If there’s one constant feature of the council meetings that regularly take place at the Evesham municipal building, it’s that members of the council are usually the ones on the dais conducting the meeting.
Not this time.
The evening of June 3 marked the Evesham Township Youth Advisory Committee’s inaugural “Mock Town Council Meeting” during which members of YAC sat in front of an audience of their fellow YAC members, as well as members of the community, and led a simulation of a township council meeting.
Councilwoman Debbie Hackman started YAC several years ago to support the township through involving young in various service projects, and Hackman said the mock meeting was a way to showcase the group’s leadership skills as well as learn about the process of local government.
At the June 3 meeting, YAC members Rachel Patel, Marissa Flocco, Nicole Florio, Amy Wesley and Rachel Hackman were tasked with listening to the public’s conflicting opinions on various scenarios regarding the fictional township of Sunnydale and then voting on solutions.
One of the issues tackled at the mock meeting regarded an attempt to control the longstanding issue of youth skateboarding in Sunnydale by building a skate park at an old shopping center, which might have the consequence of wiping out the native “silly-bird,” which was already endangered.
One “resident of Sunnydale” from the audience who voiced his concerns was “Al Silly” who looked suspiciously similar to Evesham resident Al Lutner.
The gentleman said his great grandfather several times over actually named the Silly-Bird, so the health of the species was important to him, and said he also lived near the proposed skate park and wondered about what the hours were going to be.
“If there are lights, that means I can’t sleep at night, and if there are skateboarders there during the day, my cat can’t sleep and that’s really not a good thing, so I really hope that somehow that there won’t be lights,” said Lutner, under the guise of Al Silly.
Another member of the public to speak was “Frank Salvatore,” who could have very easily been mistaken for Evesham Deputy Mayor Bob DiEnna.
This concerned citizen asked if the council considered the proximity of the skate park to the fire department and the response time of EMTs in the event an accident.
“Did you think about the additional insurance costs to the community?” asked Salvatore, the DiEnna lookalike.
A young man calling himself “Bryan,” a near double of YAC member Anish Wagh, said he was a hardcore skateboarder and the park would really help him.
“I need to improve my skills because I’m not very good at school so I’m going to be a pro-skateboarder and I’m going to make millions and live in a big mansion, so this skate park, I really really need it to be there,” said the Anish duplicate.
Yet another “resident” who spoke on several issues was “General Angry Guy,” a possible cousin or maybe even brother of Evesham Township Manager Tom Czerniecki, who said he represented the Taxpayers’ Coalition of Sunnydale.
“You guys keep spending our money on these sort of things, and we’re really getting tired of it, so I’d like to know exactly how many more people we have to hire to maintain and patrol this thing?” the Czerniecki doppelganger asked.
After listening to the public, responding to questions and considering the issue, mock council members Rachel Patel, Marissa, Nicole and Amy voted yes to the skate park, with Hackman voting no.
After the meeting was later adjourned, mock council member Hackman, daughter of actual Evesham Councilmember Debbie Hackman, described the event as fun, and called the meeting “an eye opener.”
“People see the council up on stage and they put the pressure on them because they want things done because they elected them to do things, but they don’t realize that it’s hard,” Rachel said. “They have to help both sides; it has to be a compromise. You can’t just go one way.”
Those looking for more information on joining YAC or who just want to learn more about the group’s activities can email Debra Rumbos at rumbosd@evesham-nj.gov.
