BRADENTON BEACH – Mayor John Chappie, City Attorney Ricinda Perry and the city of Bradenton Beach have invited 75 Bradenton Christian School third-graders to participate in the “Youth In Politics – Elementary Students Take Over Local Government Day” pilot program.
Taking place at Bradenton Beach City Hall and several other locations throughout the city, the inaugural event has been scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 25.
It will coincide with Florida City Government Week 2018, taking place Oct. 22-28. Supported by Gov. Rick Scott’s 2017 proclamation, City Government Week is sponsored by the Florida League of Cities (FLC).
According to the FLC website, Florida City Government Week was created to help raise public awareness about the services cities perform and the workings of city government.
“Cities are encouraged to involve their local schools, businesses, media and civic clubs in planning City Government Week activities,” the FLC website says.
The third-graders will be divided into three groups and each group will participate in a mock City Commission meeting at city hall. Student mayors and commissioners will rule on the fictional “Case of the Barking Dog,” which involves a noise complaint and a permitting request to build a dog house. Other students will serve as the building official, the city clerk, police officers and newspaper reporters.
While one group is conducting its commission meeting, the other groups will visit the police department, the Bradenton Beach Fire Hall and possibly the Public Works Department. Students will also walk across the street from city hall to the beachfront City Park to visit volunteers and animals from Wildlife Inc. Education & Rehabilitation Center and AMI Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring.
Resident volunteers will read to students at Tingley Memorial Library and Commissioner Marilyn Maro will host play activities at Lou Barolo Park.
Anna Maria Oyster Bar President John Horne will provide a healthy lunch buffet at the Historic Clock Tower on the Bridge Street Pier and Beach House owner Ed Chiles and executive chef Will Manson will provide a sustainable seafood and farm fresh food tasting extravaganza.
Paradise Boat Tours’ General Manager Sherman Baldwin offered to take the students on a boat tour and Commissioner Jake Spooner, owner of The Fish Hole, is offering free putt-putt golf.
Commissioner Ralph Cole, owner of Coastal Watersports, offered to give a boating safety class near City Park and said he’d asked members of the county marine patrol to join him.
Commission all in
Chappie and Perry presented their concept to the City Commission on Thursday, Oct. 4. The commission fully supported the event and authorized Chappie’s request to issue a press release.
“There is something for everyone and we look forward to making this Youth In Politics program a lasting one to show the next generation that government can be fun, positive and great,” the press release says.
Perry’s daughter, Victoria, is a member of this year’s third-grade class at Bradenton Christian School. The school was selected for the pilot program because of the short time frame and the school’s status as a private school. Chappie and Perry hope to garner interest from the Manatee County School Board during this year’s event and include Anna Maria Elementary and other public schools next year.
“When the mayor and I were talking, I said I’m sickened by the way politics have become viewed in our nation. I think this is an opportunity for our city and our elected officials to reach the next generation and teach them the right way to run politics – while also sharing the beauty of what Bradenton Beach is,” Perry said.
“When I sat down with the teachers and my leadership team at the school I had a number of them say, ‘I didn’t know Bradenton Beach had all this. I want to bring my family out to visit.’ I see this also as a grassroots opportunity to bring 75 kids out, experiencing our city and taking that story home,” Perry said.
As a secondary benefit, Perry believes the student event would provide additional exposure for the Bradenton Beach business community that’s still recovering from red tide.
“We also talked about having designated reporters to do a story on the adventure here,” Chappie said, expressing hope that the students’ stories might appear in local newspapers and in FLC’s “Quality Cities” magazine.
“I’m amazed at how excited people are,” Chappie said.
