Berkley council approves downtown block party and joins opioid manufacturer settlement; announces monthlong Dorothea activation and community proclamations

The Berkley City Council on Monday approved a downtown block party road closure, authorized city participation in a secondary opioid-manufacturer settlement and heard plans for a monthlong activation of Dorothea Pocket Park. The council also issued proclamations declaring September 2025 as Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and National Suicide Prevention Month.

The council unanimously approved a request from the Downtown Development Authority to hold the Bukele Monster Mash Block Party on Coolidge between 12 Mile and Catalpa on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025, and authorized the temporary road closure for the event, contingent on required event documentation. The motion to approve (M8625) was made by Council member Baker and supported by Council member Vilani; the roll call recorded seven yes votes and no dissent.

Why it matters: the block party and a parallel Dorothea Pocket Park activation are part of a broader downtown strategy the DDA says is intended to bring foot traffic to the central business district and support local businesses.

Council members and the DDA said staff worked with the applicant to identify public-safety and public-works requirements and estimated the city’s share of public-safety and DPW costs at roughly 40 percent of the event-related cost estimate; a precise dollar figure was not specified in the meeting materials. Lisa Kempner, who represented the event organizers, said food trucks and a series of related fall events would precede the Monster Mash.

Council members also discussed a separate, monthlong temporary closure and activation of Dorothea Pocket Park tied to the DDA’s fall programming. A city staff member told the council the closure would be implemented under a temporary traffic-control order issued by public safety and is scheduled to begin the weekend of Sept. 26 and run through Nov. 3. The staff member said the upcoming activation will be less intensively programmed than an earlier pilot and will rely on a mix of DDA-hosted activations and spaces for passive use based on a recent public survey.

The council authorized the city manager to sign a participation form for the so-called secondary manufacturer opioid settlements (M8725). Staff told the council the participation form must be executed by Oct. 8 and that the final amount any political subdivision receives will depend on overall participation and the settlement’s final allocation formula. The motion to authorize signature was made by Mayor Pro Tem Gavin with support from Council member Hennen and passed unanimously.

During public comment, two residents spoke about local heritage and infrastructure. Jeffrey Tong, a former Berkley resident and member of the Berkley Historical Committee, promoted a cemetery‑history tour at Roseland Park Cemetery scheduled for Oct. 18; he said tickets are available through the historical museum and other local outlets. Jim Wertheimer, a Berkley resident, registered a complaint about the condition of the city’s tennis courts, saying concrete had come up in places and that the surface was uneven. “They’re in bad shape and they need to be fixed,” Wertheimer said.

The council read two proclamations. Mayor Bridget Dean signed a proclamation designating September 2025 as Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, which the proclamation noted coincides with national and worldwide statistics including an estimated 14,690 U.S. diagnoses annually for people birth to 19 and that survivors often face long‑term health effects. The council also read a proclamation designating September 2025 as National Suicide Prevention Month and referenced the national 988 crisis line and statistics cited from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

What’s next: staff will finalize event permits and the temporary traffic-control order for Dorothea, and the city will return no later than the Oct. 8 settlement deadline if additional administrative steps are required to participate in the opioid settlement. Council members and staff encouraged residents to consult downtownberkeley.com and the city website for updated event schedules and Dorothea activation details.

Meeting context: the meeting included two public-comment speakers on non-agenda items, several council communications about municipal conferences and board meetings, and unanimous votes on the consent and the two motions noted above.