Young Windham residents could play a greater role in town government if a proposal before the Town Council next week is successful.

Councilors will vote Nov. 25 on whether to establish a youth council that would observe their older counterparts while advising them on adolescent issues. The group would also plan and conduct community service projects.

The youth council would be modeled after the Lewiston Youth Advisory Council (LYAC), a 15-member youth board that has worked alongside the Lewiston City Council since 2002. Some Windham residents, including County Commissioner Malory Shaughnessy and Resource Officer Matt Cyr, have been discussing the idea of a youth council, and looked to the Lewiston group for direction.

Three LYAC members and two advisers attended a Town Council workshop Tuesday in Windham, and gave councilors an idea of how the group operates and how one could be formed in Windham. While there are no similar groups in Cumberland County, a few youth councils have been successful throughout the state, they said.

“We really try to show that even though you can’t vote, you can make a difference in your community,” said Luke Jensen, the youth council’s 17-year-old chairman.

Over the last six years, the LYAC has taken the lead in numerous projects throughout Lewiston, said Dottie Perham-Whittier, the group’s adviser. Among other things, she said, they created an electric message board at the entrance to Lewiston High School, conducted a noise pollution information campaign in response to complaints from residents, and created an anti-alcohol video presentation that is now distributed throughout the state.

The students were also instrumental in getting Lewiston named one of 10 All-America Cities by the National Civic League in 2007, a competition that brought the group to a national conference in Anaheim, Calif.

“They’ve done so many things over the years that they have really established a reputation for themselves and blown people away,” Perham-Whittier told the Town Council. “If you want to get something done, give it to the youth council.”

The students, who must apply for a council seat, are given the freedom to run the council how they see fit, Jensen said. They are treated with respect by the adults they deal with in Lewiston, which in turn pushes them to achieve higher goals and makes them feel a part of the community, he said.

“We lead all the meetings. We go over issues that we want to, projects that we want to take up,” Jensen said. No one should underestimate what the students can give to the community, he said. “If given the opportunity, I think you’ll find that they will really excel.”

Besides encouraging students to become involved in the community, a youth council also gives town officials and other residents a new set of eyes when looking at local issues, Shaughnessy said.

“They come from a different perspective,” she said. “Often times they come up with something adults never would have thought of.”

If the proposal is approved by the Town Council, a committee would be formed in Windham to include two town councilors and an adviser from the People’s Regional Opportunity Program in Portland, which also helps oversee the Lewiston group. An information session would likely be held in the next few weeks detailing the group’s purpose.

Later, the committee would review and decide on applications from interested students, who likely will have to submit a letter of recommendation from a teacher or school administrator. Selected students would undergo training during the next few months in order to be ready to start officially in September 2009.

Councilors Liz Wisecup and Carol Waig, as well as Town Manager Tony Plante, said the committee should look not only at the high-achieving, highly motivated students who are involved in multiple clubs and activities, but also at the less noticeable teens who may have something to offer if given a slight nudge.

“We wanted somebody from all walks of life,” said Waig.

Windham High School Principal Deb McAfee said the school system has strived in recent years to give students a hand in the projects that impact them at school. A youth council, she said, would take the logical next step.

“I just think it’s a natural progression to move some of the things we’ve been working on in school out into the community,” she said.