By Peter Gibson

City of Edmonds representatives and Edmonds-Woodway High School students came together Monday afternoon at the high school to gather teens’ ideas that should be included in developing a Strategic Plan for Edmonds.

Those attending the workshop included Councilmembers Joan Bloom and Lora Pesto, Economic Development Director Stephen Clifton and Cultural Services Manager Francis Chapin. Edmonds Council student representative Alex Springer and I helped spark conversation.

The 10 students who participated gave very clear ideas on ways help shape the city to make it more teen friendly. The topics we chose to cover were the same topics that were covered at the March charette (brain-storming session): Highway 99 redevelopment, the waterfront, arts and culture and governance.

For Highway 99 redevelopment, students reflected on how they used to like to hang out at Ranch 99 Market. One student in particular mentioned a bubble tea shop where teens were able to buy drinks and play games after school. I mentioned that Dick’s Drive-In was a huge success for the city in terms of economic development on Highway 99. Dick’s offers cheap food and is open late, providing a great teen hangout for this area.

The Edmonds waterfront did not spark much conversation for the students. Some shared that they would like to have a convenient place to eat near one of the beaches.  I stressed that the beaches should stay open later and not be under the same rule of all parks closing at “dusk.” Also in this portion of the meeting, we talked about parks in Edmonds. One concerned teen felt like he and his friends aren’t wanted at local parks because they are too big to be running around near small children. I would not see this as a problem if some parks were open later, which would allow this age group could play Frisbee, tag or Fugitive till later in the evening.  Other suggestions were to have lighted basketball courts or play fields, so that teens would be able to play into the night.

Arts and Culture was a huge topic for these students. I stated how boring I thought Edmonds art was, and how I call it “gray hair art.” I was interested in what type of art would engage teens in Edmonds. Those at the meeting all expressed how cool it would be if we had a place where local students could go express themselves through music. A recommendation was to have a place downtown Edmonds set up on weekend nights where teens could go in and have an “open mike” sessions. This would be a great opportunity for a local business owner to step forward, open their doors later and have a few local students play. There is no doubt that business would thrive.

How can this age group become involved in local government? A student recommended that if the City wants to get students involved, they should have more student representatives. Not only have a student rep on the City Council, but have one on most of the boards and commissions. I believe it would be very valuable to have to have more student representatives. For instance, if we had a student rep on the arts commission, that person could express teens’ needs for an “open mike” night in downtown. Someone also recommended having city departments on Facebook, which could also tie in teenagers with local government.

I hope that these ideas are looked at by City Councilmembers and City Staff and taken into consideration. Teens do need to be more involved in planning processes. If any of these ideas come to life, then we could possibly revive “deadmonds” and make Edmonds more attractive to all age groups.

Peter Gibson, a 2011 graduate of Edmonds-Woodway High School, served as the high school’s City Council representative in 2010-11. Gibson is enrolled in the firefighter training program at Everett Community College.