By BOB SHRALUKA
WZBD.com
Some lightly used rooms in Decatur City Hall may soon become more active.
One will be used as an activity room for the Mayor’s Youth Council, launched late last year. The other could be converted into a workout/exercise room for city employees.
At the recent meeting of Decatur City Council, Mayor Dan Rickord asked council for permission to use a ground-floor room for the youth council. The room is used little, is mostly a “catch-all” room now, he told council, which readily approved.
The mayor said he has talked with officials at Mishawaka, where a youth council was given space in city hall. “They said it has been a really good thing,” according to Rickord.
After plans for the youth council were initially snagged by the pandemic, the mayor finally got it organized late in 2022.
The group has 12 members, representing all four high school classes. They meet regularly with the mayor and attend meetings, such as the latest council meeting when Victoria Hamrick, Lillian Garner and Brianna Converset were on hand.
“And we had a meeting earlier today, so they’ve had a long day,” Rickord said of the trio.
In a Facebook post last year, North Adams said the following: “Community is one of our core values at North Adams. We also believe that young people deserve a seat at any table that important decisions are being made. Our aim is to increase youth engagement in small/local government. Bellmont students will attend city meetings and also work on a capstone project.”
Meanwhile, a little-used room on City Hall’s second floor could become a fitness/exercise room, as proposed by city Building/Zoning Superintendent Curt Witte.
Witte told council he has a considerable amount of exercise equipment which he once used but now has stored away. “It’s just collecting dust; I don’t mind sharing it,” he told council.
“People could use it on their lunch hour, after work,” the mayor noted. Councilmen Wylie Sirk and Tyler Fullenkamp strongly supported the idea.
It was decided to “look into the matter a little more,” Rickord said, thinking of who could use such a room, when it would be open, etc..