Webinar is being recorded and
summarized.
>> We're going to start off the
meeting with several
proclamations, starting with
Councilor Little will be
reading Court Employees
Appreciation Week and Judge
Vanderwood, I think, or Judge
Schneider will be accepting, or
Pam will be accepting. Great.
Please come forward.
>> Okay. Thank you for this
opportunity. Whereas, the Clark
County Council is proud to join
Clark County Superior Court in
honoring the dedicated
individuals who serve as court
employees in Clark County. And
whereas, the council extends
our sincere appreciation to all
court employees for their
unwavering commitment to
upholding the justice system
and ensuring its accessibility
to the public, their dedication,
professionalism and integrity
are integral to the fair and
effective administration of
justice. And Whereas Clark
County recognizes the
outstanding service of court
employees and strives to
reinforce public confidence in
the justice system, foster a
culture of appreciation, and
acknowledge the critical role
these individuals play in
maintaining the rule of law.
And now, therefore, the Clark
County Council hereby proclaims
the week of May 3rd through
nine, 2026 as Court Employee
Appreciation Week in Clark
County, Washington, and
encourages the community to
join in recognizing and
thanking court employees for
their invaluable contributions.
Sign this fifth day of May 2026
by the entire Clark County
Council.
>> Thank you.
>> I'm sorry that our judges
couldn't be here. Unfortunately,
they're all in court with our
employees who are working
really hard right now. But this
is just a thank you to all the
work they do day in and day out.
So thank you. We appreciate it.
>> Okay. The next proclamation
will be National Correctional
Officers Week. And David Shook.
And if any members of your team
would like to come forward to,
I'll be reading this one. Okay,
okay, here we go. Whereas in
1984, President Ronald Reagan
issued proclamation 5187 and
declared the week of May 6th,
1984, as National Correctional
Officer Week. This first full
week of May has been recognized
as National Correctional
Officer Week for the past 42
years. And whereas corrections
officers and juvenile detention
officers are essential to the
safety and well-being of the
Clark County community,
ensuring safety, secure, humane
environments in the jail and
juvenile detention centers. And
whereas, these dedicated
professionals face complex and
challenging responsibility
every day around the clock all
year long, and carry out their
duties with professionalism,
integrity and courage. And
whereas we recognize
corrections officers and
juvenile detention officers are
protectors of public safety
through the facilitation of
incarceration, rehabilitation
and contributing to positive
outcomes. And whereas,
corrections officers and
juvenile detention officers
provide a critical role in the
local law and justice ecosystem.
Now, therefore, the Clark
County Council proclaims the
week of May 3rd, 2026 as
National Correctional Officers
Week in Clark County,
Washington, and we ask all
residents to join us in
thanking corrections officers
in Clark County, Department of
Jail Services and Detention
officers of the Clark County
Juvenile Detention Center, and
those who support them for
their ongoing service to our
community. Signed this fifth
day of May 2026 by the entire
Council.
>> So good for you.
>> Yeah. You bet. Would you
like to say a few words you can
say here? We have your choice
of microphones.
>> Well, thank you very much.
My name is Dave Schuck. I'm the
director of jail services. I
brought some of the teammates
here, and you might recognize
some of them, but you probably
don't because most of us are
behind the scenes. We have
partners in the main jail,
which is our adult system. And
then of course, our juvenile
detention center manager,
Memsic, who after 30 years is
actually retiring in August. So
congratulations on moving on to
that next chapter. And I
believe Sarah is going to be
taking over the management of
that facility. It's a really
difficult job finding the right
people. This council and this
community have really supported
us over the last three years.
Specifically, we've hired 80
individuals, we're growing our
ranks, and we're actually
adding to the efforts that we
can do here in our community.
This system is a very critical
piece to law and justice, so we
appreciate your support. We
appreciate the council's
support, and we're going to
continue to do the hard work
that's necessary. So thank you
very much.
>> Okay, on to the next one.
Fair Housing Month read by
Councilor Little and Justice
Justin Wood, government affairs
director of Clark County
Association of Realtors. And if
there's someone else that would
like to come forward with your
group. Oh, I see that person
now. Please come forward.
>> Awesome. Thank you for being
here. Whereas the Fair Housing
Act affirms the principle that
access to housing is a
fundamental right and prohibits
discrimination in housing
related transactions based on
race, color, religion, sex,
national origin, disability,
and familial status. And
whereas the Fair Housing Act
reflects our nation's enduring
commitment to equity, dignity,
and opportunity, and serves as
a cornerstone in the continued
effort to eliminate barriers to
housing choice and promote
inclusive, thriving communities.
And whereas the 50th and 58th
anniversary of the Fair Housing
Act provides provides an
opportunity to reaffirm our
shared responsibility to uphold
the law, advance fair housing
practices, and ensure that
everyone has equal access to
safe and affordable housing.
And whereas real estate
professionals play a critical
role in advancing the goals of
fair housing by adhering to
ethical standards, complying
with fair housing laws, and
fostering inclusive practices
within the communities they
serve. And Whereas, fair
housing can be achieved with a
commitment to education, ethics
and advocacy for fair housing
to promote equal opportunity,
taking action to combat
discrimination, and by
strengthening trust and
fairness in the housing market.
Now, therefore, we, the Clark
County Council, hereby
recognize April 2026 as the
58th anniversary of the Fair
Housing Act. We encourage all
residents to join in
reaffirming their commitment to
Fair Housing, to learning about
their rights and
responsibilities under the law,
and to working collaboratively
to build communities that are
inclusive, equitable and
welcoming to all. Signed this
fifth day of May 2026, Clark
County Council. And sorry,
we're a few days late. It looks
like it's April, but thank you
very much.
>> Thank you.
>> Good morning, Chairman
Marshall and fellow members of
the Clark County Council. My
name is Anthony Stroud. I'm
managing broker with
Professional Realty Services
International and serve as the
president of the Clark County
Association of Realtors. Thank
you for the opportunity to
speak with you this morning.
While April is recognized as
Fair Housing Month, my message
is simple fair housing is not
limited to a single month. It
is a year round responsibility.
We often reflect on the
progress that has been made
since the passage of the Fair
Housing Act. Now, over five
decades, that progress matters,
but so does the work that
continues today. The purpose of
fair housing remains just as
relevant now as it was then. As
a realtor, fair housing is not
just a concept. It is a
professional obligation. It
shows up in every client
interaction. It means providing
equal, consistent service to
all. It means ensuring that
every buyer and seller has
access to the same
opportunities. It requires
intention, staying educated,
holding ourselves accountable,
and advocating for the
practices that promote
inclusion across our community.
For housing protects. Sorry,
fair housing protections exist
to ensure access to housing is
not determined by personal
characteristics. Federally,
those protections include race,
color, religion, sex, national
origin, familial status, and
disability. In Washington state,
they extend further to include
marital status, creed, sexual
orientation, gender identity,
veteran or military status, and
certain health conditions. At
its core, Fair housing is about
fairness. It is about making
sure that every. It is making
sure everyone has a real
opportunity to find a place to
call home every day, not just
during one month on the
calendar. I am proud to stand
in support of this proclamation,
and I remain committed to
advancing fair housing
throughout the year in our
community. Thank you.
>> Thank you very much, and
thanks for bringing this one
forward. It's we've made
progress, but there's still
work to be done. So appreciate
your work on that front. So the
next one is the Sikh Heritage
Month. And that will be
accepted by councilor.
>> Not accepted.
>> I know but what who is the
person I Cutright city.
>> Mori. Is there anybody else?
No. Okay.
>> Good morning everyone. Thank
you for being here. I want to
shout out to the Bayne brothers
who I see in the audience.
Welcome. I do some work with
them at the other job, so I
know these guys pretty well.
All right. I have the honor of
delivering this year's
proclamation for the Sikh
community. And thank you for
being here. Well, Clark County
celebrates the cultural
diversity that strengthens our
community and recognizes the
important contributions of the
Sikh Americans to the social,
cultural and economic fabric of
our county and nation. And
whereas Sikhism, founded over
550 years ago, is one of the
world's major faiths rooted in
the principles of equality,
selfless service, compassion,
and faith in the creator. And
whereas April is recognized as
Sikh Heritage Month, a time to
honor the Sikh communities
vibrant traditions, spiritual
heritage and ongoing
contributions, as well as to
acknowledge the resilience and
dedication to advancing equity,
justice and inclusion. And
whereas, this month also
includes the celebration of and
I don't know how to pronounce
this, I'm going to try it.
Vaisakhi. All right.
