The kids were in charge Wednesday night for the annual Kids’ Night at the Southgate city council meeting. Middle schoolers from Southgate Public School and St. Therese School took over city council roles for the evening and presided over the city’s business.
Serving as mayor, council member, city attorney, police chief, fire chief and other staff positions, students sat at the front of the room in council chambers, each representing a particular council or staff member. Adults who typically fill those roles sat nearby and helped the students understand and get comfortable in their various roles.
The room was packed with family and friends excited to see their students as city leaders for the day.
An annual tradition
Each year, schools select the participating students for the December council meeting, usually from grades six, seven and eight. The students then work with their teachers to prepare for various council and staff roles. The role of the mayor switches back and forth between the two schools every other year.
The event is sponsored by the Southgate Optimist Club and has been held every year. No one is certain exactly when the tradition began, but President Tom Fischer said he suspects the event has been held for decades. The club has been supporting area youth since its charter in 1946.
Mayor Jim Hamberg noted the event has been taking place at least since he first started on council.
“I’ve been on the council since 1990, and we’ve been doing this every year. We’ve only missed one year I think because of COVID, but this has been going on long before that,” he said.
“The city does a great job of bringing the kids together. And, it’s great to see both schools come together, just a great event…The Optimist Club and the city work with the schools to help build leadership capacity in our kids,” said Southgate Independent School District Superintendent Greg Duty.
Opening the meeting
Before the meeting began, Fischer welcomed the students and their families.
“Of all the things that we do by far this is, in my opinion, the coolest. It is just such a neat opportunity for the kids to get to see what it’s like to participate in a city council meeting and understand how the business of the city is run,” he said. “We’re also proud and happy to be doing this with the Southgate Optimist Club.”
With that, Miriam Van Ausdall, serving as Mayor Hamberg, banged the gavel to open the meeting. Van Ausdall, a student at St. Therese, started with a description of the mayor’s roles and duties. From there, she called upon each council member and staff to give their reports.
Taking care of city business
Each student opened by reading the duties of their particular council or staff member and then moved to the business of the meeting – giving city reports and voting to accept the reports.
Eighth-grader Diego Hernandez Mendez, a Southgate student, served as Police Chief John Christmann and gave the police department report, cautioning residents to lock their cars and be aware during this heavy shopping season. Logan Thompson, a student at St. Therese, represented city forman Avril Bowman and gave the public works report.
Another St. Therese student, Haylie Schuler, gave a report from council member Joe Anderson, who also serves as a liaison to the public safety departments. Nae’Ja Adams, a student from Southgate, served as council member Aileen Okura and shared information about the city’s upcoming holiday lights competition.
Niouma Diagana, a student at Southgate, represented city attorney Mary Ann Stewart and read a proclamation honoring VFW Post 3186 as “a friend to the city.”
At the end of reports and city business matters, Hamberg and Fischer thanked the students and gave them certificates of achievement.
In a final duty as council, the students voted approve a motion to adjourn and were joined for congratulations and refreshments with council and supporters.