St. Helens Community Meeting to Review Grey Cliffs In-Water Designs

Entrance to Grey Cliffs Waterfront Park with restroom facilities and parking lot visible and Columbia River in background

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 14, 2022

St. Helens, Ore. – The City of St. Helens invites the St. Helens community to a public forum on Wednesday, May 4, 2022, to review in-water facility alternatives developed by the Oregon State Marine Board for Grey Cliffs Waterfront Park. The meeting will take place at 6:30 p.m. prior to the City Council’s regular session meeting. Plans for the in-water facility include a fully ADA-accessible paddle craft launch ramp and an ADA-accessible fishing pier. A presentation of design alternatives will be reviewed followed by an opportunity for community feedback.

Grey Cliffs Waterfront Park is located at the north terminus of River Street along the bank of the Columbia River. Built along a basalt bluff, the park is built in two levels. The location includes a non-motorized boat launch area, off-leash dog park, picnic tables, and restrooms. The park is an ideal spot for launching kayaks or canoes to travel to Sand Island.

The meeting agenda will be posted on the City’s website after April 29, 2022. St. Helens community members are welcome to attend the meeting in person, virtually via Zoom, or on the City’s YouTube channel. A Zoom link will be included on the meeting’s agenda. If you cannot make the meeting in person or virtually, a recording of the presentation will be posted on the City’s meetings page the following day. 

The meeting will be held in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 265 Strand Street, Plaza Entrance, St. Helens, OR 97051. The meeting location is accessible to persons with disabilities. A request for an interpreter for the hearing impaired or for other accommodations for persons with disabilities should be made at least 48 hours before the meeting to City Hall at 503-397-6272.

The Oregon State Marine Board is assisting the City of St. Helens through their technical assistance program to design and permit a new in-water facility. This project was identified in the St. Helens Parks & Trails Master Plan (2015). In 2019, the City improved Grey Cliffs Waterfront Park by installing a paddle craft launch area on the shoreline, constructing a new restroom/drinking fountain, and improving the parking lot with funds from the Oregon Parks & Recreation Recreational Trails Program. The proposed in-water facility will be in addition to the existing shoreline paddle craft launch area.

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For further information regarding the Grey Cliffs meeting, please contact Communications Officer Crystal King at cking@sthelensoregon.gov