Hi Council Members-
Thank you for all your work on so many things. There is a lot to keep up on these days. As a parent of a teen who has really struggled with the current state of life, I would urge the council to consider how it could use that money to develop meaningful projects for teens to engage in. While the explosion of issues has school closure at its root, the small amount that school is re-open will do little to solve the mental health crisis that isolation has created. It needs a whole-of-community response. The school district is responsible for high schools across a broad swath of neighborhoods on the peninsula. Their priorities are on their academic programs and school-based supports. Our priorities should be supporting the mental health needs of our community, and most especially our teens. I don't have the answer, but the think power in our town is pretty significant and an answer can surely be thought of. The idea percolating in my head is something like WPA, but locally and for teens. There are projects around town that can be worked on by teens.
Another idea I had involves the beautification of Bayfront park. It came from an article that talked about how to best get wildflowers in place of invasive grasses. Planting the seeds amidst the grasses doesn't work, but clearing the grasses and planting already sprouted seeds is more successful. I think we could crowdsource the sprouting of small squares of wildflower seeds which could be gathered up and planted together in a swath of cleared soil in Bayfront park. The community would have shared in the growing of those plants and when all placed together would become a beautiful, self-sustaining wildflower meadow for years to come. The library can be involved, the teens, the littles with their seed starter sets at home, and every kite day, we'll enjoy the progress.
Just an idea I'm tossing around in my head. I have a conflict that keeps me from attending tonight's meeting, but I'll send in another comment specific to improvements in the Belle Haven neighborhood.
Jacqui Cebrian
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What I'm reading:
[Maybe Maybe Marisol Rainey (Maybe Marisol, 1)]
