Riverton City Council considering youth council

RIVERTON — Feeling disempowered is not uncommon among young people. Teenagers especially can feel that they have little control around them, and having an impact on city government of all things can seem a bit out of reach.

But a new proposal on the table for the Riverton City Council aims to create an advisory branch to city government, one completely comprised of area teenagers.

The proposal, dreamed up by a group of Riverton High School students themselves, would create a new youth council that would assist elected leaders with tapping into the creativity, ideas, work and input from Riverton’s young people.

“In Wyoming, especially, we have a scarcity of opportunities for young people,” Aurora Baldes told city council members last week, adding that that scarcity contributes to youth looking outside the state for inclusive opportunities.

“A youth council gives students a real chance to make an impact on their community … It tells us that our voice matters,” James Pierson added. “The council will be a bridge for interaction and feedback for our youth.”

Some of the details – such as term length and the size of the council – are expected to be hammered out as the first youth council creates its bylaws, but the concept aims to solicit youth council members from every corner of the Riverton community.

Geographically speaking, city limits won’t hold back kids in the county from joining; the council is expected to be open to kids with a Riverton address who live outside the city and potentially mirror the Fremont County School District #25’s boundaries.

Senior Ayana Mejorado said as she’s getting ready to graduate, she won’t be eligible to serve on the council, but it’s something she wants for her sister and other Riverton young people.

She’s eyeing a career in the bio medical engineering field, but she said she has a strong desire to come home after college and make a difference in her home state.

“I want to come back to Wyoming, and I would actually love to do something like you do, representing people,” she explained. “Coming back to represent Wyoming is actually a goal of mine.”

Mejorado said giving youth a voice that is actually heard by city leaders is the number one priority of the youth council, as kids in Riverton often feel like there’s nothing to do and their feedback doesn’t matter.

“I think that line of communication just being established in the first place is the biggest goal,” Mejorado said.

The youth council will have the ability to bridge the gap and communicate youth input quickly with city leaders.

“I think this provides a great perspective that the vast majority of communities out there are lacking,” council member Eric Carr told the group.

“I’m incredibly supportive of this. I think that giving our youth a voice is something that’s desperately needed in our community,” added council member Karen Johnson.

She said she wanted to ensure that the application process solicited a diversity of students, from geography to schools, that would make the council as well rounded as possible.

While the council hasn’t yet voted to formalize the youth council, city leaders expressed support for the proposal at last week’s work session.

The tentative plan is for the city to begin advertising next month for students to apply to be part of the youth council, with applications closing in August and the new youth council to be selected and formed at the beginning of the next school year.

This story was published on April 16, 2025.