Lasting less than ten minutes, the first Charleston city council meeting of 2010 was one of the shortest in recent memory.

With no action items on the agenda, the council had little to discuss and only voted on the consent agenda and a separate bill for the city to pay. The consent agenda consisted of the minutes from the last meeting on Dec. 15, the payroll for the pay period of Jan. 8 and the bills payable for January.

However, no one was as disappointed in the brief meeting as Danny Hudson, 15.

Hudson attended the meeting in an attempt to earn a citizen badge as a member of the Charleston Boy Scout Troop 141.

His assignment was to write a report about the meeting and respond to a discussion that was held.

He was able to participate in the meeting by leading the council and audience in the Pledge of Allegiance to begin the meeting.

Kayleigh Zyskowski can be reached at 581-7942 or kzykowski@eiu.edu