Anna Newhoff
NCR Reporter
Hilliard Elementary School fifth graders took over the Hilliard Town Council meeting Oct. 23, stepping into the shoes of local leaders for the evening.
As part of Florida City Government Week, six students were elected by their classmates to lead the meeting. Milee Smith served as mayor with Anniston Eddy, Knox Payne, Gentry Pickett, Eli Thigpen, and Stratton Wingate filling the council seats.
The fifth-grade council discussed topics that students believe are important to the needs of the town, which included a town happy festival, fixing town roads, protecting trees, having more access to health care in town, and building more stores with government taxes to pay for first responders.
These topics were inspired by HES student essays titled “If I were Mayor,” which described what the students would improve if they were mayor.
Smith led the meeting with guidance from Mayor John Beasley and Town Clerk Lisa Purvis. Throughout the discussion, the students often found common ground, especially on ways to make the town more fun.
“Maybe like an Easter Festival, and we could all have a big Easter egg hunt,” Thigpen said.
Others proposed holding a fair similar to the one in Callahan. Wingate offered a suggestion that drew laughs from the audience.
“The way that we can probably get more police officers, is like, put up more speed signs, so the police can hide somewhere.”
Among those in attendance was Nassau County School Board Member Joe Zimmerman, who praised the students during public comment.
“I want to congratulate you guys on having an excellent session tonight and echo your calls for preserving trees to save the lives of animals, but possibly not creating more hiding spots for police officers,” he said.
reporter@nassaucountyrecord.com