Commemorating the founding of
the Khalsa in 1699, marking a
time of renewal, unity and
service to humanity. And
whereas, Sikh Heritage Month
provides an opportunity to
reflect on the Sikh community's
pursuit of truth, justice and
service to others, values that
align with Clark County's
vision of being a welcoming and
inclusive community. And
whereas Clark County is home to
a growing Sikh community whose
faith, civic engagement and
volunteerism, von Folayan
volunteerism enrich the life of
our county and reflect the
enduring values of service and
humanity. Now, therefore, we,
the Clark County Council,
hereby proclaim April 2026 and
the rest of the year as Sikh
Heritage Month in Clark County,
Washington, and encourage all
residents to join in
celebrating the history, faith
and contributions of the Sikh
community while continuing to
build a community rooted in
respect and understanding for
all. Signed this fifth day of
May 2026 by the entire Council.
>> Thank you.
>> All righty. Hello, Council
and community members. My name
is Kirit Corsetti and I'm a
senior at Camas High School, as
well as a running start student
at Clark College. On behalf of
the Sikh community in Clark
County, we extend our sincere
gratitude to the Clark County
Council for proclaiming April
as Sikh Heritage Month. We are
honored by this recognition of
our history, faith and
contributions. At the heart of
Sikh is the belief in the one
Divine. The teachings of Guru
Nanak shared three foundational
principles living in constant
remembrance of the divine.
Earning with honesty and
integrity, and sharing the
fruits of one's labor. They
emphasize equality, justice,
and service to all humanity.
Sek teachings uphold the
fundamental belief that all
people are equal, regardless of
race, gender, religion, or
background. This commitment to
egalitarian values continues to
shape how we engage with and
contribute to society. Rooted
in these values, Sikhs are
engaged in a wide range of
social service efforts in Clark
County. These include
organizing disaster relief
initiatives, providing meals
and essential supplies to those
in need, supporting local
nonprofits, and fostering
strong partnerships with
organizations and local law
enforcement. Through
volunteerism and civic
engagement, we strive to
support a more compassionate,
safe and inclusive society for
all. This spirit of social
service extends into civic life
as well. Sikh communities have
long been involved in political
advocacy, including movements
such as the Revolutionary Party
that took place here in the
Pacific Northwest in the 1900s.
The party was organized to
fight the colonial oppression
of the British rule in India.
Its legacy displays the
traditions of a deep commitment
to justice and equality, values
that align closely with the
work of this council in shaping
policies that impact the lives
of residents across Clark
County. These principles
continue to guide efforts
towards fairness, inclusiveness
and the protection of human
rights. This recognition also
welcomes reflection on our
history. Just over a century
ago, sick immigrants faced
exclusion and discrimination,
including being turned away
from Canada's shores. During
the Komagata Maru incident in
1914. Today, I want to use this
opportunity to reflect on how
far we have come from moments
of adversity to establishing
roots in areas like Clark
County. Economically, six have
contributed to the Columbia
River basin for over a century.
Early Sikh immigrants were
among those laying down
railroads and working in lumber
mills, helping build the
Pacific Northwest. Today, we
can continue to see the impact
on the region's economic fabric
through entrepreneurship, small
business ownership and
participation across industries
such as transportation,
agriculture, healthcare and
professional services. This
spirit of honest work and
self-reliance continues to
drive economic growth while
promoting opportunities for
others. We are proud to be part
of the social and economic
fabric here, and we remain
committed to growing,
contributing and standing
alongside our neighbors for
generations to come. We are
especially grateful for the
opportunity this proclamation
provides to raise awareness
about Sikh heritage and to
build a deeper understanding.
Sikh Heritage Month is not only
a time of celebration, but a
time to reaffirm our shared
values of justice, liberty and
mutual respect, values that
continue to guide how we engage
with one another today. The
relationship that has been
built between Clark County and
the Sikh community is one of
mutual growth and a shared
purpose. We thank the Council
for recognizing our ongoing
contributions and for its
commitment to aiding a
welcoming and inclusive
environment for all residents.
Thank you once again for your
time and the honor. We look
forward to continuing to build
and strengthen this
relationship together. Thank
you.
>> Thank you.
>> Thank you. And thanks to
everyone who joined us this
morning. Okay. Our final
proclamation is Therapeutic
Court Month and Angie Hutton,
Therapeutic Specialty Court
program coordinator, will be
accepting. There she is. I
think it was on all the time.
Okay. Whereas the lives of
thousands of Clark County
residents are strengthened each
year through our therapeutic
courts, which provide structure,
accountability and supportive
guidance. These programs help
individuals and families face
significant challenges and move
toward greater stability,
healing, and hope. And whereas
Therapeutic Court offers a
meaningful alternative to
incarceration by directing
individuals toward treatment
and support. And they help
preserve family unity by
reducing the loss of parental
rights within the child welfare
system. And whereas therapeutic
Court provides treatment,
medication support, case
management, peer services,
resources and accountability
that promote long term recovery.
And whereas therapeutic court
strengthens education,
employment, housing and
financial stability, promotes
family reunification and reduce
foster care placement. And
whereas therapeutic court
reduce reduced overdose deaths,
decrease homelessness, reunite
families, improve parenting
skills and foster safer,
healthier communities that
benefit all. And whereas
therapeutic court improves
treatment outcomes, reduce
addiction related crime,
support mental health and
veterans reintegration, and do
so at lower cost. And whereas
therapeutic court inspires
stronger, healthier communities
by fostering meaningful
partnerships that unite public
safety and public health
professionals. And whereas,
therapeutic court demonstrates
that when one individual rises
from the challenges of
substance use, mental health
conditions and criminal
behavior, we all rise. And now,
therefore, we, the Clark County
Council hereby proclaims the
month of May 2026 as
Therapeutic Court Month in
Clark County, Washington and
recognizes the vital role our
therapeutic courts play in
addressing substance use,
mental health needs, veterans
reintegration and family
stability while reducing crime,
recidivism and overall system
costs. Signed this fifth day,
May 2026 by the entire Council.
So.
>> Thank you very much. Would
you like to say a few.
>> Thank you councilors. Try to
make this short here. It is
truly an honor to accept this
proclamation on behalf of Clark
County District Court and our
therapeutic specialty courts
throughout District and
Superior Court. Therapeutic
courts exist because we believe
people can change, often in
remarkable ways, when they're
met with structure, support,
accountability, and an
opportunity to heal. Here in
Clark County, we've seen that
belief come to life over and
over again. So far, 2017
individuals have graduated from
our therapeutic court programs.
Among them are 95 veterans who
allowed us the honor of walking
beside them as they worked to
rebuild stability, dignity, and
hope. And within our programs,
171 families have been reunited.
Families who found their way
back to one another because
someone they love chose
recovery, showed courage, and
did the incredibly hard work of
rebuilding their lives. And
it's important to acknowledge
something more. Those 171
families reflect only the
participants formerly involved
in our therapeutic courts. They
do not include the many others
who, through their own progress,
have quietly repaired
relationships with parents,
children, partners and loved
ones. The impact of this work
reaches far beyond what we can
track on paper. Every number
represents a story. A parent
walking into a visit sober for
the first time in years, a
child sleeping through the
night knowing their mom or dad
is finally safe. A veteran
rediscovering purpose, a
participant finding their voice,
their strength, and their
future. These aren't statistics.
Their lives reclaimed,
relationships restored and
futures rewritten. And when our
graduates return to the
community, they return as
healthier parents, committed
employees, steady partners, and
neighbors who strengthen the
fabric of Clark County, their
success ripples outwards into
homes, workplaces,
neighborhoods, and generations
that will benefit from the
changes they've made. This work
is possible only because of
people who show up day after
day. Our judges are case
managers, defense and
prosecution teams, coordinators,
treatment providers, Kinnee,
community organizations, and so
many others who bring
consistency, compassion, and a
shared belief in what's
possible. But above all, it is
possible because of our
participants their willingness
to face difficult truths, to
try again, and to choose a
different path. Your
recognition today tells them
that their efforts matter. It
tells our teams that this
community believes in second
chances in recovery and the
extraordinary resilience of the
people we serve. Thank you for
honoring Therapeutic Court
Month and for supporting a
system that helps people
rebuild their lives, reunite
with their families, and
strengthen the heart of Clark
County. We're truly grateful.
Thank you.
>> Thank you very much. I had
the opportunity to attend a
graduation and it was very
inspiring. The level of support
that they're giving and the
very hard work that the
individuals who participate, it
was a joyful experience. So
thanks a lot. Okay, now moving
on to the Pledge of Allegiance,
if you will stand and join me,
and if you could remain
standing for the invocation
that will be provided by Mark
Lyons from Lighthouse Church, I
pledge allegiance to.
