec, Charles Summerhays, Grace Kunzler, Izabella Anderson, Kate Mullins, Lola Stephens, London Hymas, Lynlee Hernadez, Evelyn Jones and Caleb Wallis. Kiera Arnold is the new youth council mayor.

Returning youth council members are Arnold, Audrey Howell, Bridgette Lowe, Cade Creamer, Caleb Wallis, Ella Stevens, Emeline Howell, Evelyn Jones, Evelyn Waymet, Ingrid Tea, Izabella Anderson, Lauren Barnum, Maverick Strafford and Talmage Bunting. The advisors are Haley Turner, community services manager, and Administrative Services Director Bryce King.

After the swearing in, Mayor Clark Wilkinson expressed appreciation for the youth council members and their willingness to serve.

“Thank you for all the support,” he said. “What’s exciting to see is in my five and a half years as mayor I'm seeing some siblings coming through as well too and that's fun to see. I'm seeing new faces as well too. You know, the group just before this, they were the pioneer group so to speak because they had to resurrect the council from basically going extinct, and so we appreciate their support for hanging tough with us for two years.”

“We look forward to seeing your growth and your help that you give the city and all 

you do, so thank you, everybody, and for being here and all the support,” he added.

After the swearing in, King presented some proposed changes to the organization’s charter which the city council supported. One of those changes was to increase the number of allowed youth council members from 25 to 30 to accommodate the larger group that is willing to serve. Also, to be a youth council member, the city now requires that each member provide 25 hours of service in addition to the meetings and events they participate in. 

“Service hours could include anything that they already are doing in school or extracurricular or any extra groups that maybe they want to help with on the side,” King said. 

Additionally, the term of service was extended to allow youth to serve four years if they choose; excused absences were increased from two to four. The charter also added the option of former youth council members serving as advisors for a year. 

The youth council, which mostly follows a school-year schedule, helps with the city’s Easter egg hunt, Pumpkin Festival, Santa letters and various service projects. On Sept. 9 the youth council will be helping with National Day of Service projects around the community. 

They also work with legislators at Capitol Hill during an annual event where youth councils visit with legislators. In the future they may attend city council meetings to learn more about how city government works. The youth council meets the first Thursday of each month from 5 to 6 p.m.