I call the two thousand four hundred and forty-eighth meeting of the Milwaukee City County to order.

This meeting is being held in person at City Hall and by video conference.

The public may participate in this meeting by coming to City Hall or joining the Zoom web.

The meeting is being broadcast live on the city's YouTube channel and contest table channel thirty within city limits.

There will be opportunities for the public to speak during this meeting.

If you would like to address counsel, you may come to City Hall or participate via Zoom.

If you are interested in speaking, please let staff know by filling out a yellow comment card for those at City Hall or by emailing OCR at Milwaukee Oregon.gov for those on Zoom.

I would know some of you are here for proclamations, and we don't need you to do a uh yellow comment card, but if you're here otherwise and let's talk these cards are on the table over there.

If you are uh public comments at Walmart, or the comment cards, email inbox and Zoom participant list and chat.

We will take comments in the order they are received and see.

Comments may also be emailed to OCR at Milwaukee, Oregon.gov.

We ask that all Zoom participants who attend the speaker label their Zoom username to show their first and last names for the record.

Translation services are also available in multiple languages.

Please see the information on the slide for details.

Sorry.

Yeah.

So we do have translation services available in multiple languages.

We don't read that script anymore, but there it is for people who um might need trans translation for future meeting meetings.

Um please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Now we have a series of announcements.

The Friends of the Letting Library will host their annual plant sale this coming Saturday, May 9th and Sunday, May 10th from 9 a.m.

to 4 p.m.

at the Milwaukee Elks Lodge.

The sale will include perennials, native plants, vegetables, trees, and shrubs.

I think they also have some artists selling garden art.

All proceeds from the sale benefit the library.

Join Illustrator Julia Kuo for a presentation about her new book, Bing's Cherries at the Letting Library on Saturday, May 9th from 2 to 3 p.m.

Julia will read from Bing's Cherries and talk about the process behind the book along with an interactive drawing component and question question and answer session.

The event is open to all ages.

Volunteer to help document the plants, birds, insects, and other wildlife currently present in Kellogg Creek at the third annual Kellogg Creek Bio Blitz on Saturday, May 16th from 9 30 a.m.

to 12 30 p.m.

The Bio Blitz is an opportunity for community members to gather data that will be used to track changes in the creek over time following the removal of Kellogg Dam in 2028.

The event is open to everyone.

Local experts will help with identification and data submission.

Volunteer to help remove ivy and other invasive plants on Elk Rock Island on Saturday, May 16th from 9 30 a.m.

to noon.

These events occur on the third Saturday of each month from March to June and from September to December.

I also would note that this Saturday, the 9th, is the second Saturday, which means there's a cleanup in Minthorne Springs behind Milwaukee Marketplace behind the Planet Fitness.

So we're out there from 9 30 to noon on second Saturday of every month.

The city is hosting a utility billing assistance workshop on Saturday, May 23rd from 9 from 11 a.m.

to 2 p.m.

at the Letting Library.

Staff will be available to help community members apply for the city's utility assistance program.

Online voting for Metro's Nature in Neighborhoods Community Choice Grants continues and will be open until June 15th.

There are 10 projects within Milwaukee City limits, and eight are on city-owned property.

Vote today for your five favorites and help prioritize which projects move forward.

For more information about each of these events and others, please visit the city's homepage at Milwaukee, Oregon.gov or call 503786-7555.

And then there was one that didn't make the slides, but I wanted to announce the council president and I are co-hosting a town hall next Monday night here downtown downstairs on the ground floor.

As a kickoff to the historic preservation pilot that we've been working on with the Milwaukee Museum and with Lisa Greytrick, who is uh, I believe chair now of our planning commission, and she is an architectural historian by trade.

So what we are um what we are looking to do is to do a pilot this summer inventorying 500 um structures, most likely 500 homes, that there might be some amount of commercial structure in the in there, but 500 structures as a pilot for uh updating the city's historic inventory.

Um we got a great piece of news this week on the historic preservation front that uh that Travis Henry of Henry Point Development, the owner now of our historic city hall, uh has put in for national register for designation on the National Register of Historic Places.

And um, so fingers crossed that that all moves forward.

There's a state uh level meeting in June to uh move that nomination forward.

Um next month, so May is historic uh preservation month, and we have a bunch of uh proclamations tonight, but actually that one isn't until next, the next meeting on May 19th, and I unfortunately won't be here for that, but uh I do think it's uh an exciting time uh for historic preservation in Milwaukee with us kicking this off and with the designation of of the historic city hall.

In I did a little research about what buildings we have already on the National Register of Historic Places, and um as far as I could ascertain, it's four homes that were all uh nominated and listed in the period of 1988 to 1993, which just happens to be the last uh around the time the city last looked at its historic inventory and its code, which was 88 and 89.

So I think it's time for us to move forward and look at that again.

But anyway, good news on the historic preservation front, and we invite anyone who's interested in potentially volunteering or weighing in on what parts of what part of town we should focus on with this pilot this summer to come on Monday to our town hall.

Okay, and I read a haiku every meeting.

The road least traveled, always repaved before mine.

Lovely cul-de-sac.

So that one came in last fall, right after the repaving that happens in the summer, I think.

Um I am uh I have a few more, I have probably another couple of months worth of haiku, but I'm always looking for more, so please send me your haiku at my email address shown there.

All right.

Um we have uh is Colleen here?

Oh, she is, okay.

Okay.

Um, so we're gonna start off by recognizing our 2025 volunteer of the year.

And uh I would uh invite Jason Wax, our community engagement coordinator to come forward.

Um while he's coming forward, I guess I'm supposed to read the names of the nominees.

So we voted on this uh back in February, I believe, um, or maybe it was early March.

Um we had uh 10 nominees.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven.

Uh Allie Kallow Spencer and Linda Hedges, who were nominated as a team for their work with the CERT teams.

Lisa Gunyon Rinker, Nick Hess, Tom Hogan, Amanda McAdams, Howie Oaks, Lynn Porta, Colleen Rockwell, Lane Rollins, Christina Thomas, and Nancy Wittig.

And as I said at the time, we voted um it's always super hard.

There's always a lot of uh of uh deserving people nominated.

We have a lot of people doing a lot of great uh great stuff in our community, and we thank all of them for their dedication to our community.

Um, but it's my privilege to introduce the winner this year, Colleen Rockwell.

