Interview process established for Youth Council applicants
City staff expects to receive about two dozen applications from high school students hoping to sit on the first Cape Coral Youth Council that was approved by City Council in 2016.
Council members agreed on a “speed politics” method of interviewing applicants at Monday’s council meeting, the first of 2017. Applicants will visit with a council member for about 5 minutes before rotating on to the next before council’s special workshop meeting on Jan. 30. Members are to use a matrix drawn up by Councilmem-ber Rick Williams to score the candidates that will be appointed at a later date.
The Youth Council will be made up of 14 members, one junior and one senior from each high school plus two at-large students. They will meet and discuss topics appropriate for their generation in meetings twice a month in council chambers and their suggestions then go to City Council for approval.
Senior students will serve an abbreviated term in 2017 while junior students will serve two years. Each successive year seven junior students are appointed to serve on the Youth Council for two years.
Councilmember Jim Burch preferred to keep council out of the decision process in favor of letting school administrators make the recommendations, however, the interview process was unanimously approved.
Other council news
In other business before council Monday night, members approved refinancing up to $130 million in city debt at a lower interest rate in order to save more than $3.5 million in payments. The target bonds were taken out between 2007 and 2011. The refinance will not add years to the city’s debt payments on the bonds as the end dates remain the same as first taken.
Enhancements to the medians on Coronado, Lucerne and Driftwood parkways leading visitors to the Cape Coral Yacht Club were approved by council Monday night. The contract with Tony’s Lawn & Landscaping was unanimously approved in the amount of $167,987.
Council also approved spending up to $307,000 to make necessary improvements to greens, tees and fairways at Cape Coral Golf Course.
The contractor is Detailed Sports Turf Construction Inc.
Council’s next meeting under the new schedule approved last year is on Jan. 23 with a special workshop session slated on Jan. 30.