AGENDA INFORMATION SHEET
AGENDA DATE: February 16, 2016
DEPARTMENT: Parks and Recreation
ACM: John Cabrales, Jr.
SUBJECT
Title
Receive a report, hold a discussion, and give staff direction regarding the establishment of a Teen Council to provide a teen perspective on programming and community issues related to the Parks and Recreation Department.
Body
BACKGROUND
The Denton Teen Council was originally formed in the summer of 1998 by the members of Adults for Youth in Denton (AFYID) organization. The Denton Teen Council started with 23 members. In 1999, the Executive Teen Council Committee was created with members elected by their peers in the Teen Council. In 2000, the oversight and supervision of the Denton Teen Council was transferred to the Denton Parks and Recreation Department due to the dissolution of AFYID. The Denton Teen Council was a very active group being involved in several community service projects (i.e., graffiti removal, bingo nights at The Vintage, etc.), creating and implementing numerous teen events (i.e., Battle of the Bands, Disco Inferno, Smart Rave, Back to School Pool Party) and implemented various fundraisers collecting over $12,000 (i.e., Brave Combo Concert & Silent Auction, Texas Motor Speedway, etc.). In addition, the Denton Teen Council would provide input to the Denton City Council on issues such as implementing a teen curfew. Due to the layoffs of several staff members and reorganization within the Denton Parks and Recreation Department in 2005, several programs, such as the Denton Teen Council, were eliminated.
In 2014, Denton Parks and Recreation staff met with over 200 teens from Denton High School, Ryan High School, Guyer High School, Harpool Middle School, Strickland Middle School, and McMath Middle School to discuss the creation of a Teen Center. Through conversations with the teens, it was apparent that there is a significant gap in services for teens in the City of Denton. Many of the teens ...
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