Resident accuses officials of favoritism in public art as residents raise utility-bill concerns

During public comment at the St. Helens City Council meeting on April 15, a resident sharply criticized city leaders for what the speaker described as favoritism in awarding public-art projects and urged the city to use RFPs and committee review rather than appointing friends to projects.

The resident accused local officials of visible favoritism, saying the city had "done it in plain sight" and that public-art procurement should be handled through competitive processes. The speaker also questioned council statements about cutting positions from the police department and asked for clarity about recent hiring activity amid announced furloughs.

The presiding officer responded from the dais, rejecting the allegation of a "friend" procurement process, explaining that many council members work in construction or have industry contacts that do not imply favoritism, and reiterating that enterprise-funded positions (such as water, sewer and stormwater employees) are treated differently than general-fund positions during furloughs. The presiding officer also disclosed that his spouse is employed by the City of St. Helens Police Department and said, citing an amendment to ORS 244.120, that he may participate in later discussion after announcing that potential conflict: "my spouse is employed by the city of St. Helens as a police officer," he said.

A separate online commenter, Matt Kanaga, identified himself as a St. Helens resident and said the municipal "water bill" is mostly composed of sewer and stormwater charges and suggested the city consider renaming the statement to better reflect what customers are paying for: "It almost isn't a water bill ... maybe ... call it a community services bill," he said.

Jerry Cole, who identified himself as mayor of Rainier, Oregon, used his public-comment time to announce his candidacy for county commissioner and invited residents to visit electjerrycole.com.

The council did not take action on procurement or hiring during the meeting; these remarks were part of the public-comment period. Officials said they would publish responses in the next regular-session packet if a response is needed.