So Jason, am I reading all this or are you reading this?

You're gonna read it.

I'm gonna read it.

Okay.

I don't have a lot to do to know.

Okay.

In 2019, Colleen enrolled in and completed the Master Gardener program to expand her knowledge about the art and science of growing and caring for plants.

With this training, Colleen's interest and appreciation for native plants was strengthened.

In 2022, Colleen joined the Rotary Club of Milwaukee to give back to her community.

To get started with the Rotary, she did a presentation about pollinator pathways as her new member project.

Pollinator Pathways was of interest to Colleen, and so she wanted to spread the word about their benefits and show how to get started in creating them.

The other rotary members quickly became interested in the topic.

Around the time, around the same time, Colleen was asked to present a sustainable and resilient gardening approach to the Historic Milwaukee Neighborhood District Association for their beautify Milwaukee project.

With Colleen's knowledge and determination and the help of the Rotary, Historic Milwaukee NDA and other community groups, the downtown Milwaukee Pollinator Pathway bump outs were born.

The current goal is to have pollinator pathways in all of Milwaukee's neighborhoods.

The growth of the Pollinator Pathways has now resulted in the city becoming a B City USA as of 2024, which would not have happened without Colleen's determination and hard work to grow the pollinator pathways.

In addition, in 2025, Colleen joined the city's Parks and Recreation Board, which led to the creation of the B City Subcommittee that now meets regularly to continue this important work.

Colleen volunteers in a variety of other ways as well throughout the year, and the list is extensive.

Colleen has served as an environmental representative on the West Water Environment Services Advisory Committee since 2025.

She has served as the Lake Road NDA co-chair since May of 2025.

Colleen is co-treasurer of the Rotary and Rotary Environmental Chair, which includes supporting the sustainability fair for the past four years.

In 2026, the Milwaukee Environmental Stewards Group passed the hosting of the Sustainability Fair to the Rotary Club of Milwaukee.

And Colleen is currently serving as the events chair.

Colleen is also a consistent volunteer at Earth Day, Feed the Hungry, Love One events, the Umbrella Parade, Youth Education Events, and other restoration events throughout the year.

Please join me in giving Colleen a round of applause as our 2025 volunteer of the year.

So I'll turn it over to Jason and Colleen.

Yeah, um, I I don't know if uh if council members like to say anything before we give Colleen a chance to say a few words, or how what you would prefer, I guess.

I will just note that some years we have to have a few rounds of voting, but this year Colleen won in the first round of voting.

So if any counselors want to I just want to say how much uh not just myself, but we admire and appreciate you very much.

And I I get an opportunity to see you more often than a lot of other council members um do rotary and just the contributions you make, not just for the city of Milwaukee, but for the region um and for all of our community members uh is is something very special um and truly meaningful.

And and I really just want you to know that not only do we appreciate you, but you are somebody that we look up to.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Um I just wanted to say all of your work on pollinator pathways.

I love each time I like turn a different corner in town.

There's a new pollinator pathway that's just popped up.

Um you somehow are able to be everywhere, and I love it.

There's always stewards.

Yes, very good.

Yeah, thank you so much for all the work and love that you're pouring into our city.

We all really appreciate it.

So um I mentioned to Colleen uh, you know, I wanted to turn my uh right-of-way strip in front of my house into a pollinator pathway, and she immediately whipped out a information card with a QR code on it, everything like that.

And like she says, okay, here's what you got to do.

And she went step by step by step, and she says, get this in, get it planted, it'll tell you how to plant things, it'll uh show you what to do, and uh then you gotta get registered.

And so I've done that uh because Colleen not only uh encouraged me, she gave me the instructions about how to do it.

And that's the pollinator pathways is as we see is is just one thing that she's doing for the uh to the community.

And uh I get the pleasure of interacting with the Colleen uh monthly on the parks and recreation board.

She's a great contributor to that.

She's a lover of all things natural, you know.

And so who can who can say bad things about natural, you know?

Yeah.

Oh, I just wanted to say thanks for being such a great pollinator yourself.

Thank you.

Yeah.

Okay.

Um, thank you to City Council.

I am truly honored and humbled.

And actually, I've just been having fun.

Um volunteering is not a solo gig.

I want to thank City Manager Emma for B City.

I know that that uh has been a lift.

And um, I've enjoyed working with city staff, Katie and Riley and Adam.

And Milwaukee Rotary has been an endless support.

And also the historic Milwaukee NDA, they listened to a pitch and they made it a reality for the Polinator Pathways.

Tremendous uh thank you for them.

Also um working with Milwaukee Parks Foundation, the Pollinator Pathways National Organization, Zerce's North Clackamas Parks and Recs, just to name a few.

Um, it's been an enjoyable learning experience.

And mostly I want to thank the nominees and uh dedicated volunteers that bring so much to the city.

I am proud to call Milwaukee my home.

Thank you.

Thank you, Colleen.

And Jason, did you want to say anything about how we recognize our yes?

So this is not the end.

This is um, this is just the middle.

Um so we have a volunteer dinner where all of the neighborhood neighborhoods leaders and all of our board and committee members um come together on this year, it'll be on June 4th.

Um here's the invitation that went out.

Um, but yes, at that event, we you will be our guest of honor.

And um probably get a little award and get a chance to stand up in front of even more people and say a few words.

Um so we look forward to that.

Um and then your name will be put on a plaque.

We actually are getting a new claque, so that will forever live somewhere in City Hall.

Can I request that if anyone has pollinator wings from the last few Earth Days that Colleen has been a part of, please wear them to the June 4th.

Oh, where I will mare mine.

Oh that's a great idea.

I will remind folks to do that.

Okay.

Thank you.

Yeah, yeah, thank you.

We look forward to uh seeing you in June.

Oh, yes.

Uh Colleen, I I see that you're accompanied by some uh guests.

Would you introduce them?

Uh my sister Heather.

My her husband, Shane, and then behind Shane is my son Jake.

Oh, well, great.

Thanks for coming.

Welcome.

Well, thank you guys for coming and for supporting Colleen and everything she does for our community.

So we look forward to seeing you again in June, Colleen.

Okay.

Um, so May is a month of many proclamations.

We call it proclamation Palooza.

There's some tonight, and there's some more in two weeks.