>> The flag. Of the United
States of America and to the
Republic for which it stands.
One nation under God,
indivisible, with liberty and
justice for all.
>> Got the button right. Thank
you. Thank you for this honor
of being able to pray for you.
Please bow your heads with me
in prayer. Heavenly father,
thank you for this day. Thank
you for another chance to help
others. I ask that you bless
those in this chamber and those
who are given the opportunity
to serve. Please, Lord, give us
wisdom to make decisions that
glorify your will for us. Let
us be good stewards of what is
being given to us, and remind
us to be humble and selfless.
As we act as servants of the
people. We ask that you protect
those in attendance and give us
ears to hear and eyes to see
what needs to be said and done.
Thank you again, Mighty God,
for our lives and the
prosperity given to us to be
able to serve you and our
neighbors. We are blessed and
so let us please bless others
in love. I humbly ask all of
this in the name of Jesus
Christ, Lord and Savior of all.
Amen. Thank you.
>> Okay. Thank you for that.
Moving on with the agenda.
We'll start with the roll call.
>> Councilor here.
>> Councilor Fuentes.
>> Here.
>> Councilor Little.
>> Here.
>> Chair Marshall here.
Councilor Belkot is absent.
>> Excused.
>> Thank you.
>> Okay, then. Bid Award 28140.
Amendments. I'm sorry. Are
there any amendments?
>> There's no amendments to the
agenda, but I believe one of
the public hearings will have
an amendment to a resolution
that will be before you.
>> Okay. Thank you. Thank you
for that. Okay, then let's move
on to the bid award. 2814
Annual Legal Advertising. So
Priscilla Ricci. Oh, Michelle.
>> Sorry.
>> Priscilla is unavailable
this morning, so I'll be
reading this.
>> We're happy to see you.
>> Good morning, Clark County
Council, Clark County
Councilors Michelle Schuster,
director of internal services.
And I'll be reading the award
of invitation to bid number
2814 for annual legal
advertising in accordance with
Washington State Statute RC W
36.72.075. The legal
advertising bid shall be
awarded to the best and lowest
responsible bidder, giving
consideration to the question
of circulation in awarding the
contract with a view to giving
publication of notices the
widest publicity. The bid was
sent to seven vendors and three
plan centers, of which two
responses were received for bid
281 for annual legal
advertising. The bid responses
were as follows. The Columbian
had $1.70 for their line cost
one insertion, $1.40 for their
line cost two insertion, 17,241
paid circulations, 480 for
unpaid circulations and 17,725
total circulations. And then
the second one was the Latin
American Times. They had 225
for their line costs, one
insertion, 225 for their line
cost two insertion, 1800 paid
circulations, 23,200 unpaid
circulations, and a total
circulation of 25,000. The bid
responses were checked for
accuracy, content and
compliance with specifications
that satisfy the legal
newspaper requirements, as
defined in C, W 36.7, 2.075 and
65.16.020. Qualifications a
legal newspaper. Upon review,
the bid responses, the
following was determined. The
Latin American Times LLC
submitted a bid response, but
they are not a legal paper of
record as required in CW65
.16.020, the Columbian is a six
day per week publication and is
a responsive and responsible
bidder with a large paid
circulation. They use the
United States Postal Service to
deliver their papers directly
to the subscribers within the
Vancouver Urban boundary and to
subscribers outside the
boundary. They also maintain an
online website with a dedicated
legal ad section and access
through a smartphone tablet
application. Therefore,
purchasing recommends that
invitation to bid number 2814
be awarded to the Columbian,
making them the newspaper of
record for all legal
notifications. In addition,
Clark County will continue to
use area specific newspapers
such as the Reflector, the
Camas Washougal Post Record and
the Vancouver Business Journal.
These papers should be used in
addition to the Columbian. When
the legal notice pertains to a
specific locale within the
general circulation area of the
newspaper.
>> Okay. Thank you. Maybe we
could close the doors. There's
noise coming from the.
>> We actually, we actually
need to keep the doors open
according to law. But we can
ask the the folks.
>> Out there, out there in the
hallway. Thank you. Okay. Are
there any clarifying questions
from council? The doors have to
remain open. Thanks. Okay. And
for not necessarily the legal
notices, but public, you know,
when there's public hearings or
there's public awareness, we
like we would use the Latin
American Times and other. So we
can have a be able to reach
that we should. Who's speaking?
>> It was a staff member.
They're muted now.
>> Oh, okay. I was just curious
about reaching a diverse
community and, and when and if
they're not the legal notices,
they still get noticed of other
things.
>> Yes. Like we use the Latin
American times a lot for a lot
of our bids that go out on the
streets. We publish not only in
the Columbian, but the Latin
American times. And so they are
used for a lot of different
notifications throughout the
county.
>> Great. Thank you. And so if
there aren't any further
questions, I'll open it up for
the public comment. And just to
remind folks, this is public
comment just on the award of
invitation to bid on 2814
annual legal advertising. And
you are limited. There's no
public oh, this is the bid.
There's plenty of time to get
to public hearings. Sorry about
that. So we're looking for a
motion.
>> So moved.
>> Okay. Is there a second?
Second moved and seconded.
Thank you very much. All those
in favor say I, I I okey doke.
Well I was a little premature
on explaining our public
hearings, but I think that I
think we're ready to move on.
Thank you Michelle. So public
hearing on capital technical
budget supplemental. And I
think first we'll hear from
Emily. Is she online now. Oh
there she is. She's in the
front row. Good to see you.
>> Good morning Council. I'll
provide the update today. And
of course, Emily is here, as
well as our partners in the
audience of their specific
questions. Just as a kind
reminder pursuant to our CW3640,
that does provide the county
the ability to do supplemental
budgets throughout the year.
These are mainly due to
unforeseen circumstances that
present a risk of safety or
welfare conditions in which the
impair the department or office
ability to meet their
obligations, labor agreements,
legal settlements, and
unanticipated revenues and
expenses such as grants. There
are 20 requests in front of
council today 15 carry forward,
two previously approved by
council and three technical
adjustments. I'm going to
summarize what they are. I'm
not going to go line by line,
but the 15 carry forward, all
of these have been previously
approved. This is simply
carrying forward the unspent
funding from 2025 to 2026 so
that the project can continue.
Most of these are capital
projects such as the elections
backup generator, public health,
elevator repairs, fairground
projects that council approved,
replacing neighborhood signs,
finishing up the H pod
renovations in the jail, the E
Defender Public Defense case
management system and supplies
for the sheriff's office that
were ordered last year but have
not received those yet, such as
gas masks. The second piece on
here is the previously approved
by council. There are two of
these. This is the Parks and
Capital Improvement Plan and
the Transportation Improvement
Plan. We start our budget
process very early. So this is
really truing up the budget to
actuals to get as lined as we
can be. And I'm sure there'll
be some more updates in the
fall supplemental in November.
So this really just allows them
to continue the work that
council's already approved. And
just getting a little closer to
the alignment. And then finally,
there are three technical
adjustments. Technical
adjustments are simply coding
changes, reallocating budgets
to align the coding to the
correct place. There were just
a couple of these with the
district court projects, the
cyber security contract to
correct the the funds and the
ledgers that were assigned to
those. So again, all of these
have been previously approved
by council. There is no new
request. It's really just
aligning our master plans and
our capital plans more in line
with the budget. Happy to
answer any questions Council
may have.
>> Are there any questions?
Hearing none, I think we're
ready to move on to the public
comment. And just this public
hearing is on the capital
technical budget supplemental
as described. And so if anyone
has signed up, you're limited
to three minutes. And please
come forward.
>> Carmen de Leon. Yeah.
>> It's me, Carmen de Leon. And
I hope this is the right topic
because it says right here,
adjustment, supplemental income.
Okay, so I guess you guys have
extra income because of that.
What was it? Psychiatric
hospital that y'all built and
couldn't save the money to pay
for the employees. So the
building has been empty all
year. Maybe we can look into
filling the hospital that's
already been built with all the
money and you didn't save.
Maybe the extra money can go
towards a staff for the
hospital that I know has
already been built. The mental
hospital out there by wazoo.
Right? Anyways, that's one
thing. And then she said
something about advertisement.
Excuse me, but the Colombian
circulation, 4000. We have a
population.
>> Of 400. 000 topic. That's
not this topic.
