Eleven teens lined Joe’s trail last April in Congress Springs Park, armed with colored powder to pelt at oncoming runners of all ages in the annual Color Dash.

But these weren’t just any teens — they were part of the Saratoga Youth Commission, a group of appointed teens who are residents of Saratoga. Of the 11 members this year, four attend Saratoga High: senior Kami Cheatham, junior Mary Elizabeth Miller, and two freshmen, Nithya Koneru and Naisha Agarwal.

The commission’s role, according to its mission statement, is to “serve as a liaison between the young citizens of Saratoga and the City Council,” as well as “plan, promote and participate in community service, educational and fun activities for the City's youth.”

Miller said applicants must be in seventh to 12th grade and live in Saratoga.

To apply, they must fill out a form, write a 100-word essay explaining why they would like to be join the commission, attend a Youth Commission meeting and participate in as many Youth Commission hosted events as possible. Miller said that applicants also go through an interview process with council members.

According to Saratoga mayor Mary-Lynne Bernald, council members interviewed around 50 applicants last spring and accepted only six to fill in the six empty seats. The newly appointed commissioners were sworn in last May. One term is two years each, and commissioners cannot serve consecutive terms.

Youth Commission meets twice a month on every other Tuesday. According to Koneru, they start off meetings by reviewing the agenda, which includes going through past minutes, discussing past events, covering what they learned and hope to improve in the future and then planning more events. Bernald attends their work plan meeting in September, where they discuss the year’s events.

Cheatham, who is currently serving her second year in her first term, explained that the commission is directly connected to the city council.

“This commission was made because the [city council] wants our voice on teen matters,” Cheatham said. “City council is a bunch of adults, so how would they know what we need?”

One of the issues Youth Commission will be focusing on this year is teen stress. For example, they are planning to host a spring dog social at a park where residents can play with therapy dogs at the event and are encouraged to bring their own dogs, too. Currently, there is no set date, time or place.

Another issue Youth Commission hopes to highlight is the  JUUL and nicotine addiction epidemic overtaking teens. Cheatham spoke on this issue at the Oct. 3 city council meeting. In less than three minutes, she explained to council members how the popularity of flavored nicotine and tobacco products have only increased, and how she had witnessed the downfall of many of her peers due to addiction.

As a result, the council members voted to tighten rules regarding the sale of tobacco products to minors, to ban the sale of all flavored tobacco products exempting menthol, and to ban the sale of tobacco products in pharmacies within Saratoga.

“Our name isn’t stamped onto [legislation], but a lot of it comes from us,” Cheatham said of the commission’s efforts.

Events they plan to host and help organize include the aforementioned Color Dash, the dog social, a Christmas tree lighting ceremony in downtown Saratoga, a movie night in December, a tree planting event in October and a Halloween Witchy Walk in downtown. Another event they host annually is Walk On week, where elementary and middle school students are encouraged to walk or bike to school and be more active.

The commission markets its events by hanging up and handing out flyers at local hotspots, such as the Saratoga Library and Starbucks. They acknowledge that many teens do not know about or attend their events, but they hope to change that.

“Our demographic ranges from 5-year-olds to families, because it’s kind of hard to get high schoolers to go to a movie night,” Cheatham said. “That middle gap is what we’re missing, and we’re trying to connect that.”

The commission plans to promote their events to teens by asking the school to advertise on daily announcements and by hanging flyers throughout the school.  

Mayor Bernald attends all of the commission’s meetings. According to Cheatham, Bernald gives them her exact input and expectations on what needs to be accomplished. In September, Bernald helped them plan their events for the year.

The Youth Commission provides an opportunity to give back to a city that has raised them with a supportive environment, Cheatham said.

“It’s always good to interact with your community,” Koneru said. “I think it’s a great way of volunteering and meeting new people.”

Youth Commission members ultimately enjoy being active in their community, dedicating their time to the city events that occur throughout the year.

Bernald believes a lot of the successes of community events are due to the help of the Youth Commission.

“Many of the activities put on by individual community members, the Recreation Department, the Saratoga Village Development Council, and the City Council would not be the successes they are without the services of the Youth Commission,” said Bernald. “Their man and she-power is invaluable.”