I did want to let folks know that I am changing up the order, and the mental health awareness month is gonna come at the end because it's gonna have some supplemental um some supplemental parts to it.

Um, so I am going to start with Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month and turn that over to Counselor Koshrabati.

Thank you, Mayor.

Uh uh, thank you, everyone.

Um, so I I did have a friend of mine that was supposed to come for this, but uh they actually unfortunately canceled before I can let you know, Scott.

So apologize for that.

I'm gonna uh take over this proclamation.

Um obviously, as as an Iranian American, um this is important not just to me, but to our community members who identify uh with this community.

Um, this isn't just to celebrate the community, but it's also an opportunity to learn and to educate ourselves.

And that's something that I would I would ask everyone to do is take this month to educate uh not only on on the heritage and the history, but the trials, the tribulations, the difficulties.

Um the the pain and suffering that that the Asian American Pacific Islander community had to endure, along with every other community that is not white.

So that's the one thing I would ask uh because we we're gonna celebrate all the contributions uh that the that this group of people have made to us.

But I think it's more important to educate ourselves on on who they are and what what exactly they went through so we can learn to appreciate not just where we live and the opportunities that we have, but to also appreciate our neighbors and our our our fellow human beings.

So please, if that's if there's one thing you do this month, um, just educate yourself on the groups of people that make up this this beautiful country of ours.

Um and with that, uh, we'll go ahead and read the proclamation.

Um, whereas Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month was first observed by the United States Congress in 1977 and has been observed annually since then.

And whereas the City of Milwaukee wishes to pay tribute to the generations of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders in our community.

This month provides us an opportunity to reflect on the vibrant culture and innumerable contribution contributions AAPI residents make to our community.

And whereas the national theme for AAPI Heritage Month 2026 is power and unity, strengthening communities together.

Milwaukee encourages greater participation, inclusion, and leadership training for our AAPI residents, acknowledging they will be instrumental to the future success of our city.

And whereas the history of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders is filled with stories of resilience, persistence, and determination.

We value AAPI residents as an integral part of the fabric of our community.

And whereas, as we celebrate AAPI Heritage Month, we must remain vigilant to prevent anti-Asian hate crimes in our community and must be a welcoming and safe place for AAPI residents.

Now, therefore, I, Lisa Beatty, mayor of the city of Milwaukee, a municipal corporation in the county of Clackamas in the state of Oregon, to hereby proclaim May 2026 to be Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month in Milwaukee, and do hereby encourage our communities to explore AAPI history, culture, and accomplishments, and to support local events commemorating this rich heritage.

Thank you, Counselor.

Thank you.

So our next proclamation is for National Law Enforcement Week.

And I believe it's being presented by a police captain Tony Cheragino.

Good evening, Mayor, City Council.

Thanks for having me.

I just want to thank you all for recognizing National Police Week and for taking time to honor law enforcement professionals and their families who support them.

This month also is personally significant for me.

This is my work anniversary that I hit 29 years this month.

One thing that has remained constant is how fortunate we are here at Milwaukee to have the support from the community, from you as counsel, the mayor, and from the city hall.

We're in a unique position because of this support that the level of partnership is something that every not every agency around here has, you know, particularly some of our neighbors, neighboring agencies around us.

They don't have that support.

And it means a lot to the uh men and women who uh serve the city of Milwaukee, knowing that we have all of your support.

Like agencies across the nation, staffing continues to be one of the greatest challenges facing law enforcement ever since 2020, during the uh accommodation of COVID and uh national events surrounding uh police, it significantly impacted uh our recruitment and retention.

There are very few professions or an incident that occurred more than 2,000 miles away can affect you here, uh such as some of those incidents did.

And during that time, uh the Oregon Police Academy during uh COVID, it shut down for several months, about for about four months.

And then when it did reopen, it was only open for a couple weeks.

So um you couldn't even hire, uh let alone get people trained.

And there are agencies around the state that are still trying to catch up from that time four years ago.

And they're still impacting our staffing levels.

And to kind of put it in perspective, um, since the late 1990s, uh, I was here as a cadet in 92, 93, and in a reserve in 96.

And I left in 97 to go to Arizona and came back in 2000s, but I still kept in touch with people at the police department.

And if from 1990 to around 2020, if the Milwaukee Police Department hired three per three officers in a year, that was considered significant.

And today, we currently have 18 officers who have been hired since 2023.

So we have 18 people on staff that have been hired in the last three years, and that number does not include individuals who entered the process, but ultimately did not complete training or did not remain with the department.

But one of our strongest advantages we have when we recruit officers is the ability to speak honestly about the relationship that we have with our city council, with our community, and with our uh with City Hall and their city manager's office.

And for that, I am sincerely grateful.

And I thank you for recognizing National Police Week and for your continued support of the men and women of the Milwaukee Police Department.

So thank you.

Thank you, Captain Cherokino.

We uh we are very lucky to have the police department we have, as I said on a lot of occasions.

Um, and we really appreciate the way you guys stepped up after the events of 2020.

So yeah.

Um, so would you like to read the proclamation or shall I?

I'll let you.

I don't have it with me.

So uh we can we can share this moment.

Okay.

Whereas since the first recorded death in 1791, more than 24,000 law enforcement officers in the United States have made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty.

And whereas nationally, gunfire continues to be the number one cause of line of duty death for police officers, and whereas the Oregon Fallen Officer Memorial contains over 180 names of fallen Oregon officers, including Sergeant James Warrell of the Milwaukee Police Department, who died on December 31st, 1953.

And whereas there were 11 officers killed in the line of duty across the United States in 2025.

And whereas the people of Milwaukee wish to express their greatest appreciation for the sacrifice and service of those fellow of those officers.

Now, therefore, I, Lisa Beatty, mayor of the city of Milwaukee, a municipal corporation in the county of Clackamas in the state of Oregon, do hereby proclaim May 11th through May 15th, 2025 to be National Law Enforcement Week in Milwaukee.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And we go from recognizing uh law enforcement to recognizing public servants generally.

All of the folks who work for our city.

So we mark public service recognition week.

And I think the city manager is going to kick us off with that.

Thank you so much, Mayor.

I love this proclamation for Bluza.

It's like all the things I love about my job.

Volunteers in Milwaukee, RPD, and most importantly, the amazing public servants that I have the sincere honor of leading in my job.

