All right.

The Benn City Council will now meet in executive session pursuant to RS one nine two six six zero two to conduct E to conduct deliberations with persons designated to negotiate real property transactions.

Representatives, representatives of the news media, and designated staff shall be allowed to attend the executive session.

Representatives of the news media are specifically directed not to report on any of the deliberations during the executive session, except to state the general subject of the session as previously announced.

No decision may be made in executive session.

At the end of executive session, we will return to open session.

Okay, thanks.

Good evening, everybody.

Start down on your end, Councilor Mendez.

Mike Riley, he him.

Melanie Keebor, she, her.

Megan Perkins, she, her.

Megan Norris, she, her.

Steve Plack, he him.

Great.

Thank you, everybody.

Oh, sorry, I'm here to say.

It's all good.

Um, okay, great.

So we're gonna start first with the proclamation.

Uh, Council Riley.

Um I'm gonna read a proclamation called the Day of Solidarity with Ukraine.

Um, it's an honor for me to um read this tonight on behalf of the community and express our support for Ukraine.

I am about one quarter Ukrainian right myself, so it's particularly um for me to be able to do this.

So day of solidarity with Ukraine.

Uh, February twenty-fourth, two thousand twenty-six marks the fourth anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

A date that serves as a solemn reminder of the brutality of modern war and the resilience, courage, and enduring strength of the Ukrainian people.

Ukrainian refugees have found refuge in Bend in Central Oregon, becoming valued members of our community and contributing to its cultural diversity, economy, and social fabric, while carrying lived experiences of displacement, loss, and perseverance.

Bend is situated on lands that have long been home to indigenous peoples, and these lands continue to carry the story of their presence, resilience, and stewardship, offering a place where communities seeking safety and belonging can gather and rebuild.

And the Ukrainian community of Central Oregon, together with the city of Bend and the broader community, seeks to honor this day by fostering cultural inclusion, connection, and understanding through community gatherings and reflective observances.

And alongside public gatherings honoring Ukrainian resilience, arts-based initiatives also provide an essential and complementary safe space for remembrance and collective witnessing, including the installation of red dress plus white dress, threads from silenced nations.

This art installation is presented this coming weekend by Kolovita in collaboration with the Red River Metis artist Jamie Black Morset.

The red dresses tell the story of the epidemic of racialized violence against indigenous women and girls in the US and Canada and honor indigenous leadership and legacy.

The white dresses tell the story of Ukrainian voices silenced by the current war, a forced displacement and migration.

Together, the dresses evoke presence through the marking of absence of lives and cultures interrupted and rendered invisible by violence or necessity rather than choice.

By marking this anniversary with compassion, cultural reflection, and community partnership, Bend continues to stand as a beacon of inclusivity, dignity, and global solidarity.

Now, therefore, the City Council of Bend, Oregon does hereby proclaim February 4th, 2026 as days of solid air day of solidarity with Ukraine in the city of Bend and encourages all residents to express care for our Ukrainian neighbors, families who, alongside other newcomers, have found refuge in Bend in Central Oregon, and to honor their resilience, contributions, and enduring role in enriching our community and shaping a shared future grounded in dignity, belonging, and humanity.

Thank you, Council Riley.

All right, move by Councillor Norris and second by Councillor Perkins.

All those in favor?

Aye.

All right.

And I wanted to just add one other thing.

The red dress, white dress, threads of silence nations.

Um, that art installation that's referred to in the proclamation is actually going to be um installed early on the morning of Saturday, February 21st, this coming Saturday, in Farewell Bend Park.

Um, from and there's going to be sort of a formal public viewing of it from 12 noon to 2 p.m.

Um, and there'll be a moment of silence at 12 noon.

I hope you'll join me and other members of the community there to kind of um you know reflect on what that is, the story that that exhibit tells, as we talked about in the proclamation.

And then we have three people tonight that are gonna um come up and accept the proclamation.

Um the first is Anna Artemenko and then Peter Sahidacny and Carrie Dolanuk Brown, um, all members of our community that have connections to Ukraine.

Yeah.

Good evening.

Um thank you, Councillor Riley.

Um my name is P.

Sahadachny.

I'm a third generation Ukrainian American.

My grandparents uh came over after World War II.

They first survived Stalin's holodomer, the forced famine, and uh when the Soviets started going around burning churches, they decided that they were gonna walk out of Russia on foot, and uh ended up in Germany, eventually going through Ellis Island after World War II.

Um fast track to about 15-20 years ago, my father and I started recording Ukrainian folk music albums and uh found a very large niche audience, um especially since the war broke out.

Um but uh that said, uh, it's very important from my perspective to uh as a part of family history, but also as a humanitarian issue to keep supporting Ukraine in its struggle for freedom and democracy.