>> See, that's what I'm just
saying. I thought this was
together. I'm confused. I'm
just saying, if you have extra
money, the Colombian can't be
trusted. But if that's off
topic, okay. Okay. So you have
other extra money. Are you even
talking about the supplemental
income from 800, or is it
100,000 or 8 million? 80
million. And the Fares Trust
fund that the fair has money? I
don't see why they're putting
more money into the fairgrounds.
Millions at Clark County
Fairgrounds. When we want the
we want dirt. We don't want
more cars out there. We like
the wheelbarrow. When we would
park and get on the wheel, the.
And it would take you in there.
It was fun having a dirt road.
So if they want to put millions
into Clark County Fairgrounds,
it shouldn't be. On making
everything sidewalk because
like you see, it automatically
heats up the earth. We don't
need that. We need more trees.
We need more grass. We need
those kids out there playing in
the fields, not parking their
car on a hard, you know,
pavement and keep going. So
anyways, that threw me off. So.
She's talking about
transportation. So for
transportation, how do you
justify 16,000,000 billion with
a B for light rail and a new
bridge when we already have a
train bridge, we don't need
another. And we have two cities
that want bridges for less than
a billion each. So maybe the
Clark County ought to consider
two new bridges, one in Kansas,
one in Saint Helens, because we
don't need ten years of
construction. They're going to
close I-5 southbound for a
month this September. What is
my son going to do? He works in
Portland. Go all the way around
to 205. Thanks. Wow. Thanks.
And ten years of this. I think
we need to reconsider the I-5
bridge expense because we don't
need it. The engineers stood
right here in front of you
saying it was good. And like
the one woman said, if you want
to fix this bridge because of
earthquakes, why don't you fix
the 20 others in all over
Portland with $1 billion?
>> Okay. Thank you. Is there
anyone else in the room chair?
>> We don't have anybody signed
up in the room, but we do have
one online.
>> Okay.
>> Caller, you've been sent a
request to unmute. Please go
ahead and do so. State your
name for the record and go
ahead with your comment.
>> Good morning, Kimberly Gusey
and Elbon. Thank you so much
for the prayer this morning
ending in Jesus name. So you
are going to be using our hard
earned tax dollars. Use them
wisely as we're going to hold
you accountable. I'll also
mention that on this agenda or
excuse me, this public hearing,
that this is recommended by the
unelected county manager and
must be held accountable. We've
we've got to watch for our
monies are going. And frankly,
there's not a lot of people
there doing so. But good job.
Mellow. Risk and welfare was
mentioned. You guys need to put
public safety first. I'll tell
you that right now. I hope that
this budget has that in in mind,
but also neighborhood signs
were mentioned also. In my
opinion, those signs only
target those who you harbor as
a sanctuary council. Now
relating to this public hearing.
You made two proclamations this
morning pertaining to courts
and corrections. So I'll ask,
where are the funds allotted
for an adequate jail building?
Maybe that's somewhere. Maybe
that's coming in the future.
I'd like to know, as you are
doing my business, I'd like
maybe a reply from the county
manager, but we need a new jail
building and I don't have a
clue where that's going. But we
need updates to modernize or
even efforts to rid the
existing jail of lead pipes. I
brought this up numerous times.
I consider it this matter a
public safety issue, a serious
one that has not been addressed.
I see no budget for the jail,
and there's funds for the event
center. I'm changing the
subject here from the jail, but
that's mostly in my main thrust
of life right now is our jail
system, the corrections law and
justice. Here in Clark County.
There's funds for the event
center. And again, I hope that
the new lighting will not cause
eye strain or any eye eye harm
to children, the elderly and
anybody involved. So I hope
you've looked into that after I
mentioned it at my public
speaking a week or two ago
about this, that when we do
speak, you guys are to listen
and you don't just pass it off
and you're your three minutes
are up, County roads are
mentioned. And I'll mention
that the road from Tri Mountain
Golf Course headed north to
Timmins Road is a hazard and
needs serious repair. That's
about all I have. But we do
want you to listen to us, make
note, do something about it,
and don't just swift us off as
well. Your time is up and
that's all there is to it
because that's what I've been
noticing. You don't. You don't
actually hear us. You might be
listening, but you don't hear.
>> Your time is up. Is there
anyone else online.
>> That concludes public
comment for this hearing.
>> Okay. Thank you very much.
Just a reminder that this
budget is the capital technical
budget supplemental. Many of
the things we've already
approved, some are carrying
forward projects underway and
technical code changes. So not
as broad an application as some
of the testifiers mentioned.
Any questions or comments?
Seeing none, I'll entertain a
motion to approve the capital
technical budget supplemental.
Sure. Yes.
>> Move to pass resolution
number 2026-05-01.
>> Thank you.
>> Second.
>> It's been moved and seconded.
Are there any other comments?
Hearing none. All in favor, say
I.
>> I.
>> I motion carries. Okay.
Moving on to the next public
hearing, the 2026 Annual Action
Plan for the Community
Development Block Grant. Yes.
>> Just really quick, I want to
for the record, I will recuse
myself from this conversation
since one of the recipients of
the Community Block Grant is
the organization that I work
for.
>> Okay. Thank you for that.
Let's go ahead, Michael.
>> Thank you. Good morning,
chair Council County manager.
For the record, I'm Michael
Torres, program manager three
with Clark County Community
Services. I am accompanied by
Rebecca Royce, a program
program coordinator. Two who
oversees and works on the
Community Community Development
Block Grant fund and the Home
Investment Partnership programs.
We are here to request a public
hearing to receive comment on
the 2026 Community Development
Block Grant and the Home
Investment Partnership Program,
Annual Action Plan, and also to
the 2025 amendments to 2025
Annual Plan. Prior to their
submission to the U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban
Development. Also, to request
authorization from you to
submit those plans to HUD. And
finally, authorization from the
County manager to sign any
grants and agreements that are
coming from this action plan
and the 2025 amendment that we
are submitting to them. And I
will pass it to Rebecca Royce
to do the presentation for the
hearing.
>> Thank you, Michael. Thank
you, County Council, to receive
Cdbg and home funding, HUD
requires the completion of a
five year planning document
along with annual action plans.
The five year planning document
identifies the needs of our
community, along with goals to
address those needs. The annual
Action Plan will describe the
types of projects we anticipate
completing to meet the goals
identified in the consolidated
plan. We have been working with
a consultant, and last year you
adopted our consolidated plan
for the 2025 through 2029
programs years. I apologize. So
next one. So I'm going to go
over the annual action plan for
you. All the information that
is included. It is a very long
plan and it is very heavily
federally regulated on what
information is involved. So
this is just a brief overview
of the annual action plan. As
you can see here. This is a
template for all of the
jurisdictions to use when
developing the one year action
plan. This slide reflects the
sections of the plan, the full
2026 draft plan and the
amendments to our 2025 plan are
available for review on our
website. Much of the plans for
each year build upon the
previous year's reporting.
Because of this, and in the
interest of time, I'll focus
today on the funding expected
from HUD, the activities being
recommended for funding, and
the changes to the previous
action plan. Next slide please.
So HUD requires the public be
notified and have a chance to
provide feedback about the
activities we undertake with
the Cdbg and home program funds.
Notification about the
availability of each of these
documents was published in The
Columbian. Sent out through a
news release posted on the
county's social media platforms
and sent to over 450 people on
our distribution list. We
announced the public hearing in
the Columbian both on April 9th
and on April 17th. The news
release and social media posts,
the publishing to our website,
and the email distribution was
all conducted on April 9th.
Next slide. The amount of
funding available through our
2026 request for application
process comes from our
anticipated annual allocation
of funds from HUD program
income that is generated
through the payment of loans
for previous projects and prior
year resources, which are
typically from projects that
completed under budget, unused
contingency funding or projects
that failed to move forward.
The annual allocation of
funding is just over $1.9
million for Cdbg and 1.5
million for home. This includes
entitlement funds determined
through a formula at the
federal level, anticipated
program income to be earned
over the program year. Our
finance staff estimated about
$24,000 for Cdbg and $27,000
for the home program and also
prior year resources. As you
can see, the home program
received significant prior year
resources due to unanticipated
loan payoffs before the Urban
County Policy Board makes their
funding recommendations, our
finance staff determine funds
from prior years that need to
be reallocated. As mentioned
previously, this can be from
projects that completed under
budget, unused contingency
funds, income from loan
repayments or projects that
failed to move forward. You can
see on the slide. Oh I'm sorry,
please go back. No you're fine.
The. We also indicate the
description of how the funds
will be used. A brief
description, and we indicate
the amount of funding we
anticipate having through
throughout the remainder of the
consolidated plan. I also want
to highlight that this is our
second year of funding awards
for the 2025 to 20 295 year
consolidated plan, which is why
you see a rather high number in
the expected amount. Remainder
of con plan consolidated plan
column. Finally, on the slide
is that brief description I
mentioned about how we will be
using this slide. The funds.
