Council hears competing claims over dredge spoil and a proposed brownfield designation for Pleasure Island

Council members and residents spent the largest portion of Tuesday night’s meeting debating whether to begin the process of designating roughly 900 acres on Pleasure Island as a brownfield and how the city should respond to what speakers described as recent dumping and spoil from a Corps of Engineers dredging project.

Council member Lewis urged the council to act, presenting before‑and‑after photos and saying the parcel had been “polluted” after the lessee failed to vacate land the city holds under a lease. “So all I want the council to do is to go ahead and vote to designate this a brownfield so we can get the process started,” Lewis told the council.

Multiple public commenters described long‑running problems on the island. Holland Hoffer said the Corps’ spoilage had damaged wetland and recreation values for decades and accused some leaseholders of failing to maintain the property. Hoffer also raised a conflict‑of‑interest allegation: “Mister Simeon Queen is on the board of Pleasure Island Committee … He stands to gain over $14,000,000 if the diligence project goes through,” Hoffer said, urging the council to halt action until that and other concerns are investigated.

A representative of the leaseholder, who identified himself as Harry Crawford, disputed the idea that the lease could be cancelled at will and said the company had paid to obtain and operate the lease. “This brownfield that councilman Lewis is talking about … We’re not looking for the brownfield where you get money for doing brownfield. We’re just trying to get it designated brownfield,” Crawford said, adding the company had spent its own funds on the property.

Council members pressed for legal clarity and staff documentation. Council member Everfield asked the city attorney to confirm whether the city has authority to declare a brownfield and to return the legal analysis to council. Mayor Moses and the city manager said staff would research how federal easements, historical easements and the Corps of Engineers’ activities affect the parcel and would return with a resolution and supporting materials.

The council did not take a final vote on a brownfield designation on Tuesday; members instructed staff and the city attorney to research authority, past easements and any applicable federal or state requirements and to bring back a resolution for a future meeting.

By the end of the discussion the council had not resolved the central factual dispute—who placed spoil on the parcel and whether the city or federal actors had legal authority to place material there—so members directed staff to compile documentation and legal advice before any formal action.

Next steps: staff will research the city’s legal authority to request or make a brownfield designation, assemble a timeline of prior easements or leases and report back to council with a draft resolution and recommended next procedural steps.