So this we are recognizing public service recognition week.

I want to take this chance to just offer my deep gratitude to all Milwaukee staff who show up day in, day out to make our communities better, to provide the services that we rely on from the minute, not even from the minute we walk out a door, from the minute you turn your tap on in the morning, you're you're uh you should think a public servant.

Um, particularly I I think at times like these in society where things are very polarized and people have opinions on everything, being a public servant can be particularly hard.

Um, but I think it is such a worthy path um for for folks to choose, and I'm so grateful for all the people who who chose it here.

Everyone's heard my love story with Milwaukee, and it really came from seeing firsthand almost a decade ago the public servants that work here and saying, I want that.

I want to work with them.

Um, so I'm so uh pleased and proud to be joined tonight by two members of our labor leadership.

I'm I I love our labor unions here in Milwaukee.

We have a great labor management relationship.

So we have um Sergeant Garrett from our Milwaukee Police Um Association, and we have Nikki Madigan from Apps Me, and I'll invite you guys to say anything you'd like about public service.

Good evening, Mayor Beatty and Council.

Uh I am um not here as a member of union leadership tonight, just uh a member of AFSME uh and um a very proud public servant.

I um started uh my job here in the city of Milwaukee was my first public service role, and could not be happier to have ended up in such an amazing city uh that I uh really grew up in, went to Milwaukee middle school, attended Milwaukee and graduated from Milwaukee High School.

Uh, I may live outside of the city limits, um, but it does not uh dim my love for this city and um for the amazing, wonderful community.

Uh and when people ask me what I do, I am um I'm proud to say that I am a deputy city recorder and that I work for the city of Milwaukee.

And I I feel like um there's nothing better than to be able to say that you're proud of what you do.

Um so thank you for the opportunity to work for the city um to serve you in this community.

Well, that was amazing.

Um I actually wrote mine out.

So uh that was um I'm also uh grew up here in Milwaukee.

Uh went to Rao Junior High, Edward Campbell, Raoul Junior High and Milwaukee High School.

So, council members, mayor, thank you for having me here tonight.

My name is Tom Garrett.

I serve as a detective sergeant with the Milwaukee Police Department, and I'm also the union president for the Milwaukee Police Employees Association.

On behalf of our members, I want to thank the police administration, the city manager, the mayor, and the council for your continued support and for the positive working relationship we built together.

I worked here for 22 years, and I can say without hesitation that this is the best environment I've seen in that time.

Milwaukee is a special place.

Even when compared to neighboring community communities, the way our city team works together truly stands out.

That partnership is reflected in the strong support we continue to receive from our community, and we don't take that for granted.

So during public service recognition week, I want to acknowledge not just our officers and our non-sworn, but also city employees who serve the community every day.

It's an honor to be a part of this team.

Thank you again for the opportunity to be here tonight.

I look forward to continuing to serve this city for many more years.

Thank you both so much.

I think it's super cool that we have two people who grew up here.

That is that is this is wonderful.

Um and I have to comment that if you've been in 22 years and Captain Cheragino's been 29 years, I don't know why your hair isn't more gray, but okay.

Um the last seven things.

Um one of you want to read the proclamation or shall I'll read it.

Okay.

Whereas the first full week of May has been designated as public service recognition week around the nation since 1985 to recognize and promote the important contributions of the diverse people who meet the needs of our country through service at federal, state, and local government levels.

And whereas the delivery of essential services at all levels of government only happens because of the efforts of dedicated public servants.

And whereas public service is a noble calling involving a variety of challenging and rewarding professions.

And Milwaukee's approximately 150 employees year after year provide a range of essential functions to our community from public safety to ensuring safe water and public sanitation to planning, engineering, and building services to libraries and maintaining transportation routes.

And whereas public servants have much to offer the Milwaukee community, as demonstrated by their dedication, expertise, and innovative ideas and serve as examples by passing on institutional knowledge to train the next generation of public servants.

Now, therefore, I, Lisa Beatty, Mayor of the City of Milwaukee, a municipal corporation in the county of Clackamas in the state of Oregon, do hereby proclaim May 3rd through May 9th, 2026 to be public service recognition week and commend Milwaukee's public servants for their outstanding contributions during public service recognition week and throughout the year.

And I call upon a new generation to consider a career in public service.

Thank you guys.

Thank you.

All right.

As I mentioned, we will have a proclamation on Mental Health Awareness Month, but I want to first ask former Mayor Mark Gamba to come forward.

And I he's here, and I wanted to start out to recognize former mayor Jeremy Ferguson and his wife Mandy Zalinka.

I think most people have heard the news of uh of their deaths in California.

Um what is reported as a murder suicide.

Um I knew them.

I don't think any other of the current council knew them.

I knew them somewhat.

Um I overlap oh so briefly with uh with Mayor Ferguson uh on council.

Um Mayor Gamba knew them much better, so I will definitely um look forward to his remembrance of them.

I just wanted to say a couple of words.

Um first about Mandy.

Um Mandy was a hairdresser who had a big following in the Pearl District, popular hairdresser.

She had her home in here in it was either historic Milwaukee or Lake Road.

I never knew exactly which side of the line it was on, but um she was a uh I noticed her sister in uh one of the newspaper articles called her a vibrant force of nature, and I think that is an excellent way to describe her.

Um she really took on promoting downtown businesses and promoting Milwaukee.

She started a website called Milwaukee Rules and uh Facebook presence in about you know 2012 or so at a time when we didn't have a very active downtown business association.

Uh and we were only all first starting the journey of using Facebook and social media to promote things, and she really um jumpstarted a lot of that for Milwaukee.

Um she was not being paid, she was not an elected official.

Uh she had nothing personal to gain because her business was in uh is was in uh the Pearl District, but she loved Milwaukee and she spent a lot of time promoting Milwaukee.

Um so uh was very sad to hear about her death.

Um it's harder to say nice things about someone who apparently killed their spouse, but I do have to say Jeremy um was uh he stepped into the role of mayor at a time when Milwaukee was still uh in in a time of division about the the arrival of light rail and people there was very divided community about whether we they wanted light rail or not, and he was uh, you know, he stood up and and was a strong uh a strong supporter of the light rail and and of um of a you know of change that was needed in Milwaukee.

And so um I do want to say that about him.

And um I guess with that I will turn it over to Mark.

