The youth councillor on the City of Portage's Council is preparing for the next round of open houses for students. Donovan Hillman says it's important for students.

"I believe it's incredibly important to get the youth's ideas or opinions about the City of Portage. And the best way to do it, I've always said, is through the schools. The schools is the one way ticket to the students. Last October it was kind of a test project to see if it worked. And the results were amazing."

Hillman notes there's one change in the one houses in the next few days.

"The one at Westpark will be exactly the same. It was incredibly successful last time. The only thing I'm changing is the location at PCI. Last October it was held in the multi. Because of this it was kind of off to the side. This time we're going to be placed directly outside the school store, and as always, there'll be some free Tim Horton's Coffee and donuts."

He notes there will be free Tim Horton's coffee and donuts provided. The first open house is being held this Friday from 12:30 until 1:30 p.m. at Westpark School by the lunch room. The second is on Monday at PCI from 12:30 until 1:30 p.m.

He comments on last year's open houses. "I was surprised by the turnout, yeah. I go to PCI, so I'm trying to familiarize myself with Westpark as well. It really blew my mind. The things the youth were bringing up -- some of the concerns and questions as well as ideas, didn't really surprise me. It just added to support those ideas."