Mayor Jennifer Massey issued a proclamation June 4 thanking downtown business owners and residents for their patience during a 2.5-year Streets and Utilities Extension Project and a concurrent year-long riverfront work that added the first phase of public access to the waterfront.

The proclamation said the work, part of ongoing waterfront redevelopment on South First, Cowlitz and Strand streets, modernized water, sewer and storm systems, constructed streets and sidewalks, and added pathways, lighting, retaining walls, railings, furnishings and signage. “Your perseverance and civic spirit made this project, this progress possible,” Massey said as she read the document and invited participants to a photo at the waterfront.

City leaders and several council members told the meeting that the upgrades were long-planned and difficult to build because of aging underground infrastructure and other constraints. A councilor said the waterfront effort had been discussed for 15–20 years and, unlike plans that never move off paper, the city is now building the infrastructure.

Business representatives and downtown advocates attended the ceremony. Aaron Salisbury, president of the St. Helens Main Street Alliance, told the council about about 25 business owners who came to show their support and to signal they intend to continue operating downtown. “They were here to show up to say they’re partners with you,” Salisbury said.

The proclamation noted that construction caused street closures, detours, sidewalk removal and replacement, parking disruptions, intermittent utility outages and construction-related noise and vibration that reduced summer foot traffic for roughly a year. It also referenced expansion of Columbia View Park on the former Boise veneer site and said the projects are expected to yield long-term improvements in safety, connectivity and economic opportunity in the Historic Riverfront District.

The mayor and staff arranged a group photo with downtown business owners after the proclamation and asked the public to watch for the image on city social media.

No formal vote or policy change was recorded at the proclamation reading.