The idea of creating a Junior City Council in Kenmore has been floating around for the past few years, and despite some community interest, it may be dead in the water for the time being.

Corina Pfeil is a community advocate and mother who has approached various school and government officials with the idea of creating a Junior City Council.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity for kids who may want to one day get into city government or civic duties,” she said.

Responsibilities for members includes attending city meetings, reading and understanding city documents and voicing their input on issues.

“I think having a youth perspective of the community that they live in, I think it’s very important,” said Kenmore Mayor David Baker, who has been working with the idea of creating a Junior Council since 2009.

Baker and the Kenmore City Council set up youth positions on various city departments including the planning and library departments. To date, only the library position has been filled.

“We can’t get the first step done, which is the planning commission,” Baker said.

Commonly cited concerns from parents include the workload, which high school students already have, and the scheduling of city meetings, which are often held at night during the school week, Baker said.

Auburn has had a Junior City Council for the past few years, in which time Executive Assistant to the Mayor Tammie Bothell said they’ve been a great help.

“They have so many great ideas,” she said. “They just bring a new youth perspective to things, and it just keeps us connected to the youth of the community.”

The Auburn Junior City Council recently started their own community-wide anti-bullying initiative after deciding as a group to try and tackle the problem, Bothell said.

This student-driven design is essential to Auburn’s model, which allows students to have a voice in city governance.

“Seeing where they want to grow this I think is number one,” said Bothell.

Students must live in Auburn to be eligible for the council, with the majority of seats going to public school students since the program is funded by the city, with at least one reserved for home schoolers or private school students.

Pfeil hopes Kenmore will create a program, viewing a lack of interest as something which can be addressed.

“I think the problem is an idea, a specific task list and then pulling in the right resources,” she said.

Her vision for a council would involve students working on park improvements, bike safety education and other jobs which she said adults may not be as interested in volunteering for but which she says look great on college and professional resumes.

“There’s opportunities for these kids to pay their way toward better college opportunity by being involved in the local community,” she said.

Baker said he still believes a Junior City Council would be an asset to the city, and is still open to setting one up if there is enough public interest.

There are currently two interns from Inglemoor High School working as event and organizing assistants for city events in Kenmore as volunteers as opposed to city council-appointed positions.

Beyond giving students more skills for future success, Pfeil also thinks there’s a simpler reason to include younger voices in city government.

“Community isn’t just about adults or seniors,” she said. “It’s also about youth.”