The heyday of the Manteca Youth Commission was arguably back in the early 1990s.

The City Council back then took the initiative to seek the input of teens via the commission on city issues involving youth.

The highest profile request was for setting new rules for cruising that was allowed in Manteca at the time.

There had been issues with the weekend night cruising.

Some on the council wanted to pull the plug.

Willie Weatherford, who was police chief at the time, was asked for his input at a council  meeting.

Weatherford noted that the cruise did have a benefit as it gave teens something to do in a place where an eye could be kept on them.

The council decided to seek input from the youth commission about cruising in general and any suggestions they had to improve it.

Ultimately, the city pulled the plug on cruising after one fateful Saturday when county law enforcement shut down a concert at the Oakwood amphitheater. Many of the attendees, as they were dispersing, decided to head to Manteca to check out the cruise.

By the time the sun rose on Sunday morning, downtown streets looked like the aftermath of an open air rock concert with litter everywhere including an ample amount of empty beer cans and bottles.

Nearby front yards were semi-trashed and a number of participants relieved themselves on landscaping.

The pinnacle event, if you can call it that, was someone discharging a firearm. No one was hurt but it did kill off cruising.

The City Council conducted an emergency meeting 35 hours after the weapon discharged and outlawed cruising.

That said, before that weekend cruising related problems were improving thanks to teen buy in that the city had secured by having the youth commission play a role in devising the solution.

In response to the loss of the cruise, the commission recommended a street dance to give youth something to do on summer weekends.

The city provided seed money, Industrial Park Drive that was stubbed off at the edge of the Manteca Industrial Park was blocked off, a trucking firm provided a flatbed trailer for bands and several teen street dances were conducted.

Yes, that was 30 or so years ago.

Feedback input involving devising solutions for cruising and promoting street dances as healthy teen diversions may be out of touch with today’s world as zoot suits from back in the 1940s are to today’s Y2K fashion revival among youth.

That said, the council at the time actually sought to actively engage teen input instead of just hoping it would happen.

It dovetailed into the stated youth commission’s purpose “to enhance communications between youth and City government, provide a forum for discussion and resolution of issues affecting youth, and to involve youth in a constructive way to address and resolve issues that affect Manteca residents.”

“The Commission advises the City Council and City management on issues including youth recreational activities, gang prevention, graffiti prevention and removal, drug and alcohol abuse prevention in conjunction with other community-based organizations such as Partners in Prevention, and other issues requested by the City Council, City management and members of the commission.”

On Tuesday, individual council members indicated they wanted to make the youth commission relevant again.

They could do so by actively seeking feedback from teens on various issues facing the city, even if it is not teen specific.

Or they could rethink the mission statement and set aside some cash to help the commission be an effective vessel as an agent of change in Manteca.

Arguably, finding ways to more effectively plug youth into the community on a civic level beyond what is now happening through various community groups may be more critical than ever as the city nears 100,000 residents.

Here’s one thought in how the commission could impact the community as well as showcase teens.

They could be tasked with finding ways for teens to interact with the community as a whole by having them program various downtown city venues.

Completely non-utilized venues such as the Library Park gazebo with its 75-seat amphitheater style seating plus extensive lawn seating could host teen organized concerns drawing on talent from high school music programs.

Better yet, ask the youth commission what they would do to bring people downtown and to get teens from all of the city’s high schools to come together.

Give them the ability to use Library Park, the gazebo stage, and the community room and/or outdoor plaza at the transit center, for various events they may come up with.

While adults might think of somewhat stoic events such as art shows, teens could come up with cutting edge ideas.

Even better, the City Council could go one step further and encourage the youth commission and senior advisory commission to collaborate on events or even programs.

It may take a small budget that can be accessed by the commission.

And you would likely need staff time committed.

Another community services position can easily be justified just based on the city’s growth. One of their duties could be serving as the liaison for the youth commission.

Another idea would be for a council member being in regular attendance at youth commission meetings.

Not only does that send a positive message the council is serious about upping the city’s engagement with youth, but it would allow direct communication with those elected to establish municipal policies that will steer Manteca into the future.

If the council is serious about harnessing the potential of the youth commission they need to back up their words.

And that may call for the City Council and the just appointed commission members to conduct a brainstorming study session that also allows the public to offer input.

The goal would be to make the teen commission not just relevant and active but an integral force in moving Manteca’s future course as a community.

This column is the opinion of editor, Dennis Wyatt, and does not necessarily represent the opinions of The Bulletin or 209 Multimedia. He can be reached at dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com