Next slide. Before we discuss
the specific activities that
will be funded, a quick
overview of the goals we are
working towards. In our
consolidated plan we have five
goal categories public services,
public facilities and
neighborhood improvements,
asset and economic development,
housing and administration.
Under these goals, staff had
have estimated that over the
life of the consolidated plan,
we will make improvements to
community and recreational
spaces that will benefit 2000
people, provide technical
assistance to 160 low income
Microenterprise businesses
provide safety net services for
900 people, including dental
assistants, childcare,
transportation assistance and
healthcare navigation help 60
low income families either
purchase a home or make much
needed repairs to their home,
and move 320 households out of
homelessness and into housing
by providing rent assistance
and case management services.
Next slide please. The next
several slides. We will go over
the funding recommendations by
the Urban County Policy Board.
Under Public services, the
Battleground Health Care Dental
Services and Lutheran Community
Services. Northwest Health care
navigation programs have each
been recommended for funding
these. Both of these programs
will offer services related to
health care. Battleground will
focus on dental services.
Lutheran Community Services
will focus on navigation of our
health care system. Under
public facilities and
neighborhood improvements, we
have the City of Battleground
with a North Parkway Avenue
sidewalks. This project is
receiving a total of $303,000,
including funds for county
staff implementation. This
project is being funded in part
with Reprogramed funds. As part
of the Program year 2025 Annual
Action Plan Amendment, which we
will discuss later in this
presentation. Next slide. Under
our Asset and Economic
Development category, we are
supporting four business
assistance programs the support
for early learning and families
or self Upwards Care, fourth
Plane Forward and Hispanic
Metropolitan Chamber. All of
these programs will be helping
low income microenterprise
businesses, self and Upwards
Care will be focusing on child
care businesses to increase the
number of child care businesses
or increase their capacity. And
the fourth plan, Forward and
Hispanic Metropolitan Chamber
will be focusing on other
businesses that want to expand
or start a new business. Next
slide. Under our housing goal,
we have broken this out in a
couple of different areas for
preservation and development.
We will recommend funding Clark
County's Housing Preservation
Program, which provides
essential housing repairs to
low income home owners to
maintain their housing safety
and affordability to proud
ground for their Home Buyer
Assistance program, which will
help three home buyers purchase
their first home to Columbia
nonprofit housing for their
River and main project, which
is new construction of a 40
unit, fully affordable housing
complex serving low income
seniors ages 62 and older.
Located in Washougal and to the
Foundation for the challenged
for a new purchase of two homes
for persons with intellectual
and developmental disabilities
who are low income. Next slide.
Also, under housing, we have
stability services. These are
through our tenant based rental
assistance programs. We are
recommending to fund Janus
Youth programs and share these
programs, provide tenant based
rental assistance and case
management services to
households experiencing
homelessness throughout Clark
County. And finally, our last
category on next slide is under
administration. And this covers
the costs of administering both
the Cdbg and home programs. The
Cdbg program, by regulation
allows up to 20% of our annual
entitlement to go towards
administration for the home
program. It's by regulation, up
to 10% of the entitlement
amount that can go towards
administration. Next slide. I
wanted to touch on a couple of
different things that are part
of the planning process for our
annual action plan. The we have
a Chotto set aside or a
community housing development
organization required set aside
amounts for the home program
for the amount of $84,718, we
did not have an eligible
project or entity apply for
funding under this category, so
we will be holding those funds
until next year, and hopefully
that we'll get an application
to be able to allocate those
funds. We also set aside
funding for contingency. I'm
sorry. We also set aside the
opportunity for contingency
projects. If funding comes
becomes available, the
following activities will be
awarded. If we receive Cdbg
funds, we would award up to
$75,000 to the Greater
Vancouver Chamber of Commerce
Business Assistance Program. If
we receive additional home
funding, we would provide up to
$300,000 to Evergreen Habitat
for humanity for their home
buyer assistance. Next slide.
And this just provides a quick
funding snapshot of the funds
that we have available. This
gives a breakdown between the
application categories and
administration. This includes
all applications recommended
for funding, regardless if the
funds are coming from our 2026
Annual Action Plan or from
prior year allocations. Overall,
there is about 5% going to
public services in the dark
teal slice, 9% going to public
facilities and neighborhood
improvements in the light green
slice, 18% going to asset and
economic economic development
activities in the orange slice,
57% going to housing activities,
including stability and
development of new housing. And
the purple slice is the total
administration about 11% total
for both programs. Next slide.
So this is a quick overview of
the amendment to our 2025
action plan. The as mentioned
previously, we have an
amendment to the 2025 Action
Plan. We had originally awarded
$200,000 last year for
renovations at a building owned
by the county in battleground,
located at 701 East Main Street.
This project is no longer
moving forward. The funds are
now being allocated to the
Battleground North Parkways
Sidewalks project, as discussed
earlier. Next slide. Public
comment is being accepted on
the two documents presented to
presented today. Public
comments are being accepted
through Monday, May 11th to
adhere to the 30 day public
comment period required by had.
If we will be accepting public
comments today during this
hearing, or people can call
Noreen Ibrahim at
(564) 397-7834 or email Noreen
ibrahim@clark.wa.gov. She's our
program assistant and will be
accepting all public comments
for this public comment process.
All public comments accepted
today and through phone call or
email will be included in our
annual Action Plan. Submissions
to HUD. At this time, we are
seeking public input through
this public hearing for the
2026 Action Plan and Amendment
to the 2025 Action Plan. This
concludes staff's presentation,
and we're happy to answer
questions by Council before
opening up for public comment.
>> Thank you very much. Are
there any questions from
Council Chair? Yes. Go ahead
please.
>> Just curious. I didn't see
any in my inbox. Did we receive
any comments, any public
comments?
>> We did not.
>> Okay. I've done chair.
>> Please go ahead.
>> Yeah. Thank you for this
information. It looks like
there's great resources going
out to our community. I had
just just want to learn a
little bit more about the Proud
ground homebuyer assistance,
where 250,000 is allocated for
three first time home buyers.
And I was wondering if that was
related to the strategy is
related to the 300 000 in
potential contingency funds for
evergreen habitat for humanity
home buyer assistance. Just
want to learn a little bit more
about the strategy and criteria
for choosing who gets that
assistance and how how it works
as best you know.
>> So the staff put out a
request for application with
all of the categories in mind,
and different agencies can
apply under the specific
category for the home buyer
program. It's actually under
our asset and economic
development category. There's
several questions. Some of them
are scored. Some of them are
not the scoring questions. Some
of them are subjective. Some of
them are objective. The
subjective scoring is scored by
the Urban County Policy Board,
which is made up of mayor or
their designated alternates
from each of the small cities
outside the city of Vancouver,
including the city of woodland,
and is chaired by a county
council person. Currently
Councilor Young. They score all
of the applications and then
they are ranked based on the
amount of funding we have in
each category. We fund the top
applications until we run out
of funding. This year, we were
able to fund several categories,
including Proud Ground,
evergreen. Habitat for humanity
was just under the scoring
where we had enough funding
available, which is why they
are considered a contingency
project. Through this
application process, the home
Buyer program is a land trust
model where Proud Ground will
own the land under the home,
and first time home buyers will
purchase the the house that
sits on the property, and it
will be affordable for 99 years
that they get a land lease. And
this makes it to where that
project can be permanently
affordable. So if that home
buyer sells the home, it gets
sold back and to another low
income household or in the
future. So it's perpetually
affordable moving forward.
Would you like to add something?
>> No. I thought you were
looking at me to go over
habitat. Go ahead. Okay, so
habitat works very similar.
It's a it's a land bank model
as well. So they both
organizations, they're similar
programs. Both organizations
work to identify eligible low
income households that are
first time home buyers. And
when I say low income
households, I mean in this case,
80% Ami or below, usually it's
around 60% Ami or below. For
these first time home buyer
households. And they helped
them. Afford the mortgage and
owned, you know, owned a house
and the land is banked and the
house itself becomes
permanently affordable. When I
say permanently, as Rebecca
indicated, it's 99 years. So
very, very similar programs.
Proud ground has been working
with the county in this model
longer than evergreen. Habitat
for humanity has. And I would
expect that evergreen will
continue in the future. It's a
it's a contingency program this
time around. I'm sure they will
continue to apply for more
funds and more activities.