Thanks, Mayor.

Um yeah, I had the honor of serving with Jeremy my first two years on the council.

uh a strong supporter of the light rail and and of um of a you know of change that was needed in Milwaukee and so um I do want to say that about him and um I guess with that I will turn it over to Mark Thanks Mayor um yeah I had the honor of serving with Jeremy um my first two years on the council uh he did some really powerful things for Milwaukee the the state that Milwaukee Bay Park is in right now is because of him the first the first uh stage of that effort uh was entirely um he figured out a process to fund that and that was all on him and he he did a great job he also did a lot of work uh as we prepared to replace the library um a lot of the early footwork on that um and Mandy was the chief cheerleader of the city of Milwaukee she actually run for ran for counsel um the uh I think it was two years after I got on I'm trying to remember if it was the same time I ran or two years later but any case she ran uh and I think she would have made a really uh great counselor because she was just so enthusiastic about the city I think the important thing for us all to remember in a time like this is that while it's really easy to see the world is a very dark place right now um and I know a lot of people struggle on a day-to-day basis and we don't know what happened down there uh we don't know what they were facing he was facing we don't know what was going on I don't want to try and presume anything but um you know right now we're seeing young people the highest uh the greatest cause of death right now and in young people is suicide um and on some level it looks very understandable because it is a very dark place and futures are uncertain but the thing to remember for people is that suicide is is a permanent solution to a temporary problem I believe that things will get better.

I believe that we all of us who do this work and millions of other people are doing everything they can to make the world a better place and I think it is still possible and I think uh that is what keeps me going day to day um and I know it did Jeremy as well um so I think it's moments like this that can really crystallize our attention because it's easy to to fall into depression and feel like it is just overwhelming and there is there is no other thing and for those of us who are witnessing this at this point it's a good opportunity for us to crystallize our attention and and realize that there are good things in this world there's a lot of good things in this world and there's a lot of opportunity for us to make the world that we hope to live in and we just need to persevere and reach out to friends uh we we have the opportunity now which I'm sure you're gonna talk about um for support really quickly and easily in dark moments and I think um it's time for us to lean into community keep our friendships and our families and everything nurtured so that we can all support one another um it's really sad this moment is very sad those were two very good people that really served this city and um we may never know what happened but uh it is it is our time to to recognize that we can all persevere and keep moving and it is not that dark and it will not remain that dark thanks for the opportunity.

And it is not that dark, and it will not remain that dark.

Thanks for the opportunity.

Well said.

And I will I will note that I just saw an article in the last couple of days that said that the 988 line has had a difference in reducing numbers of suicide.

So I do want to remind people that there's a 988 line you can call when you're in a desperate moment.

We're going to have some people who can speak more knowledgeably about that.

And we're actually going to have a uh one of the things they're going to announce is a uh sort of a how to identify suicidal, how to how to address uh suicide uh ideation when you see it or how to how to identify it.

Um I thought it was timely to talk about this ahead of their um introduction of that proclamation, but we I thank you for coming out and doing that.

Thanks.

All right.

With that, I will introduce um police captain Tony Cherogino and Clackamas County Public Health, uh Gally Murray and Donna Marie Drucker.

And do we also have somebody from NAMI?

We have Gary from NAMI.

Okay.

So I defer to you guys how if you want to start.

Yeah, I defer to you guys about how you guys want to present it.

Mayor, I can start off really quick.

Um, I think uh you changing the schedule around um here after listening to state rep Gamba is a perfect segue into this next session.

Um I know you don't want to hear me talk right now, you want to hear the professionals in this matter, but I would like to just share um some of our BHU, our behavioral health unit stats for the month of April, um, and to show what difference it's making in our city here.

Um we referred law enforcement took and referred four people to the stabilization unit, and our behavior health unit uh also referred four people.

So we had eight referrals for the month.

Um BHU had 123 contacts, and with the addition of Trista, uh, she's wasn't training for a week, so she was only and she's still learning the ropes and learning our way around.

Um, she's may already made a significant impact.

Uh they had 12 encounters that were on scene with law enforcement, and then they did a 28 additional follow-ups after uh law enforcement.

And these are measurable stats, but what is not measurable is the impact they're having, that they're either saving lives, getting people help, um, getting people in front of the right people, the right medication or the right treatment, or just giving somebody hope.

And those numbers aren't measurable, um, but we feel the impact because we don't know how many times that law enforcement may have had to deal with one of these individuals that they referred or they followed up on.

And instead of the law enforcement doing it, we have trained professionals going out and doing it, and I think it's just a win-win for everyone around.

So we're extremely grateful.

You if you ask anyone in our police department, you'll get 100% approval for our behavioral health unit without a question.

They recommend them to come out with them as all the time.

They almost overwork them.

So, with that being said, um, I am going to turn it over to the professionals here.

And uh, I'm not sure who wants to talk first, but it's all yours.

Thank you.

And I press this button.

And then resty there.

Thank you.

Um, Mayor Beattie, City Council, thank you so much for having us here today.

Um, and we are very grateful to be here to discuss this very important matter.

Thank you for your work and and the work that you're doing.

Um, and that coordination of law enforcement and behavioral health does make a huge difference.

This slide I have up because we just had a very heavy moment.

So I want people to know, as Mabidi mentioned, that there is support available 24-7 for everybody.

The 988 number is available 24-7.

Um, press one for veterans, press two for Spanish, and also as you enter the 988 uh phone system, it is available in multiple languages.

They will translate for you.

Um Clackamas County also has a 24-hour crisis line.

Um, so please know that support is always always available to everybody.

This presentation is going to talk a little bit about why we need to be addressing risk of suicide and the high risk groups that we have here in the nation, in the state, in the county, in the city.

So according to the QPR Institute, which is a leading institute for suicide prevention training, Oregon has the ninth highest rate in the nation.

And as we look at this slide, and I believe this has already been mentioned.

Suicide is the second leading cause of death for our 10 year olds to 34 year olds, third leading cause of death for 35 to 44 year olds, and fifth leading cause of death for 45 to 54 year olds, which means for just about everybody in this room, it is a top five killer that we are not talking about as often as we should be.

And the 15th leading cause of death for 65 plus year olds.

And I highlight that because when you look at the next slide, you're going to see that it is actually our older adults that have the highest rate of suicide in Oregon and in the nation.

