Dayton city officials got an earful of ideas from a group of Dayton High School seniors at the October city council meeting.
Six Dayton High seniors shared their insights, concerns and ideas with council as part of an ongoing effort to foster more collaboration between the city and school community.
Earlier this year council heard ideas from students at Lincoln Elementary. One idea, the addition of a GaGa ball pit in Gil Lynn Park, made it into final renovation plans at the park. The pit was added last April.
Now it was the high school’s turn, and seniors took on the challenge as a project. At the meeting the students presented their input on three questions:
- What kind of city do we as seniors want to live in?
- What are the things we want to see happen in the city, and
- How can the city make changes so people want to continue living in Dayton.
The students speak
First up were Hailey McVey and Brooklynn Unsell. They focused first on the things they like about Dayton including its walkability, local schools, parks, shops and restaurants.
“Another thing we love is the flood wall,” said McVey. “It’s not only a beautiful place, but it’s also peaceful, and it’s a great way to spend time. It provides access to nearby restaurant and stores, and this area attracts people from surrounding cities like Bellevue and Newport.”
Unsell said the students like the closeness and support that comes from living in a small supportive community.
Also high on the students’ list were local events and, especially the recently renovated Gil Lynn Park.
Recommendations
Faith Kelly and Jaiden Sumler shared some recommendations for challenges identified by the students. They put these into four categories — more local activities, improved safety, park and public space improvements, and ideas for the future.
Kelly said, despite good amenities in the city, a lot of students spend their money outside Dayton. The students had some suggestions for keeping resident dollars in the city, as well as ways to attract others into the city.
She shared a list of ideas including a swimming pool, splash pad and water features; more fast food restaurants; a small movie theater; a stage with open mic nights where bands and choirs could perform and more local gardens.
“I think safety is one of the most important things that people look for when they’re looking for somewhere to live,” said Sumler. “I think more street lights and lights in parking lots would be very useful. It’s really scary at night, and lights in alleyways would be very helpful. I also think dog parks and pet friendly zones are a huge thing for safety.”
Sumler also said the students would like to see less focus on alcohol in the city.
“For example, as soon as you walk into Dayton, you see a huge liquor store,” said Sumler. “The sign for the liquor store says, ‘Huge varieties, and we serves cold liquors.’ I don’t think it’s a good representation of who we are as a community.”
Focus on parks and public spaces
“We love our parks and our public spaces, but there are just some minor changes that could be fixed or added, such as adding free Wi Fi to these parks and our public spaces,” said Natalie Stidham.
The students said they’d like to see a fence around the playground, but not around the entire park.
Nikki Hauser said, now that the new playground equipment has been installed at Gil Lynn, the students felt there should be posted clear guidelines for use of the equipment.
The students would also like to see the addition of a sand volleyball court at the park. Stidham said that when she’s walking around the city after school, she often sees younger kids playing at the park, but not teenagers.
“Normally they’re playing basketball, and that could be very intimidating for some other kids to go play or try to make friends,” said Stidham. “So I think adding this volleyball court, along with the already added pickleball court, will bring in more teenagers and young adults.”
Hauser also asked that the restrooms at Gil Lynn Park remain open.
City Administrator Jay Fossett explained the restrooms had been closed temporarily as the city had to clean up and repair the facilities after acts of vandalism. He noted the two minors who did the damage were recorded on camera and are going through the court system. He said the bathrooms have been reopened and will remain open during park open times.
Looking toward the future
The students then shared ideas for the future. As the city expands, Hauser said, they’d like to see more ramps to accommodate people with disabilities. They’d also like to see more grocery stores, noting that right now many elder and disabled people in particular have to take a ride service such as Uber out of the city to meet basic needs.
Lastly, Stidham said, the students would like to see more public art.
“We have a mural where the bridge is for the seniors, and that represents us as a senior class,” said Stidham. “But we think if we add more, it would make us look more alive and less dull, such as maybe a mural on an exposed wall of Hansmans or painting the alleyways to look less scary.”
“I walk home a lot, and I normally walk through alleyways, and it is very scary to walk through sometimes. I think painting them would distract from the thought of it being scary, and when other schools drive through Dayton to play our team… they would be able to see these murals and see how we can come together to create art.”
More student input welcome
City officials had several questions for the students, and said they appreciated their input and suggestions.
Mayor Ben Baker said the public mural suggestion hit a chord. The lack of public art was among the reasons he ran for council, he said. He was involved with the installation of a mural over Sixth Avenue next to the municipal parking lot. He’d like to see more, he said, and asked the students for suggestion for mural placement.
They responded with two ideas — the open wall on the Hansans grocery business and the wall of the building housing the Wayfarer Tavern. The businesses would need to be on board, the mayor said, but both were good suggestions.
Fossett noted wifi capabilities at some of the parks but said the city could speak with the provider Altafiber about expanding that capability in the city.
He also noted the fence in the park was taken down and will be replaced. New signage about playground equipment use has been added, but asked the students to look and see if the signage seems appropriate.
Fossett invited the students to present again at the city’s annual strategic planning session in the spring. The budget is set for the current fiscal year, but the planning session is a good time to consider projects for the coming year, and the students’ input would help city officials set priorities, he said.
“We want you guys to sit where we’re sitting now….expand your education, travel the world, and come back to Dayton, because Dayton is a great city, and we’re making it for you,” said council member Tarris Horton.
Council member Joe Neary encouraged the students to come to council with any ideas they have now or in the future after they graduate.
“No matter where you end up, I think you should always feel like you have every right to run for city council, to demand answers from city council, from the administration,” added council member Beth Nyman. “It’s very easy to get that feeling that you don’t have a right to speak. You’re not educated enough, you didn’t do the right thing, blah, blah, blah. But it’s all yours, all the time, your whole life. So please feel free to come here at any time or anywhere that you end up.”