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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-24-2026 Youth Commission Meeting MinutesMINUTES TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2026 SARATOGA YOUTH COMMISSION 7:00 P.M. MEETING Chair Xia called the Special Meeting to order at 7:00 PM ROLL CALL Present: Commissioner Chiu, Commissioner Xia, Commissioner Chen, Commissioner Fugman, Commissioner Jain, Commissioner Agarwal Absent: Commissioner Suh, Commissioner Aribi, Commissioner Lee, Commissioner Miin, Commissioner Anand Also Present: ● Jocelyn Binn, Administrative Analyst ● Gavin Chang ● Keawe Ainoa ● Arush Savla ● Rishan Peer ● Shreya Venkata ● Reya Venkata ● Katherine Liu ● Cheryl Aivan ● Nicole Lin ● Austin Zhao ● Alvin Siamwalla ● Ari Siamwalla ● Rachid Siamwalla ● Elaine Che ● Jason Chang, Public Attendee (ZOOM) ● Nimai Kumar, Public Attendee (ZOOM) ORAL COMMUNICATIONS ON NON-AGENDIZED ITEMS AGENDA ITEMS: Commissioner Aribi arrived at 7:04 PM, Commissioner Lee arrived at 7:03 PM, Commissioner Suh arrived at 7:04 PM 1. Youth Commission Minutes Recommended Action: Review and approve the minutes from the January 27, 2026 regular meeting. Commissioners reviewed the 1/27/26 meeting minutes. Commissioners pointed out that the name “Fugman” was misspelled as “Fugmen”, and the Treasurer Report “Recommended Action” section referred incorrectly to the treasurer as “newly elected”. Once the review was completed, Chair Xia made a motion to approve the minutes with the changes and Commissioner Fugman seconded the motion. The motion was unanimously approved. 2. Civic Digest Recommended Action Receive presentation from Civic Digest. The Youth Commission heard a presentation from youth-led organization Civic Digest, which aims to make local politics more accessible and understandable to the public. They create clear and concise briefs on City Council meetings, elections, and legislatio n. They are a group of five dedicated high schoolers working from San Jose, and they are trying to scale to nearby cities like Saratoga in order to bring this resource to more communities. Commissioner Chen asked what backend they use to support their website. Commissioner Xia asked how they condense thirty-page agendas into such concise summaries; they responded by explaining that they remove linguistic “fluff” from agendas, bills, and election campaigns. Gavin Cheng explained that their proposal for the Youth Commission is that the Commission spread the word about Civic Digest’s mission in the local community. 3. Discuss Future Events Recommended Action: St. Patrick’s Day, Lunar New Year; review agenda planner Staff Liaison Binn requested that the Youth Commission finalize the crafts they will be offering at the upcoming Lunar New Year and St. Paddy’s Day community events. The Commission decided to continue using the Lunar New Year cat crafts from 2025. Commissioners will finalize staff chaperones for the event by the end of the week. For St. Paddy's Day, Commissioner Xia suggested a construction-paper craft idea with gold coin stickers. Commissioner Jain brought up that the Youth Commission painted nails at previous years’ events, which was a popular offering, but the Commission was concerned that it might be very messy and hard to keep organized. Staff Liaison Binn suggested making the decision as a temporary committee and informing the commission afterwards. They also confirmed that there will only be one shift at the St. Paddy’s Day event, as it will only run from 2-4pm. 4. Discuss Subcommittees and Reports/Memo Recommended Action: Farmers’ Market, Bingo Night, SED Talks, Coffeehouse, & Parks and Recreation Hike For the Farmer’s Market Temporary Committee, Commissioner Agarwal met with the Black Student Union, and said that they had finalized their craft plan for the farmer’s Market event. She requested that the Youth Commissioners publicize the event at their respective schools. The Bingo Night Temporary Committee had a meeting with Samuel last month to plan the event and confirm the Youth Commission’s role. Commissioner Fugman noted that a student-run nonprofit that works with senior citizens has offered to publicize the event. Commissioner Chiu explained that the SED Talks Temporary Committee met with the Teen Advisory Board at Joan Pisani on February 7th to go over the audio system for the event. They have confirmed all three of their speakers. Commissioner Jain mentioned that TAB has sent the flyer and that one of the speakers has been changed. Staff Liaison Binn noted that the SED Talks banners have arrived and that they will be put on display early. The Coffeehouse Temporary Committee has created a flyer proposal. Most of the details have been ironed out, and they explained that they will ramp up advertising of the event as soon as the flyer has been approved. Commissioner Xia said that the Community Hike Temporary Committee has confirmed a trail and a date for the event. They plan to continue the I-Spy and pre-hike yoga activities if possible, but they also may invite figures in local politics to the hike. Comm issioner Chen cautioned that it may take away from the hike to incorporate scheduled time for these participants to speak. 5. Youth Commission Apparel Recommended Action: Receive updates on apparel Staff Liaison Binn announced that the Youth Commission apparel has been ordered and that it will be delivered in a week. 6. Marketing Chair Report Recommended Action: Receive report from Co-Marketing Chairs Co-Marketing Chair Chen said that the Farmer’s Market flyer has been created and said it will be posted on Instagram shortly. He said the Bingo Night flyer has been created, they are just waiting on information for the dates. Co-Marketing Chair Chiu noted that the Co-Chairs have created a Google drive for even photos, but they are unable to share it with the rest of the Commission because of the Brown Act. Commissioner Chen suggested temporary committees designate members to take photos at events. 7. Treasurer Report Recommended Action: Receive report from Treasurer Commissioner Jain stated that $800 have been spent on the Youth Commission merchandise and $400. The commission has $1749.59 left. Commissioner Xia reiterated that the Commission has allocated $150 for “big” events. Commissioner Chen brought up a concern about budgeting for St. Paddy’s Day, and noted that nail polish may be expensive. 8. City Report Recommended Action: Receive report from staff of City updates and review attendance and participation and parent chaperones Staff Liaison Binn informed the commission of upcoming events and activities taking place in the city, including the Mayor’s office hours at the Farmer’s Market, the Saratoga Evacuation Seminar, and the Quarry Park Cleanup. ADJOURNMENT Chair Xia adjourned the meeting at 7:52 PM Minutes respectfully submitted: Vice Chair Fugman