Most importantly, I want to note that suicide is the eighth leading cause of death in Oregon overall.

And rarely do we present where people actually know that.

So we can see for the statistical rates that our 85 plus year old folks have the highest rate of suicide, followed by 75 to 84 year olds.

And this is often underreported, underseen.

And a lot of that is connected to ageism.

Often we hear the term grumpy old men.

We think that being uncomfortable, being alone, chronic pain is a normal part of aging.

It is not.

And often we do not address it in the same way as we might for a younger human.

Fortunately, we can see with the work that has been done for our youth, while it is still the second leading cause of death, we have decreased the rate of suicide for our young people here in Oregon.

And that work continues to be done and continues to be done with success.

We have not seen an increase in the rate of youth suicide in the last two years, which I think is something that we can all feel very proud of.

We need to reduce it, absolutely.

But we do know with intervention, with training, with resources focused in around preventing suicide, we can reduce it.

Other high-risk groups, you can see our veteran population have a very high rate of suicide.

In general, in our nation, they have a rate that's twice as high as somebody that is not served.

So if we see the national rate of suicide sits around 14 to 18 for somebody that has not served, for our veterans nationally, the rate of suicide sits around 34 per 100,000.

And if we look at Oregon, that jumps to 51 per 100,000, which is a rate that is unacceptable for those folks that serve our country.

And we know that intervention, training, resources, support matters.

Second chances matter.

And they matter because time and again, research shows that 70% of people that survive their first suicide attempt do not have a second attempt.

There's a myth out there that says if we prevent today, they're just going to try again tomorrow.

90% of people that survive a suicide attempt do not go on to die by suicide.

People do not want to die.

They're in emotional pain, they're in crisis.

And if we can get them the resources and support and help them move through it, they may never go back there.

So our call to action today is that we all have a role to play here.

The more folks that are trained, the more people that feel like they can recognize warning signs for somebody that's at risk for suicide.

The more people that feel that they can connect somebody to support, know who to call, the more lives we will save.

We know that in communities where there's high rates of individuals trained in CPR and first aid, fewer people die of cardiac events.

That's not because people are performing CPR.

Thank goodness.

What they do is they notice things ahead of time.

They notice things and say, hey, why don't you seek medical advice?

Go see your doctor.

And they see their doctor and they get the medication and the support and resources they need.

Hence no cardiac event.

We can do that with suicide.

We can move things upstream with prevention, people trained, people noticing, people asking the question, sharing resources like 988, connecting them to city, state, national resources saves lives.

And with that, we have trainings coming up here in Milwaukee.

We at the Letting Library, which is just around the round the corner.

We're very excited to be working with the City of Milwaukee to provide a free naloxone training.

We know that folks that are at risk for an overdose are 10 times more likely to die by suicide.

So we are now combining our naloxone training with suicide prevention training.

So we hope that folks will be able to share these resources.

We're going to get trained on how to recognize the signs that people might be at risk for an overdose.

And a few weeks later, we're going to be providing a training on how folks can recognize the warning signs and risk factors around suicide, how to ask somebody about thoughts of suicide and how to connect them to support.

Is it really at the end of the day, mental health awareness is not just for May?

It's all day, every day, and we all have a part to play in this.

Thank you so much for your time.

Thank you.

Well, and speaking of a part to play, uh, that brings us to NAMI Clackamas, which plays an integral part in this whole holistic system.

We really appreciate the Milwaukee Police Department.

They have been a wonderful partner.

Glenn has been a great uh uh asset to our community in terms of reaching out to folks in in crisis, and we love our our partnership with the Suicide Prevention Coalition because of the work that they do specifically around suicide prevention.

Uh as you may know, NAMI uh Clackamas is about peer support education.

Uh and I want to start out by asking a question and and seeing who might come closest to estimating the average time between the time that someone suspects they might have a mental health issue and the time that they actively seek help.

Anyone have an idea?

It's in years.

I'll give you that much.

It's 11 years.

Okay.

11 years.

Now we know that access to mental health resources uh is a challenge.

We know that costs is a challenge, but it's not an 11-year challenge.

The big issue there is stigma.

Okay, it really is the stigma around mental health.

And that's what's the cure, the cure is education and support.

And that's really where NAMI Clackamas comes in.

Okay.

What we do is we are part of a national organization uh that provides uh free mental health resources, education and support.

Uh we have three educational classes that we do on a quarterly basis, one for individuals with mental health issues, one for family members, anybody who cares for or about someone with a mental health issue, and we have classes for younger uh parents of younger children.

We know that especially in a young child, there can be issues, behavioral issues that can either mask or be confused with a mental health issue.

And you know, it'd be nice to be able to tell the difference.

There's no absolutes, but we teach how to tell the difference and also a lot of advocacy.

You know, young folks don't really often have the voice of the words uh to express themselves, and so we're able to help the parents find ways to do that.

And throughout all three of those classes, we talk a lot about self-care, because that's hugely important when you're trying to take care of yourself, much less when you're trying to take care of somebody else.

We also have three weekly support groups for individuals with mental health issues themselves.

We have one weekly and one monthly support group for family members.

We have specialized support crews for the LGBTQIA 2S Plus community for women only, uh, for the Latinx community.

We have book clubs for both the Latinx community and for uh mainstream.

We have an art with heart group, which is an art therapy group.

We also have a gather for games group, which is a support group for people who want to get together and just play games.

Uh we also uh prov um provide space for a suicide bereavement group, which meets in our office that's for people who have uh uh experienced a suicide in their family or loved one, and compassionate friends, which is uh a support group for people who have lost a child.

So those are our support groups.

We also have a special program that we've instituted in the Clackamas County jail with the cooperation from uh behavioral health as well as the jail folks.

We have now three weekly classes for mental health and wellness in the in the Clackhamus County jail for adults in custody, where we put three different cohorts of ten adults in custody through their class.

We also have a regular support group on a weekly basis, uh, one for men and one for women, uh adults in custody.

And we have a post-release support group that we've just begun.

So the whole idea is to help them transition uh as they leave uh the jail and hopefully combat recidivism.

We've been at this since 2023, and while we don't have actual statistics, we have seen anecdotally a significant increase in uh recidivism among those that they would classify as frequent flyers in the jail.

Uh so that's our jail program.

