Milwaukee City Council Meeting (May 6, 2026): Proclamations, Volunteer Recognition, and Consent Agenda
Milwaukee City Council Meeting – May 6, 2026
The 2,448th meeting of the Milwaukee City Council was called to order in person and via Zoom. The meeting featured the announcement of the 2025 Volunteer of the Year (Colleen Rockwell), four proclamations (Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month, National Law Enforcement Week, Public Service Recognition Week, and Mental Health Awareness Month), a remembrance of former Mayor Jeremy Ferguson and Mandy Zalinka, community comments focused on suicide prevention, approval of the consent agenda, and a brief executive session on litigation.
Consent Calendar
- Approved the minutes of the March 10, 2026 study session, March 17, 2026 work session, and March 17, 2026 regular session (with revisions).
- Adopted a resolution authorizing a loan from the Safe Drinking Water Revolving Loan Fund via a financial contract with the Oregon Infrastructure Finance Authority.
- Adopted a resolution affirming the appointment of a library board member to represent the city on the Clackamas County Library District Advisory Board.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Bruce Bruns (Pastor, Milwaukee Covenant Church) expressed strong support for suicide prevention education. He shared that he has conducted five memorial services for people under 25 who died by suicide, including two brothers from his youth group. He urged council and the public to ask blunt questions about self-harm and to remove stigma, noting that churches often hide mental health issues due to shame. He thanked the presenters and noted his own agenda item for the next meeting.
Discussion Items
- Councilor Koshrabati shared personal struggles with mental health and suicide ideation, emphasizing that fine does not mean okay. He called on everyone not to take mental health messages lightly, to ask directly about suicide, and to use resources like 988. He credited 988 with helping him reach out to the VA.
- Mayor Beatty acknowledged the emotional weight of the mental health discussion and reminded the public that the 988 hotline is available 24/7.
- Council members also expressed gratitude to presenters and to Colleen Rockwell for her volunteer work.
Key Outcomes
- The consent agenda was passed unanimously (all ayes, no nays).
- Four proclamations were read and adopted by the council, declaring May 2026 as Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month, May 11–15, 2025 as National Law Enforcement Week (note: the proclamation text listed 2025, but the meeting occurred in 2026 – a discrepancy in the record), May 3–9, 2026 as Public Service Recognition Week, and May 2026 as Mental Health Awareness Month.
- The council adjourned to an executive session under ORS 192.660 to consult with counsel regarding current or likely litigation.
Additional Notable Content
- Volunteer of the Year 2025: Colleen Rockwell was honored for her work on pollinator pathways, Bee City USA designation, and numerous community volunteer roles. She was selected on the first round of council voting.
- Behavioral Health Unit (BHU) Statistics: Police Captain Tony Cheragino reported that in April 2026, the BHU made 8 referrals to the stabilization unit, had 123 total contacts, 12 on-scene encounters with law enforcement, and 28 follow-ups after law enforcement involvement.
- Suicide Prevention Statistics (presented by Gally Murray, Clackamas County Public Health): Oregon has the 9th highest suicide rate in the nation. Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death for ages 10–34, 3rd for ages 35–44, and 5th for ages 45–54. Rates are highest among older adults (85+). Veterans in Oregon have a rate of 51 per 100,000. 70% of first attempt survivors do not have a second attempt; 90% do not die by suicide. The average delay between symptom onset and seeking help is 11 years, largely due to stigma.
- NAMI Clackamas: Gary from NAMI outlined free peer support and education programs, including classes, support groups (including LGBTQIA2S+, Latinx, and family groups), a jail program, and peer support specialists. All services are free and no referral is needed. Information: namicc.org.
- Upcoming Trainings: Free naloxone training combined with suicide prevention training at the Ledding Library (dates not specified in transcript).
- Remembrance: Mayor Beatty and former Mayor Mark Gamba remembered former Mayor Jeremy Ferguson and his wife Mandy Zalinka, who died in an apparent murder-suicide in California. They highlighted Mandy’s volunteer efforts promoting Milwaukee and Jeremy’s role in Milwaukee Bay Park and light rail support. Mark Gamba reminded the community that suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem and encouraged people to seek help.
Meeting Transcript
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.
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