Residents press council on lagoon contamination and raise ethics concerns about mayor

Several residents used the meeting’s public-comment period to press councilors on the Central Waterfront project and to raise ethics concerns.

Dean Topaz described a history of DEQ remediation and dredging disputes and asked whether local officials have communicated with state regulators; he also alleged that prior remediation work had diminished shoreline. "Has John Walsh... ever asked why DEQ has been trying to destroy Saint Helens?" Topaz asked.

Another resident urged the council to "put up the pause button, if not the kill button," arguing that importing regional dredged material risks waterfront contamination and is the wrong priority while the city faces water and sewage infrastructure needs. The commenter said the wastewater treatment plant is "meeting its permit now" but cautioned against diverting limited local funds to a large-scale fill project.

Jim Coleman raised an ethics question, saying the mayor’s lobbying for two new detective positions creates at least an appearance of conflict because her husband works for the police department: "How can that be right that the mayor is lobbying to benefit her husband?" Coleman also warned that the proposed off-road-vehicle ordinance would impose city costs for signage and enforcement.

Responses recorded in the session: consultants and staff explicitly denied that "filling the lagoon with toxic waste" was ever on the table, and Seth said the city has relied largely on state grant funding for studies. The city did not make any ethics determination during the work session; Coleman’s allegation was recorded as public comment and not acted on at that meeting.

Next steps: staff and consultants proceeded with the Central Waterfront presentation and the council later signaled consensus to advance engineering for a limited cell using designated grant funds; matters of ethics or formal complaints would require separate processes outside the work session.