Charlie Maricle

The city of Brookings, along with 11 other cities, will receive a grant geared toward youth.

The grant is the first given by The National League of Cities MetLife Foundation.

No specific amount has been set for the grant but the money will go toward meetings with and technical assistance from the MetLife Foundation, Mike Whitford, Students’ Association senator, said.

“We’re planning a youth summit but we’re not quite sure what that will encompass yet,” he said.

Whitford, other SDSU students, Brookings high school students and Brookings City Manager Mike Williams form the Student Advisory Council. The council put together the proposal for the grant.

The council is designed to help make the city youth-and-student-friendly and also to address issues affecting students, Williams said.

“Basically we’re the student’s voice to work with the city on issues … that have to do with students at SDSU and the high school,” Whitford said.

The planned summit will bring all those voices together.

Leaders hope to produce a plan they can present to the foundation’s representatives when they arrive. No date has been set.

Williams sees the summit and the grant as a boost to youth and city cooperation.

Members of the advisory plan to identify issues and opportunities for Brookings youth during the summit.

“Hopefully this will give the Student Advisory Council more life and make it more a part of city government,” he said.

Decisions will be made in the next few months as to how the student group can help. The grant extends to June 30, 2003, but Whitford wants to put everything together as soon as possible.

“Hopefully, we’ve got a good idea of what we want to do before they get here so that we can present that to them and then they can give us their feedback. We don’t want them to come out here and then we’re kind of clueless,” he said.