>> I'll also add that both of
those programs look at the
income or the amount of funding
needed for each household, and
then subsidizes the payment. So
it buys down the mortgage, the
private mortgage that they need
to have for the home. So not
only is it making it affordable
using a land trust model, but
also helping buy down the
mortgage for the household to
be able to afford their first
home.
>> When last thing I'll say
about both of these programs,
although we have more
historical data on proud ground,
we often get questions of if
you are. If. If the program is
targeting a low income
household to become a home
buyer, what does that look like
in terms of defaults to the
mortgages and losing the home?
And we haven't had that
experience through this program
in Clark County. It's been very,
very successful. And even
through the 2008 Great
Recession, I don't think they
had a single default. So the.
They're doing a very good job
in terms of identifying the
households, making sure that
they are ready to be homeowners
and can afford to financial
commitments. They're making.
>> Great. Thank you so much for
that info.
>> Don't they have a. I think
part of their program is in
education. So budgeting and,
you know, all those kinds of
things. So it really gets them
in a in a great place to be
able to be successful.
>> Correct. All of our home
buyer programs are required to
go through housing counseling
services, which go through all
of the information that you
would need to be a good home
buyer.
>> The last piece of
information I'll pass to the
council and I apologize. We get
these questions occasionally
for proud ground during that 99
year period of land trust,
they're expecting to serve
about three households total
for each of those properties.
>> Okay. Any other questions?
Hearing none, let's open it up
for the public. And again, this
will be comments on the 2026
Annual Action Plan for the
Community Development Block
Grant.
>> Caamal. Lehan.
>> Yeah, I'm Carmen de Lehan.
Molodih Lehan. And she talked
about now about the advertising.
Right. That's okay now because
no. Oh, okay. Not the
advertising. Okay. So your
homes plan has a bilingual
thing. Why do you want to
handicap people? Because this
is America. We speak English
and if people don't want to
speak English, then maybe they
don't belong here. It's a
safety issue. Realistically,
when I went to Guatemala and
lived there, my parents paid
for private lessons to learn to
speak and read Spanish
efficiently so I wouldn't be
vulnerable. So how are you
letting people be vulnerable?
By giving them Spanish? Or I'm
against translating Russian or
anything, because if you're in
my country, speak my language.
When I've gone across the sea
overseas, whatever, they didn't
provide me with translation or
bilingual this and bilingual
that. You came here, you're
screwed. Get your own
translator. But nowadays you
can just Google your own
translator on the phone. So why
are you financing something
that could be gotten free? Be
you say you're helping people
with lower income than. Why
aren't you mandating fireplaces,
wood stoves and etc. Because
every winter we know that the
heating bill is going to go up
about 600 bucks. So you need to
annually increase winter by 600
bucks. If you don't have a
fireplace or a wood stove, or
another way to keep yourself or
a generator bike generator. In
case you weren't looking at the
news, millions of people across
the United States lost power
because of the the rain and the
snow. And they were weeks with
no lights. Jeez, if they'd have
had a generator, maybe they'd
have made it. If they'd have
had a fireplace, maybe they
could have cooked and stayed
warm instead of freezing all
through the winter. And I don't
see anything on that in here.
So like I said, the hemp burns
at 2000 degrees. So you can
actually offer fireproof
housing. But I guess the
followers in this crowd would
rather just do what everybody
else does instead of being, you
know, spectacular and inventing
something new, like a fireproof
establishment, building houses
or whatever other thing. Let's
see. Businesses have been
leaving. So if you want people
to buy houses, about $1 billion
worth of people have moved to
Idaho because they don't want
to pay the millionaires tax. So
the more they're they're losing
housing, they're losing people
from this state to other states
because of the misspending and
overtaxation of our population.
So yeah, a over a billion went
to Idaho. People moving out.
What's the last one to see? Oh,
yeah. Oh, that you said it
wasn't on the TV thing that
we're still not talking about
Colombian newspaper not being
efficient. Is that still. No.
Is that the next one?
>> It would be the open public
comment that you comment on the
Columbia.
>> All right. Okay. Yeah. So I
talked about sorry.
>> That's all that's signed up
in the room chair. But we do
have two callers online.
>> Okay.
>> Caller, you've been sent a
request to unmute. Please go
ahead and do so. State your
name for the record and go
ahead with your comment.
>> Good morning councilors. My
name is Melanie for I'm the
community Impact manager at
upwards, and I'm just here to
express our gratitude for the
Urban County Policies Board's
recommendation to fund our
Boost program as an investment
in Clark County's child care
providers and the working
families who depend on them.
The Boost program equips low to
moderate income in home family
child care providers, with one
on one business coaching and
digital tools to strengthen
their operations and grow their
revenue. Providers work
individually with these
experienced mentors to build a
custom business action plan,
which covers marketing,
enrollment, finances,
programing, we help with
staffing, and more. They also
receive free access to our
child care management system,
which streamlines all the day
to day operations and improves
the program quality. So the
result of the program is
providers will grow their small
businesses, create local jobs,
and expand access to not only
affordable but very quality
care for working families
across the county. As you know,
Clark County's child care
shortage doesn't just impact
families, it impacts the local
economy. 70% of children under
six lack access to licensed
care, which leaves thousands of
families, especially moms,
single parents and shift
workers unable to fully
participate in the workforce.
At the same time, child care
workers earn on average just
under $20 an hour, far below
the wages of elementary school
teachers and in the bottom 3%
of wage earners statewide. That
wage gap drives high turnover
and deepens the shortage. These
providers love caring for
children, but need help with
marketing, managing enrollment
and billing, which fortunately,
is the exact pain points that
boost is designed to address.
Across 30 cities and counties.
We've mentored over 500 family
child care providers, created
180 new jobs, and help
providers increase revenue by
an average of 25% and child
care slots by over 30%, all
within the first year. So with
counselors approval of the
annual action plan, boost will
support 13 family child care
providers across the county,
create four new teaching
assistant jobs, and improve the
quality of care for 180
children. Again, and this is in
the first year alone. Finally,
I just wanted to give a shout
out and thank Rebecca and
Norine for being so
communicative throughout this
process, and I always welcome
any questions, both as a
representative of upwards. But
first, as a parent who will
forever be grateful for the
teachers who cared for my
little ones, which allowed me
to be with you here today.
Thank you.
>> Thank you.
>> Caller. You've been sent a
request to unmute. Please go
ahead and do so. State your
name for the record and go
ahead with your comment.
>> Kimberly Gavenn Elbon. Again,
all states this, that when Melo
asked a question about
advertisement, you directed her
in a in a lie, it this did
mention advertisement. And she
could have spoke on that. I
also. So I want Council member
Fuentes put on record today
after I'm done speaking. Which
entity does he work for as he
did recuse himself. This is our
meeting and I want it put onto
the record today. It is
important for the public who
vote to know who he works for
outside this council, and it
does relate, as he did recuse
himself. So I expect
transparency after I speak and
have him answer that question,
who he works for. We the people
want to know, and I appreciate
the recusal. So I'll ask, how
well did advertisement work?
Well, there was no public
response. And again, you target
advertisement to and what I
consider the illegal
communities. There was 450
contacts using different
languages besides English. And
it's a it's a cost to the hard
earned taxpayer. I'll add that
this program, as far as I see
it, is mostly an agenda to use
hard earned tax dollars. Those
that are legally here and vote
for administrations for the
administration that delegates
through the county manager this
agenda, and also are aiding
illegal immigrants to get
housing. Yet my daughter has
never been contacted, and she's
applied as a low income legal
citizen with two children, yet
receives no help. I'd like to
know why. I suggest it's
because she doesn't fit into
your sanctuary agenda.
Businesses, dental purchases of
homes, management for case
services. Most, if not all, are
aiding, again, illegal
immigrants using hard earned
tax dollars of American
citizens working hard to pay
for others not legally here.
Fourth plane forward is a hub
using hard earned tax dollars
to harbor these illegal people.
You will award. It was
mentioned that you will award
Vancouver funding. Vancouver is
a self-proclaimed sanctuary
city does not follow the
Constitution or the will of its
people, and they openly harbor
illegal immigrant people. Here
in Clark County. The legal,
voting, hard working taxpayer
must hold you and these
sanctuary agendas accountable.
I do intend on calling Noreen.
I'm going to ask her about
where.
>> Thank you. Your time is up.
>> That concludes public
comment, chair.
>> Okay. Thank you very much.
Okay, then. Are there any
questions or follow up on this
item? Yes, please go ahead.
>> I just wanted to say this is
these funds are doing a lot of
good in our community. And it
just dawned on me that this is
my fourth year chairing the
Urban County Policy Board, and
it's been a pleasure to do that.
