The Portage City Council met on July 7, 2026, with all members present. The meeting included a proclamation for the National Day of Summer Learning, approval of the consent agenda, adoption of an ordinance on emergency police lines and nuisance parties, and statements from council members covering community events, storm response, and city initiatives.
Good evening. I call to order the July 7th, 2026 Portage City Council meeting in honor of all denominations and personal beliefs. And as we support the efforts of all that promote summer learning opportunities for the youth in this community, please rise for a moment of personal introspection and remain standing for the privilege of allegiance. Please join me in the pledge. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. And to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible liberty and justice for all. And if I could ask the clerk, please call the roll. Yes, Madam Mayor. I'll start with Burns. Here. Ledbetter. Here. Miller. Here, Olmstead. Here, Pearson. Here. Randall. Here. And Young here. Thank you. All right. We're all here this evening. And I we also have one proclamation. It's the National Day of Summer Learning. And if I could please ask Jacese Robertson to please come forward. She is a representative from the Kalmazou Youth Network, and she will read the proclamation into the official record. Good evening and welcome. Good evening. Good evening. Honored to be here. All right. So a national day of summer learning. Whereas high quality summer learning opportunities are more important than ever in 2026. And whereas across the city of Portage, we are coming together to ensure youth and families have access to inclusive, high quality youth programming and critical support for young people to heal, lead, and thrive in the summer months. And whereas the National Day of Summer Learning recognizes the vital role of inclusive, high-quality summer programs in supporting young people to thrive, and whereas these programs support youth to build positive identities, experience belonging and exercise agency, nurturing lifelong social and emotional learning skills, and whereas these programs provide youth with real world skills, mentorship, and meaningful opportunities to shape their futures and contribute to their communities and whereas community partners, including schools, nonprofits, libraries, businesses, and youth themselves are innovating to ensure all youth or all young people can access enriching, affirming and culturally responsive summer experiences in whereas the demand for these programs far exceeds the availability, and we must create sustainable funding models and remove barriers to access. Now therefore we resolved that I, Patricia M. Brandle, as the mayor of the City of Portage to hereby proclaim July 16th, 2026 as the National Day of Summer Learning here in the City of Portage. And I commend this observance to all of our citizens. Thank you for joining us this evening. If you could tell us a little bit about your organization, we'd love to hear it. Absolutely. So I have the honor of serving as the community engagement lead for the Kalamazoo Youth Development Network. We've been around for 25 years, and we serve as an intermediary for the out-of-school time sector. So our job is to make sure that all young people have access to high quality out-of-school time programming. And so we have the opportunity or the privilege of doing that in Kalamazoo County as well as Calhoun County. And so excited for the event that we have uh next week to really highlight all of this and to really celebrate the National Day of Summer Learning. All right. Well, thank you very much for joining us. I have a copy of the proclamation if you'd like it. Yes, absolutely.