REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Action on Appointment of Youth Commissioners for the FY2020/21 Term [Council Pillar: Enhance Community Engagement and Transparency]
Report
BACKGROUND
The Youth Commission serves in an advisory capacity to the City Council and makes recommendations on matters pertaining to the Santa Clara youth and teen population, especially as it relates to municipal programs and City projects, and is under supervision of a staff liaison from the Parks & Recreation Department and designated by the City Manager. The Youth Commission was established in 1995 by Ordinance 1673, with eligibility criteria, powers and responsibilities outlined in Resolution No. 6047. The candidate selection and recommendation processes were updated in 2019 under Resolution No. 19-8706.
DISCUSSION
As of August 2020, there are ten (10) returning Youth Commissioners eligible to be reappointed, five (5) Youth Commission vacancies, and two (2) alternate positions to be filled by Council appointment.
On July 11 and 18, 2020, 33 candidates for the City of Santa Clara Youth Commission were interviewed by a selection panel comprised of the Commission’s Staff Liaison, a Parks & Recreation Department supervisor, and the outgoing Youth Commission Chairperson in accordance with the approved process. The applicants were screened for the eligibility criteria and then evaluated on how well they would represent the City’s youth and teen population on the Youth Commission.
Following the interview process, the selection panel recommends reappointment of the ten (10) eligible returning commissioners, appointment of five (5) of the eligible candidates to serve on the Commission, and the naming of two (2) candidates to be conditionally appointed as Commission alternates. Alternate members are not voting members of the Commission but will attend meetings and assume a position on the Commission should a Youth Commissioner be unable to complete their term. Each Commissioner will serve a one-year term beginning in September 2020 and ending in May 2021. Each candidate recommended for appointment meets the requirements of a City of Santa Clara resident ages 12-19.
Table 1 below contains a list of candidates recommended for appointment to the FY2020/21 Youth Commission:
|
Table 1. City of Santa Clara Youth Commission 2020-21 |
|
(a) Returning Commissioners from 2019/20 term eligible for reappointment for FY2020/21 term |
|
Name |
Grade |
School Entering Fall of 2020 |
|
Aarva Gupta |
9 |
Bellarmine College Preparatory |
|
Ahmad Ismail |
11 |
Wilcox High School |
|
Jasmine Kelly-Tanti |
10 |
Santa Clara High School |
|
Adrianne Krivokapic-Zhuo |
12 |
Santa Clara High School |
|
Colin Lim |
12 |
BASIS Independent Silicon Valley |
|
Kayla Phan |
12 |
Santa Clara High School |
|
Kavya Sriram |
11 |
Wilcox High School |
|
Smrithi Suresh |
12 |
Wilcox High School |
|
Natasha Yen |
12 |
The Harker School |
|
Amy Zuo |
12 |
Lynbrook High School |
|
(b) Candidates Recommended for Appointment for 2020/21 Term |
|
Khadeejah Khan |
9 |
Santa Clara High School |
|
Rajvi Khanjan Shroff |
10 |
Cupertino High School |
|
Riya Mehta |
11 |
Santa Clara High School |
|
Palak Parikh |
11 |
Wilcox High School |
|
Sarah Zuo |
9 |
Cupertino High School |
|
(c) Candidates Recommended as Conditional Alternates for 2020/21 |
|
Kaitlyn Butcher |
11 |
Santa Clara High School |
|
Mitali Gaidhani |
11 |
Cupertino High School |
FISCAL IMPACT
Staff support, Commissioner training and meeting expenses are the only fiscal impacts relating to the approval of appointments to the Youth Commission for the 2020/21 term.
PUBLIC CONTACT
Public contact was made by posting the Council agenda on the City’s official-notice bulletin board outside City Hall Council Chambers. A complete agenda packet is available on the City’s website and in the City Clerk’s Office at least 72 hours prior to a Regular Meeting and 24 hours prior to a Special Meeting. A hard copy of any agenda report may be requested by contacting the City Clerk’s Office at (408) 615-2220, email clerk@santaclaraca.gov <mailto:clerk@santaclaraca.gov>.
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
It is recommended that the City Council take the following actions related to the FY2020/21 Youth Commission: a) reappoint Aarva Gupta, Ahmad Ismail, Jasmine Kelly-Tanti, Adrianne Krivokapic-Zhuo, Colin Lim, Kayla Phan, Kavya Sriram, Smrithi Suresh, Natasha Yen, Amy Zuo as Commission members; b) appoint Khadeejah Khan, Rajvi Khanjan Shroff, Riya Mehta, Palak Parikh, Sarah Zuo as Commission members and c) appoint Kaitlyn Butcher and Mitali Gaidhani as conditional alternates.
Staff
Reviewed by: James Teixeira, Director, Parks & Recreation Department
Approved by: Deanna J. Santana, City Manager