Residents tell Shelton council fentanyl, homelessness and downtown safety are worsening
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Summary
During public comment at the Oct. 21 Shelton City Council meeting, several residents urged stronger responses to drug use, mental-health needs, encampments and downtown upkeep, citing overdoses, theft and harassment near public facilities.
Several residents told the Shelton City Council on Oct. 21 they are concerned about a perceived increase in drug use, overdoses and related public-safety and quality-of-life problems in downtown Shelton.
Nellie Peebles, introduced during public comment, described a rise in drug- and mental-health-related incidents and said fentanyl deaths in the state have increased in recent years. “Even 1 death is too many,” Peebles said, linking the local harms she described — overdoses near the library, discarded paraphernalia and an encampment across from the yacht club — to broader statewide trends.
Peebles asked the council to take “serious immediate action” to restore public safety downtown and asked city leaders to consider the location and management of treatment services, noting the proximity of Evergreen Treatment Services to affected areas.
Dean Jewett, another public commenter, pressed the council to take a more proactive enforcement and maintenance approach to sidewalks, parks and downtown cleanup. Jewett said the city’s response has been largely complaint-driven and urged staff and council to “go after this as a proactive approach.” He also raised fire-department data collection about Narcan use and emergency response strain during peak demand.
Other speakers during public comment asked for additional ADA parking on Railroad Avenue and for faster sidewalk and curb repairs. One speaker said she had been approached “inappropriately by someone clearly under the influence outside of my former” and that she had witnessed overdoses near the library while it was open.
City staff and council acknowledged the concerns. In later manager remarks, interim city manager Jay Harris and public works staff described ongoing and planned work addressing sidewalks, ADA access and downtown street striping, and noted a previously adopted, long-term plan for ADA compliance that will involve large-scale projects over multiple years.
Ending
Council members scheduled additional design work on downtown street repairs and said staff will return with more detailed project timelines and funding proposals. No formal council action on policy or enforcement changes was recorded during the meeting; comments were taken during the public comment period.