We also have three uh peer support specialists, soon to be four, uh, with one that's going to specialize in our Latin A community, uh, and they provide peer support for anybody uh that is impacted by a mental health issue.

That's the uh family member, uh loved one, friend, co-worker, whatever, as well as the individual themselves.

Uh we also do community presentations.

I've done uh probably 70 community presentations around mental health.

That's the education piece, busting myths, et cetera, uh as well as providing some statistics and information around mental health.

And the best part about all that programming, everything I just described to you is no cost.

It's no diagnosis, no referral, uh no uh insurance, no cost.

It's all free.

It turns out to be the world's worst business model, which is why we do things like fundraising, and we have a number of things coming up, our party with a purpose users, or dinner auction in September.

But we have a really unique partnership with the Clackamas Repertory Theater, where they're providing us with tickets for the June 25th performance of Laughter on the 23rd floor, which is a Neil Simon play uh around what it was like to be in the writer's room in the 1950s uh for shows like Sid Caesar's show of shows.

So it's a really fun show, and all the proceeds thanks to Clackamas Rep goes go to Nami Clackamas.

So that's one of our upcoming fundraisers.

We'll have one with Stumtown players in December as well.

We also use volunteers on a regular basis to teach our classes, facilitate our support groups, and provide projects.

We just inherited what we're calling our West Wing.

If you've ever been to our building, it's a really low green building in front of Providence Milwaukee Hospital.

And at the end of that uh little building is another office that we just inherited.

It's on the west end of the building, which is why we call it the West Wing.

And so we're now looking for volunteers to help us clean it up and paint it and fix it up.

So uh again, we use volunteers in a variety of ways.

We really appreciate them, and it's one of the ways that we're able to uh spread the word more effectively.

So that's NAMI Clackamas in a nutshell.

We really appreciate the support of the city council uh and all of the folks in the community that have been very, very helpful to us.

One of the ways that we raise funds too, I have to mention is our champion circle of monthly donors.

And I will just, without mentioning any names, we have two members of our champion circle in the room uh as we speak.

So it's a great way to help us monthly uh on a regular basis to support uh uh Nami Clackamas, and we appreciate all your support.

That's it for me.

Thank you.

Um, Carrie, could you tell people I mean, you listed a lot of great programs that you have available in support groups.

How do people find you?

Www.

Numie C C dot org.

So NAMI is N-A-M-I.

C C dot O-R-G.

C C for Clackamas County.

No dash or any.

No dash, no dots, no nothing.

Just NAMICC.org.

And then everything is there.

And as your building by Providence, is there are there drop-in hours or is that an appointment only?

It's pretty much appointment only.

I mean, we will take drop-ins and help them schedule an appointment, but our peer support specialists are seen by appointment only.

And we really don't run any programming out of that uh that site.

All of the classes and support groups that we do are usually in off-site locations.

Okay.

Okay, great.

Well, thank you.

Um Gally, were you gonna add any remarks?

No.

Okay.

Okay.

Well, we really thank you guys for coming.

Um does one of you want to read the proclamation?

Or shall I do that?

Come on, we have to give you a role here soon.

I guess I will read it.

Thank you, Mary Peter.

Uh, Gallie Marie and the Suicide Prevention Coordinator for Glackamas County.

So pleased to be here this evening in front of all of you.

No, I thank you for offering that.

I appreciate you checking in.

It's it's it's close.

It's close.

All right, here we go.

Whereas mental health is part of everyone's overall health and well-being, and mental illnesses are prevented, are prevalent in our county, state, and nation with one in five adults experiencing a mental health issue every year.

And whereas stigma and the resulting discrimination is a primary obstacle to early identification and effective treatment of individuals with mental illness and their ability to recover to lead full productive lives.

And whereas approximately half of chronic mental illness begins by the age of 14, and suicide is the second leading cause of death of people ages 10 to 24.

And whereas long delay delays of sometimes decades often occur between the time symptoms first appear and when individuals get help.

And it is important to maintain mental health, learn the symptoms of mental illness to get help and cure the stigma and discrimination that too often interferes.

And whereas every citizen and community can make a difference in helping cure the stigma and discrimination that for too long has surrounded mental illness and discouraged people from getting help.

And whereas public education and civic activities can encourage mental health and improve the lives of individuals and families affected by mental illness.

Now, therefore, I Lisa Beatty, mayor of the city of Milwaukee, a municipal corporation in the county of Clackamas in the state of Oregon to hereby proclaim May 2026 to be mental health awareness month in Milwaukee to increase public understanding of the importance of mental health, to promote identification and treatment of mental illnesses, and to care for the resulting and to cure the resulting stigma and discrimination.

So I really thank you guys for coming out.

I uh definitely recommend that folks watch for those two trainings coming up at the library.

We will be promoting them over social media and stuff.

And I do want to give a shout out to our library director, Brent Husher, who is always uh always willing to host these kind of events at the library.

Um so with that.

Well, thank you.

Um we'll wrap up this edition of Proclamation Palooza.

Uh come back next, come back on the 19th for a few more.

Oh right.

So on to community comments.

This is the part of the agenda during which council will hear community comments on city business that is not on the agenda.

Before we begin, is there any follow-up from the April 21st comments, Ms.

Sagar?

Uh Mayor, thank you.

There was one comment provided at that meeting.

It was from Mr.

Ordolano about a couple street trees, and I just wanted to provide an update that the permit that was submitted for removal of street trees on the corner of um Harrison and Maine was denied.

Um, that and I had the note up here, and my computer is being, but it's there we go.

The exact words were um that we found that there were viable methods to pursue to address the sidewalk lift the subject tree had created without removing the trees.

Great.

I'm sure Mr.

Ortolano will be happy to hear that, and uh and I am too.

Um, we do have one um yellow comment card.

If anybody else wants to sub uh comment, please fill out a card.

Um, so I'll read my little script.

Uh, for those in person who wish to speak, please submit a yellow comment card found on the table at the side of chambers.

If you are on Zoom, use the raise hand function to alert staff that you wish to speak, and when instructed to do so, click the microphone button to unmute yourself.

If you are telephoning in through Zoom and would like to make a comment, dial star nine to raise your hand.

You may also submit a comment via email to OCR at Milwaukee, Oregon.gov.

Before you make your comments, please state your name and city of residence for the record.