Hopefully, I'll be able to
continue on doing that in the
future. But I did want to just
say it for the moment here that
our staff are doing a wonderful
job on this. We've this has
come before the council a
couple of times, but I know we
deal with a lot, but timeliness
is a challenge that we're
experiencing in with our Cdbg
and funding. And what that
means is it comes from from HUD,
and they require us to spend it
within a certain amount of time,
or they think we don't really
need it. And we've had issues.
You know, just today we had one
more project that was canceled.
And so, you know, when we award
funding and a project is
canceled, it hurts. It affects
that timeliness issue. But I
will say that, you know,
between Noreen and Rebecca and
Michael, they have been working
tirelessly to get us in a point
where we're back into
timeliness. So we don't risk
having those funds available in
our community. So great work. I
appreciate it and look forward
to the future.
>> So great. Thank you. Thank
you for your service all these
years. So I'm not 100% clear on
what we're taking action on
because the public hearing
occurred and will then be
closed on Monday. Is it to
request authorization for the
county manager to sign? Okay.
>> To sign the grant agreements?
Yes.
>> Okay. All right. Thank you
for that.
>> So I'd also add, so this is
kind of to do multiple things
just that are participate, are,
are regarding the grant
agreement. So it authorizes us
to submit our annual action
plan to head. It will authorize
the county manager to sign the
certifications that need to go
along with that submission of
the annual action plan. And it
also authorize the county
manager to sign all the
contracts that come based on
the projects that are being
funded through the funding
available.
>> Great. Thanks for that
clarification. So with that,
I'll entertain a motion to do
just that. So moved. Thank you.
Is there a second? Second moved
and seconded. All those in
favor? Just real quick. Oh yeah.
>> I missed one comment. I
forgot to thank the small
cities and the folks that are
members of the board. So they
all do great work. It's been a
pleasure to work with them.
Also.
>> It's a great collaboration.
Okay. And without any other
comments, all those in favor
say I, I, I motion carries.
>> Thank you chair Council.
>> Thank you. Okay, now we're
moving on to approval of three
open space applications for
current use assessment. So
Kevin and Hunter, please tell
us all about this.
>> Good morning councilors. For
the record, Kevin Tyler,
division manager for the Lands
Management Division in Clark
County Public Works. With me
today is Hunter Decker, our
county forester. And today we
will present to you the 2025 to
2026 current use open space
applications. Late in 2025, we
received three applications two
for historic sites and one for
stream protection. The
application for stream
protection needs to be pulled.
This application is associated
with a planned unit development
known as Schnell Farms, and
between the time that this.
These applications went to the
Planning Commission work
session and hearing. And now
the plat was recorded for that.
Chanel's farm PUD and the
portion of the property subject
to the open space application
was split into two separate
tracks, and each of those
tracks are less than ten acres,
which does not meet one of the
county code criteria for
approval of an open space
application. And so we are
working with the developer to
see what other options there
might be. So we're pulling that
application today. So you will
see references to three
applications and information in
the hearing packet regarding
the stream protection
application. But again that
application has been pulled.
And so we have provided revised
materials for the presentation
and a resolution to just
address the two historic open
space applications. And with
that, I'm going to turn it over
to Hunter to run through the
presentation. And we'll do our
best to answer any questions
that you may have. Thanks.
>> Good morning, counselors.
>> Again. My name's Hunter
Decker, the Clark County
Forester for Public Works. And
today I'm going to present to
you the 2025 Current Use
Assessment request for the Open
Space Classification. So what
is Open Space? Open Space
program originates from the
Open Space Taxation Act, which
was created by the Washington
State Legislature to maintain,
preserve and conserve open
space lands for the benefit of
natural resources, scenic
beauty and the overall
well-being of the public. So
the program is governed by
state law. RCW W 84.34 and
Wanke 458-30, along with Clark
County Code chapter 3.08. The
state program includes three
classifications open space,
land, farm and agriculture,
land and Timberland and
Timberland was merged with our
designated Forest Land program
in 2024. So tonight's
presentation only addresses the
open space land classifications,
not farm or timber. Next slide
please. So the current use
applications are reviewed, are
reviewed jointly by the
Assessor's office and Public
Works. The applications are
typically submitted toward the
end of the calendar year
preceding the assessment year,
and then the requests are
processed in the same manner as
the Comprehensive Plan
Amendment, as required by RCW84
.34.037. This means the request
must be reviewed by the
Planning Commission before
being forwarded to the Clark
County Council for final
approval. And so this year
marks the 35th year that the
County has reviewed these
applications for the assessment.
Next slide please. The current
use program has been in place
since 1970 and is intended to
help preserve open space lands.
The natural resources and
scenic values that relate to
the public benefit.
Historically, Clark County has
enrolled thousands of acres in
open space. And so, for example,
here since I've been on, I got
a couple numbers for 2019,
we've had 8796 acres, enrolled,
over 582 owners. And then as of
this year, with some updated
numbers, we have. Sorry, it
looks like this slide didn't
get updated. So the 2026
numbers are 8171 acres and 584
owners, not 4685 and 245. That
was a.
>> Thanks for that correction,
miss. Correction there. Yeah,
it was alarming me. So thank
you.
>> Yeah. So yeah, with the
right numbers here, it's only
about a 7% difference where the
acreage is decreased about 625
acres. And then the next slide
the that number might also be
incorrect as well just because
of the last number. But the
market value for open space
land of April 28th of this year
is 2008, 809, 289,448,317, and
current use values 2,821,280.
And we could give you those
updated numbers after this
presentation. And next slide
please. So our open space
categories versus the counties
in the state, we've adopted
most all of the program
requirements that the state
offers, but there are some that
we haven't. And so what we have
is included conservation
enhancement, natural resources,
stream protection, soil
conservation, the enhancement
of recreational opportunities
and historical sites. Next
slide please. And so for this
review cycle, we have the we
had three cases, the one being
pulled. So we have tonight for
you two open space applications
for the historical site
application review is the fee
was updated is now $2,282 for
the processing and review. Next
slide please. We also have some
approval criteria related to
every application. Although
some like historical sites, can
be tracks less than five acres.
And the second would be an
effective noxious weed program
which the county noxious Weed
Management program offers the
applicants the ability to abide
by the program. Next slide
please. So historical sites in
Clark County code. It means
applications for open space are
based on the preservation of
historical sites. And they'll
only be limited to historical
sites and land containing such
structures. So as long as they
are listed on the local, state
or national Historical register
and protected as such. And
again, these could be less than
five acres. Next slide. So our
first application is the
William Frederick Kaufman House.
The applicant requested 0.52
acres located at 8104 northeast
107th Avenue. The on site
review confirmed the presence
of the Frederick Building
Kaufman House, which was built
in 1912 and is listed on our
Clark County Heritage Register.
So based on the structure and
meeting the code, we. We
recommend approval of the 0.52
acres. Next slide please.
Here's kind of an overview
slide that shows where the
property is within the county
outlined there in yellow. Next
slide has a couple photos of
the house and where it's still
intact and on the register.
Next slide please. Last
application is Ops 2020 602.
The bakery building located at
506 Washington Street. This
applicant requested 0.9 acres
and historically was a
blacksmith shop machinist in
the late 1800s and then later
became the Royal Bakery
Building Company in 1911. And
so this is also listed on our
Clark County Heritage Register
and meets the open space
criteria. And we recommend
approve the 0.09 acres on that.
Next slide shows an overview of
where it's at located. And the
next slide please shows a
couple historical picture and a
current picture. And next slide
that'll conclude staff's
presentation. And happy to
answer any questions.
>> Are there any questions from
Council Chair. Go ahead.
>> Yeah thank you for this. I'm
just trying to learn a little
bit more about what the
advantages of to the landowner
are of switching to open spaces
or a different taxation rate.
And what would be the
difference overall on impact to
the county revenue or the. Yeah,
sure.
>> Depending on which program.
And really it's kind of like
looking towards the future. So
if you know, surrounding areas
going to say, expand an urban
growth and then the now the
current use on those properties,
the market rate is, is higher
because homes could be built
versus, you know, farming or
such or protecting trees or
with this program with the
different qualifications, a
historical property, your land
would then be taxed the same as
that use currently. So and
Kevin could explain.
>> More so and I so what it
does is it taxes it at the
current use rather than its
highest and best use. So like
the example that Hunter gave
residential development versus
agriculture, residential
development would be a higher
and better use. And so it would
have a higher higher tax rate.
And so that's the benefit to
the owner of the property is
they get a much lower tax rate.
