By BOB SHRALUKA
WZBD.com
When Dan Rickord moved into Decatur’s mayoral office in January of 2020, one of his prime goals was to establish a youth council, getting local students to become involved in various aspects of the city.
But the pandemic took over soon after, stalling so many aspects of life. As the pandemic began to wane, larger, more important projects, continued to crop up. Finally, last year, the Mayor’s Youth Council – comprised of Bellmont High School students – came to fruition.
Tuesday night, the second version of the council stepped squarely into the spotlight, unveiling plans for a local beautification program to the city council. The students, along with Community Coordinator Jamie Gephart, will oversee much of the program, helping to choose which proposed projects are acceptable.
The program will work much like the city’s facade and 50/50 sidewalk programs. A resident will apply for a grant from the program detail its proposed project and the cost, and, if approved, will have the city match the amount requested.
City council will administer the program and have final say on all matters.
After five members of the youth council –Andrea Curtis, Everett Colclasure, Oliver Goble, Payton Miller and Victoria Hamrick – presented various aspects of the program Tuesday night at City Hall, city council members and the students discussed the various aspects, with several questions being posed and answered.
Councilman Matt Dyer asked if renters would be eligible to apply for funds and it was agreed that they would, but the property owner must be identified on the application
The city set aside $15,000 for the beautification program in this year’s budget. The maximum amount awarded will be $500, or $750 if submitted with the immediate neighbor.
Applications will be online in various places.
“The whole idea for this,” Rickord said, “is we’d love to see things looking nice as we drive around the city. I’m excited to see some areas cleaned up, and to have these students work on this project.”
City Attorney Anne Razo thanked the students “for all that you have done on this.”
The mayor added: “This is going to be a great program. I’m looking forward to it.”
Council gave its enthusiastic approval to moving forward with the program.
(More program details will be provided in this space as they become available.)