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New Alpena DDA youth board member excited to get involved

News Photo by Steve Schulwitz Alpena Downtown Authority member Corey Canute, left and new youth member Nick Lusardi participate in a DDA meeting on Tuesday. Lusardi is 17 years old and a junior at Alpena High School. He will serve a one-year term, but will be unable to vote on official business. He will also provide updates to his classmates at school, as well as share their thoughts, ideas, and concerns with the rest of the DDA board.

ALPENA — The Alpena Downtown Development Authority welcomed a new member to its board on Tuesday and he is one who the other board members hope helps make downtown more appealing to the younger generation.

Nick Lusardi, a 17-year-old junior at Alpena High School, took his oath of office and is now a non-voting member of the DDA board. He was interviewed by the political organization Government for Tomorrow — an organization that promotes youth getting more involved in government. The students also act as a liaison between local officials and report back to their classmates on developments, issues, and action taken by local officials.

Lusardi said when he learned of the opportunity to join a local board from Government for Tomorrow representatives, he was intrigued and decided to throw his name in the hat.

He said he was interviewed by the political group, which recommended him to the DDA, which in turn made the recommendation to the Alpena Municipal Council for appointment.

“I was intrigued by it because I’ve always been interested in government and politics,” Lusardi said. “It looked like a great opportunity to get involved in my community.”

Lusardi said he is excited to work with the other members of the board to learn more about the DDA, downtown, and what the plans for the district are. The DDA is in the midst of several projects, including expanding the district’s boundaries and implementing paid parking on portions of downtown.

Neither of those projects have been finalized or implemented yet, but Lusardi will be involved in the discussions, even if he isn’t allowed to vote.

He said he can’t wait to learn more, and go to school to update his classmates on what is being considered.

“I think this will provide a perspective of what is going on for not only one student, but all of the students, and that was really appealing to me,” Lusardi said. “Local government really doesn’t get a lot of time to interact with students, so having someone to go between local government and the school is important.”

Lusardi said he intends to talk to his peers at school and share their thoughts, ideas, and concerns with the rest of the DDA board. He said finding ways to draw youth downtown will only make it better.

“I think having things like more concerts or artistic endeavors would be interesting for us,” he said.

Although this is Lusardi’s first taste of politics and being on a board, he said he has no intention of running for office when he gets older. He said he will still remain involved in the community, probably be through volunteering and his career.

“It isn’t something I’m interested in,” he said. “I’m more interested in working at the ground level and in the trenches. Maybe in something like the medical field or teaching.”

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