Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.
[Note: The meeting agenda and transcript list the date as Monday, October 19, 2026, at 6:00 PM, however this summary reflects the provided date of 2026-10-20 14:00:00+00:00.]
The Astoria City Council held its regular meeting on October 20, 2026. Key topics included the unanimous renewal of the city's Coast Guard City designation, the approval of a $2 million EPA Brownfields cleanup grant budget for Heritage Square, and a series of approvals for the $4.9 million Sewage Lift Stations Rehabilitation Project. A significant portion of the meeting was dedicated to reports from councilors and staff regarding the ongoing challenges of homelessness, drug activity, and the effectiveness of the city's Shelter First policy, particularly around the low-barrier shelter on 11th Street.
City Manager Spence introduced the resolution to renew Astoria's status as a Coast Guard City for another five years. Councilors unanimously expressed strong pride in the partnership with the Coast Guard, and the resolution was adopted without opposition.
Staff presented the $2 million EPA Brownfields Cleanup Grant for the Heritage Square site, covering capping and cleanup planning. A professional services contract was recommended for Stantec Consulting Services Inc. in the amount of $496,148. Councilor Adams inquired about the scope for landscaping and worker parking. Councilor Davis praised the detailed staff scoring but raised a broader question about how the city weights experience in RFP rubrics, confirming Stantec was clearly the best choice in this instance. A procedural error requiring a public hearing on the budget amendment was corrected by the City Attorney before the vote, which passed unanimously.
Assistant City Engineer Cindy Moore provided an overview of the project to rehabilitate three sewer lift stations built in the mid-1970s. The scope includes replacing Archimedes screw pumps, resurfacing channels, and adding safety improvements like access hatches. The funding package was expanded by $1,602,325, including an additional $1.3 million Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) loan. Council discussion focused on the loan forgiveness terms (50% forgivable up to $2 million), the advantageous timing of the loan application before DEQ reduces its forgiveness maximum in January 2027, and minimal traffic impacts during construction. All four related items—budget amendment, borrowing resolution, loan amendment, and the contract amendment with Emery and Sons Construction Group (GMP of $3,150,690.88 plus a $70,560 owner-controlled contingency)—were passed unanimously.
Councilors, led by Councilor Adams, requested accelerating the Shelter First Policy update to the next meeting. Chief Stacy Kelly and City Manager Spence provided an update on the current situation. Mayor Fitzpatrick delivered a strongly worded report on conditions in Ward 3 around the low-barrier shelter, describing an 'overwhelmed' neighborhood with 'trash accumulating', 'open consumption of illicit drugs', and safety concerns. Chief Kelly reported that while the initial ordinance had positive effects, a 'trifecta' of expelled individuals, returning populations, and new arrivals has led to increased visibility downtown. Shelter occupancy is at approximately 95%, and a dry storage program has begun with the installation of three storage boxes. The city is still seeking a community partner to run the micro-shelter program. Chief Kelly stressed that the city is mandated by state law to allow camping within time, place, and manner restrictions, making complete resolution unlikely, and emphasized that underlying mental health and drug addiction issues are primary drivers.
We're both of that. And I'd like to say thank you to assistant uh city manager Quigley for organizing a lot of that because that was very nice to be able to have it uh be all kind of set out. Um I got to go on quite a few different tours. One of the tours was uh went to Millsburg to look at uh their Timberland facility there that was happened recently. Um they're the individuals who did the uh airport redo at PDX not too long ago and also did the remodel of PSU of the new art building. Um and they it's a mass timber company, they take um different pieces of lumber and like uh glue them together and then put them through a machine and then kind of create uh structural beams out of it is pretty cool, very innovative, and so they're able to uh you do be able to create um these buildings out of renewable um resources, which was really commendable and it was uh it's all employee owned, which I learned on that tour as well. Um, so that was really great. Um, also got to go to uh independence, Oregon and do a tour with their assistant city manager and go through the process of different um, they kind of talked through different grants that they had gotten. Um, and then we had a QA with um different uh field officers for different elected officials and kind of talking through the processes of getting grants and kind of the follow through specifically. Um, there was also a um lobbyist there who has contracts with different municipalities, and so they were also talking about that process. Um, that's quite interesting. And then also toured uh the downtown Salem area and looked at a lot of different housing units um that they actually have happened through um what they called their MUTIP program, which was multiple unit tax exemption properties, and so it was market rate apartments, but they would have certain parameters, but they would get like a 10-year tax exemption. Um, and so that was really interesting to see those spaces and see how much housing they were able to develop through that program. Um, and then looked some seminars, talked to quite a few different people. So it's quite an adventure. Yes, thank you. Great. Thank you, Councillor Conklin. Um, before we move on to Councilor Adams, I will clarify with our uh assistant to the city manager. I heard recording in progress. Were we not recording earlier? Okay, so for the record, this is the Astoria City Council, the Monday, October 19th, 2026 meeting. We started at six o'clock, and we have done a pledge of allegiance and a roll call with all four ward counselors and the mayor in attendance. So uh and we had just gone to reports of counselors, which had just started when I heard recording in progress. So that's where we are. Counselor Adams, you are up next. Thank you, Mayor. Good evening. I just have a few items to share. Uh the Oregon Transportation Commission held their meetings here in Astoria. Uh, one of the reviews was over the ADA Sidewalk Project update, and I thought that was really helpful since we are going through that process now here in Astoria. I attended the Congresswoman Bonamici's event on Saturday where we talked heavily about the mail, the mayor and councilor Conklin and Counselor Davis were all there as well in attendance. And I did bring up another item, which is our safe uh program for our fisheries, knowing that we had a one-year extension, but that the federal government will not be funding that for the future uh and wanting the council to stay engaged and informed about how the state is going to pick up that program. It's a little over two million dollars. It's just considered a small part of the state budget. However, the state's still going to have to figure out how that's gonna work. So I'm glad we're adopting and staying focused with our legislative priorities. We need to be advocating heavily with the county and the state to ensure that the safe program continues uh for our hatcheries and for our salmon. The LCDC will be here this week for their statewide meeting, and they're gonna be going over the Oregon homes rulemaking, identified in House Bill 2258 and also House Bill 2138, which is middle housing. I've reported to the council that on LOAC I've been putting in uh comment about that going through to LCDC and they will be adopting uh that here at their meeting. They'll be here for two days. They're also going to be going on some tours. I wanted to thank staff for assisting with the OTC and also LCDC coming and making sure that they have everything they need to have their meetings here. And also the tours that the city staff have been participating and taking them on is it's very very important.