Sedro-Woolley elected officials have yet another chance to show that they can listen to — and hear — their constituents.

At their regular meeting tonight, the City Council will again face residents opposed to plans for a solid-waste facility across the street from the high school and within a block of a residential neighborhood.

The Skagit County commissioners have offered the city a settlement that would satisfy the county, the Annie Janicki lawsuit and the need for Sedro-Woolley officials to feel that they are protected from the ceaseless threats of litigation from Deluxe Recycling and Disposal.

After the council enacted an ordinance that placed the entire expense of appealing planning department decisions on the appellants, Annie Janicki stepped up with her checkbook. But residents shouldn’t have to face an open-ended drain on their pocketbooks to participate in local decisions.

Thus far, Annie Janicki has paid more than $4,000 in expenses for the hearing examiner process and likely much more than that in legal fees. Her effort has been aimed at trying to force the city to conduct a complete environmental impact study, or EIS.

City officials rolled out the red carpet last year to Deluxe Recycling without first considering how the public would regard having a garbage transfer operation at the proposed location. They also passed up the opportunity to consider other possible uses for the old lumber mill site.

The Department of Ecology accepted results of the former mill owners’ tests for toxic substances in the groundwater, clearing the way for sale of the property. But given the site’s history, a more thorough analysis of what lies beneath would seem prudent.

An EIS should have been conducted. It would have addressed public concerns about toxics in the groundwater, noise, truck traffic, air pollution and impact on property values in the nearby residential neighborhood.

Sedro-Woolley’s course in this matter flies in the face of the new direction for countywide solid-waste planning. Even if the city approves the Deluxe building permit, the new solid-waste governance board is under no obligation to approve a transfer station operation.

Whether the city accepts the county offer or responds with a solution that might possibly address citizen concerns, it is simply unacceptable to ignore the overwhelming sentiment of the community.

In their narrow focus on the Deluxe proposal and the potential for garbage revenue, city officials may have sacrificed what might have been a healthy civic conversation about a vision and goals for Sedro-Woolley’s future.

• Editorials reflect the consensus opinion of the editorial board and are written by its members: Publisher L. Stedem Wood, Editor Don Nelson and City Editor Dick Clever. Signed columns reflect the authors’ viewpoints.