Portage City Council Regular Meeting - May 26, 2026

The Portage City Council met May 26, 2026, for its regular meeting. Board and commission interviews, which had begun at 4 p.m., ran late, and the mayor apologized for the late start. Technical problems affected audio and the chamber screens; the clerk said the meeting would be recorded and archived by midday the next day. The council approved a consent agenda, adopted the fiscal year 2026-27 budget, made appointments to boards and commissions, received a draft zoning ordinance amendment, and selected Walsh Municipal Services for the city manager search.

Consent Calendar

• The council approved the consent agenda as presented, excluding item 3, which Councilmember Burns asked to remove and which was taken up later in the meeting. No other item was removed.

Proclamation: National Gun Violence Awareness Day

• Students Demand Action leaders Maddie Dunn and Olivia Griswold read a proclamation declaring June 5, 2026, as Gun Violence Awareness Day in Portage. It cited national statistics of nearly 130 Americans killed by gun violence each day, more than 260 shot and wounded daily, an average of nearly 19,000 gun homicides per year; Michigan figures of nearly 1,421 gun deaths per year, a rate of 14.2 deaths per 10,000 people, and a $16.8 billion annual cost to the state. The proclamation referenced Hadiya Pendleton, shot and killed at age 15 in January 2013, and the national Wear Orange day on June 7, 2026.
• Dunn and Griswold said their coalition spent the school year establishing Students Demand Action groups in greater Kalamazoo schools, organizing walkouts with several hundred students, creating safe spaces to discuss gun violence, and joining Advocacy Day in Lansing. They thanked the council for supporting their work.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Monifa Giovanni, a Portage resident, described 15 years of advocacy in Portage and said the city's hiring and promotion of African American professionals had not improved but had gone backward. She said the senior center still had no African American managerial, supervisory, or leadership staff after 15 years, and cited workforce figures showing white employees increasing from 233 to 250 while the number of Black employees remained at 9. She asked the council to acknowledge the pattern, review current practices, and commit to a new plan, invoking John Lewis's call to make "good trouble." She said she was 83 and should not have to keep raising the issue.
• Leah Owens thanked Giovanni and said she had lived in Portage for 28 years with few moments of pride; she praised the Memorial Day parade and veterans service and emphasized the ability to defend one's home.
• Les Minor urged council members to walk Lakeview Park and Oakwood Park in the next two weeks, saying branches, leaves, pine needles, stumps, mulch, and long grass were not being cleaned up. He called the parks "atrocious" and asked the city manager or council to direct Parks Director Kathleen Hoyle or the Department of Public Works to inspect them.
• Ashante Collins, speaking for ALPACT Kalamazoo, invited the council and community to a free mental health awareness and criminal justice panel on Thursday from 9 a.m. to noon at the Catalyst Center, 180 East Waters. She said no Portage residents had yet registered.

Discussion Items

FY 2026-27 Budget Adoption

• City Manager Pat McGuinness presented a balanced proposed budget for fiscal year 2026-27, noting fund balance had been assigned to road projects. He thanked staff and budget officer Lauren Vanderveen.
• One council member disclosed that she had been approved as an incoming board member of Housing Resources Inc., a nonprofit included in Human Services Board funding approved April 21. The city attorney said she could vote on the overall budget but should abstain on any specific future funding request.
• The council approved the proposed budget and adopted the General Appropriations Act and salary and wage resolutions on a roll-call vote with no recorded no votes.

Boards and Commissions Appointments

• Following interviews held earlier at 4 p.m., the council unanimously approved appointments to the Youth Advisory Committee, Construction Board of Appeals, Environmental Board, Park Board, Planning Commission, Senior Citizens Advisory Board, and Zoning Board of Appeals. Appointments included Dan Chumita and Sheldon Smith to the Construction Board of Appeals; Kevin Irwin, Rick Freiman, and Elizabeth Healy to the Environmental Board; Yao Lim and Janice Ryan to the Park Board; Dennis Miller, Brendan Cususito, and Terry Urban to the Planning Commission; Linda Mellinger to the Senior Citizens Advisory Board; and Hillary Taylor and Dan Merkel to the Zoning Board of Appeals.

Residential Unified Development Ordinance

• Councilmember Burns explained that the council was only receiving a draft ordinance and scheduling a public hearing, not taking final action. He sought to reassure residents about parks, saying zoning classifications would not affect park use and that the city charter requires a supermajority vote of council and, for parkland designated as open space in the master plan, a three-fifths vote of city residents before disposition. He said he was not interested in disposing of parkland.
• The council voted to receive Ordinance Amendment 25263, adopting Chapter 44, Residential Unified Development Ordinance, and amending corresponding sections of Chapter 42, Land Development Regulations, Articles 4, 5, and 6, and set a public hearing for June 23, 2026. The vote was unanimous with no recorded no votes.

City Manager Search Firm Selection

• Frank Walsh of Walsh Municipal Services presented his firm's proposal to conduct the city manager search. He described recent Michigan and out-of-state placements, a confidential council survey, a community profile, a recruitment period from about June 19 to July 17 to align with a July 14-17 candidate gathering, confidential candidate review in closed session, interviews in August, third-party background checks, and a target date of about August 27 for offering the position, with a likely September or October start.
• Council members who had worked with Walsh in the prior search praised his results, noting the previous search produced two city manager hires and comparing his costs favorably with national firms. HR Director Shannon Hertz said Walsh's firm was the most cost-effective and had the best candidates. The city attorney confirmed that a professional services search firm can be selected without the standard bid/RFP process.
• The council voted to retain Walsh Municipal Services for the city manager search; no no votes were recorded.

Council and City Manager Statements

• Council members thanked the American Legion and volunteers for the Memorial Day parade and service; congratulated recent Portage Central and Portage Northern graduates; recognized the YWCA Women of Achievement program; praised the new farmers market; and noted a listening session hosted by the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives.
• Councilmember Olmsted asked for prayers for Commander Art Harris, who was hospitalized after a stroke.
• City Manager McGuinness thanked city attorney Catherine Kaufman for help with parade-related legal documents while he was out of town, and said he had visited parks in seven cities but still found Portage's parks superior. He said he would take Les Minor's maintenance concerns seriously.
• Mayor Pro Tem Pearson highlighted the new farmers market as a $3.25 million investment with less than $500,000 borne by taxpayers, including $1.75 million in state funding and philanthropic support from Charles and Lin Zhang. She said the covered market would be used year-round and would provide additional parking for the senior center.

Key Outcomes

• The consent agenda was approved except for item 3.
• The FY 2026-27 budget, General Appropriations Act, and salary and wage resolutions were adopted.
• All board and commission appointments were approved.
• Ordinance Amendment 25263 was received and a public hearing was scheduled for June 23, 2026; no final zoning action was taken.
• Walsh Municipal Services was retained to conduct the city manager search.