If you would like the city to follow up with you, please submit your contact information to OCR at Milwaukee, Oregon.gov.

As council has other business items on the agenda this evening, speakers will be limited to three minutes each.

Because information provided during community comments may be new, this is not the time for discussion.

The city manager will respond at the next meeting to comments that require follow-up.

So uh I call up Mr.

Bruce Bruns.

Good evening, and thank you for your time.

My name is Bruce Bruns.

I'm the pastor of Milwaukee Covenant Church.

You've you've heard me before.

You know who I am and you know why I'm here.

And after the last half an hour, I'm saving that for later.

I've I've been a pastor for almost 30 years.

I've done five memorial services for people who died by suicide.

Not nearly as many as some of my colleagues, but about five too many.

All five of those were for people under the age of 25.

Wow.

Two of those were a set of brothers who grew up in my youth group.

Um really, really ugly home life.

Um over the span of 10 years, they both took their lives.

Anna Marie mentioned education for seeing signs.

And I'm just gonna say, if you see something, ask, and be blunt.

Don't ask how you are.

Ask if you've had thoughts of harming yourself.

I question myself so many times or those two brothers.

If I had pushed harder and harder on some things, if maybe something had happened differently.

Um the church, I think is second only to the law enforcement community and first responders in hiding mental health issues because there is so much shame involved in it and placed on people who admit it when they're in the church.

Um so if you guys, whatever you can do to push that education element for people to be able to see and have the courage to ask, will be incredibly important.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And uh I will say, uh, since we do know why you were coming, uh, that we are that is on our agenda for next Tuesday.

Um so uh with that.

Um, do we have any community commenters online?

No.

Okay.

Well, with that, I will move on to the consent agenda.

Tonight's consent agenda includes minutes of the city council March 10, 2026 study session, March 17th, 2026 work session, and March 17th, 2026 regular session with revisions.

A resolution authorizing a loan from the safe drinking water revolving loan fund by entering into a financial contract with the Oregon Infrastructure Finance Authority, and a resolution affirming the appointment of a library board member to represent the city on the Clackamas County Library District Advisory Board.

Does any council member wish to remove a consent agenda item?

Seeing none, I'd entertain a motion.

I move to approve the consent agenda as revised.

I'll second.

It's been moved and seconded to approve the consent agenda as revised.

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Aye.

Opposed say no.

None heard, it passes unanimously.

This is uh this is a relatively short meeting for us, but we do have an executive session after afterwards.

Um I did want to open it up for any counselors who uh want to comment on anything we heard tonight or who have any counsel reports they would like to give.

Um I have a little bit of both.

Okay.

First off, I just want to thank everyone that showed up to speak up primarily on the on the mental health awareness.

I just want to thank Pastor Bruns for those comments that you made.

Um I haven't been shy about my struggles.

I haven't been shy about what I've experienced, and and uh it's uh um days like these are hard.

Uh as as good as the proclamations are um it's difficult to sit through sometimes as as we can tell by our our uh our crowd here and even us up here um struggling at times.

Um I I just I just want to stress, you know, because it it's along with the stigma, there's also you know, sometimes you hear the same thing over and over, and you're kind of you know, you get complacent.

Uh and in the military, um complacency kills.

Um what I mean by complacent is when people say ask for help, ask for help.

Sometimes it can be repetitive and fall on deaf ears.

Um I've been there myself, and I never I never thought I would be, and I never the thing is is is there was a time where I used to think like, you know, depression, like that's that's it doesn't affect me, right?

I think we've all kind of been there.

If you haven't experienced it, you're like, Well, I don't sometimes you don't understand why people can't get out of it.

Um but then it hits you, and then that's when you're like, oh, this is why, because it takes every ounce of belief of hope of confidence that you have, and it truly does make you feel worthless to the point where you want to harm yourself or others in hopes in hopes that they harm you back.

Um it's it's dangerous, uh, not just for the individual in that moment, but for the people and the family members around them.

So please um do not take these messages lightly.

You know, we we we go through a ton of proclamations a year, and there's only really a handful of them that that are incredibly important and that should hit you more so than others, and and the mental health awareness one is one of them.

Um, social media doesn't help, TV doesn't help, but talking to somebody doesn't reaching out and talking to somebody, even if it even if you're not the one feeling it.

Ask somebody how they're doing, just like the pastor had said, and don't take fine for an answer.

Fine usually doesn't mean okay, doesn't mean good.

Okay doesn't even mean okay.

Um be nosy, pry.

Because if you don't pry, then there may be a worse outcome after that.

I've lost a lot of people uh to suicide veterans, especially and my younger sister.

And I feel you, Pastor, when you say those words because uh you feel useless when you find out somebody close to you has passed away and taken their own life, and you and you think to yourself, what could I have done?

What what what better?

How could I have been a better, bigger brother than what I was?

Or how can I have been a better brother in arms than I was, and then sometimes those thoughts will put you, put your life in your own hands.

And then I've been I I've been there too.

So it it it I called 988.

I called 988 because I didn't know what else to do.

And 998 told me the one thing I didn't want to hear, and that was go to the VA.

I didn't want to hear that, but I did.

And I and if I didn't call 988, um, I don't know what would have happened.

And I I just want to say that that number is there for a reason.

Hell, you don't want to talk to your loved one, talk to a random individual who's just waiting for you to call.

Just do something, do anything other than harm yourself because it doesn't end well for anybody.

So please don't take these words lightly.

Don't take the proclamation lightly.

Don't don't don't take the experiences that were shared here lightly, please.

Um yeah, I'll save my counsel.

Okay.

Anyone else?

Okay.

Well, we will uh we will adjourn then before uh before the motion.

After this meeting, council will meet in executive session for pursuant to Oregon revised statute 19260H to consult with counsel concerning the legal rights and duties of a public body with regard to current litigation or litigation likely to be filed.

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

All other members of the audience are asked to leave the room.

Representatives of the news media are specifically directed not to report on or otherwise disclose any of the deliberations or anything said about these subjects during the executive session, except to state the general subject of the session as previously announced.

No decision may be made in executive session.

With that, I will entertain a motion to adjourn.

I move to adjourn.

It's been moved and seconded to adjourn.

All those in favor say aye.

Aye aye.

Opposed say no.

None heard.

We are adjourned.

We're gonna have executive session over there.

Okay.