The assessor would have to
answer the specifics about what
that means, but it's generally
a pretty substantial decrease
70 to 80%. And that that
doesn't mean that there's an
impact to the county. It means
that that tax is redistributed
throughout the taxing district.
So the county still takes in
the same amount of tax. It's
just that that owner gets a
lower rate.
>> Makes sense. Thank you.
>> And also for reference, this
RCW 8434 that Hunter mentioned
is the same same RC w where
we've been talking about public
benefit rating system. So and
conservation futures.
>> Okay. Go ahead, chair.
>> Just a really quick question.
These can be any historic sites
in the county. So not only in
unincorporated Clark County.
Correct.
>> Anywhere in the county.
Anywhere in the county,
anywhere in the county. And
they have to be listed on the
local, state or National
Historic Register.
>> Right. Thank you.
>> Go ahead.
>> Yes. I have quite a few
comments and questions on this
one. You know, some of the
nuance of this. I was not able
to read through the R, C, W in
its entirety, but it's, it's
open space, right? But this one
location is 0.09 acres, which I
think is around 400 zero square
foot, of which the entire site
is building. There is no open
space. So yeah. You know, the
other thing in your earlier
question, I actually asked our
county assessor to see what the
the impact is of all of the
values that have been reduced
to, you know, conform with the
program. And, and the overall
impact to the county is the
median home pays about $10 a
year to subsidize this, this
program essentially. So there
is a public cost to it, public
benefit. I, I fully believe in
historic preservation. The
program has a penalty. If you
basically, if you pull it out
or if you know, one of the
things I'm concerned with
historic preservation. The
ultimate concern is demolition,
you know, and somebody could
own a property for 25 years,
essentially pay very, very
little taxes for ten years. The
other folks in the county
covered that for them. And then
they could demolish the
building and only have to pay
back seven years of the
forgiven tax on that. And you
have to I have to ask myself at
this point, what what was the
public benefit? I mean, if the
buildings gone, we didn't
really preserve anything, you
know, so I'm I'm supportive of
going ahead and improving these
at these times, this time,
because it does meet the
criteria. But I'm hoping that
the council would be willing to
have a work session to look
into this, look into the the,
the local code Kirsher County
code, and look at public
benefits versus the cost and
probably involved Historic
Preservation Commission and any
other staff that would have
input on that. But I would like
to take a look at this program.
>> I think it would be good to
look at this program if we
looked a little more deeply
into public benefit rating
system, we could actually
prioritize what the public
benefit is. And that's we were
on the track to do that a few
years ago, and a lot of really
good work was involved with
that. And Hunter, I know you
were involved with that. So I
see this as part of that
examination to really look at
this, not just for the historic
sites, but all of the potential
public benefits and the total
number. I think you had it in
here somewhere. Total number of
properties at this time are, I
think 580, 84 was the corrected
number. So that's the that's
the total. And and around 8000
acres.
>> Yeah. 8171 acres.
>> Great. Any other questions?
Okay. Hearing none, we'll open
this up for public comment.
Thanks for clarifying some
things for us. So and again,
this public hearing is on the
current use applications.
Really the two for those
historic buildings. Okay.
>> Carmen de Lehan.
>> Yeah.
>> So I'm Carmen de Leon go by
Molodih Lehan. And I just read
this and it says that the
bridge is on the National
Historic Site. So when you
think about demolishing the
bridge, look at your picture
over there. It says that the
I-5 bridge is a historic bridge
preserved in what he just named
cannot be touched. So maybe you
should even look at your own
walls and discover that tearing
down the bridge is a bad idea.
Adding others is a better idea.
That's your. I didn't write
that. That's been there for
years. So anyways, that
distracted me. So anyways, what
you're talking about is
farmland. So just so you know,
there is a chocolate shortage
in Africa and your 500 people
who you're so caring about
their money seems to outweigh
the needs of 500 000 people who
live in Clark County, because
we have just about 500,000
residents who do not want our
farmland desecrated anymore.
And I do recommend finding
people who will make a toilet
paper out of bamboo because it
grows like crazy, and they can
make hemp ropes, they can make
houses. And actually, like I've
said before in the whole
country, where can you go and
make a fireproof house, start
growing hemp, start making hemp
blocks, and you can offer the
first place in the whole
country a fireproof
establishment, whether that be
a home or a fireworks stand
that can't catch fire. So maybe
we should have the farmlands
that you say need to make more
money, have make them make hemp
Caamal and bamboo.
>> Is not related to.
>> He said farmland and that
his people want to make more
money. Okay. You want more
houses on the farmland, right?
>> The two applications are for.
>> Historic buildings. I'm not
a professional, okay? I'm not a
hired hand like everybody else.
I'm going off what he just said,
he said about the farmland. I'm
telling you how to make more
money off farmland because
there's a chocolate shortage,
and there they can make money
off other things.
>> Is these two historic
buildings.
>> Okay.
>> If you want to comment on
those two historic buildings.
>> So this is this, this
doesn't apply that he just
talked about these things about
the farmland. He just said the
farmland and the 500 people
want to make money and they
want to help those 500 people
make money and screw the 500
other citizens of Clark County.
That's my understanding. Then
the layperson, like 500, 000
other people in this country.
Oh, are you calling security on
me? I'm I'm not allowed to say
I'm a layperson. That doesn't
understand because he talked
about farms. And I'm telling.
>> You, the two historic
buildings.
>> Okay, well, the two historic
buildings should be left alone,
okay? And if they want to mess
with them, they should consider
looking at the walls, because
we don't tear down historic
things, as he just said, we
preserve them. And if I bridge
counts.
>> Thank you. Is there anyone
else?
>> Chair? We don't have anybody
signed up, but we do have one
online. Great caller. You've
been sent a request to unmute.
Please go ahead and do so.
State your name for the record
and go ahead with your comment.
>> Kimberly. Go Elbon. So when
you speak about all this stuff,
it does bring into other things.
I get that we certainly want
this open space. I'd like to
see these applications passed.
Of course, I'll mention that
Mr. Fuentes did not mention
where he works. I'll say on
that record, I'm going to say
that as past chair, Mr. Medvigy
stated a few years ago, there
will be another pandemic. I
call it a pandemic to gain
control over the people. But
these open spaces that has been
said, are for the public's
benefit, must not be closed
when the pandemic occurs, so we
don't want any open spaces
closed. Should that happen, I
suggest to start now to educate
the people how to take care of
our open spaces, involve the
people here with all these
decisions that you are doing
with our business. They need to
be educated to clean up after
themselves and not pollute and
all that stuff. So and I get
that. But historical sites were
mentioned and I'm going to
bring up Timmons Landing in LA
center. It is a historical site.
This is the time to talk about
this. This is an open public
comment, hearing about
historical sites. And it was
voted by the LA center citizens
for decades to have Timmons
Landing remain a historical
land with that have trees that
eagles have homes in. But LA
center deemed the eagle as not
essential at one time. And I
caught that. And then for their
legal application to develop
Timmons Landing, they changed
it to that. Then they became
important again. So they. They
want to destroy the historical
site of Timmons Landing and did
it against the will of the
people on their agenda last
year. I want this council to
hold the center accountable, as
they did not legally inform the
people that there was a way
that we could legally refute
their finding their vote, and
they did not do that. So in all
aspects, we want open spaces.
We want to keep our historical
farms, and we want to keep our
historical Timmons landing here
in LA center, because the view
is beautiful. There's eagles
all day long, let alone other
bird and habitat. So educate
the people on how we can stop
the development there at
Timmons Landing, possibly open
up the I-5 corridor for us. And
so we can build up there and
leave. Timmons.
>> Okay. Thank you. Is there
anyone else.
>> That concludes public
comment chair.
>> Okay. Then moving back to
the topic, are there any
questions that came up for
anyone? Are we ready to make a
motion to approve these two
open space applications?
>> Chair, I move to approve
resolution number 2026-05-02.
>> Thank you. Is there a second?
Second moved and seconded. All
in favor, say aye. Aye aye.
Motion carries. Thanks very
much. Okay. Let me check with
council. Do you want to take a
brief break before we go into
open public comment or keep
moving ahead?
>> Yeah. Well, we'll take a
five.
>> Five. Okay. Thank you. We'll
be back in five minutes.
Quarter till.
>> This webinar is being
recorded and summarized.
>> Okay. Thanks for everyone's
patience. We've returned from
our break and now it's open
public comment and public
comment on the consent and
separate business items. Does
anyone signed up?
>> John Paulos? I'm sorry.
>> He's coming up with his
diorama counselor.
>> Terren. And I am going to be
solving a problem for you. And
that's the one that's been
dumped on you. The Pachl high
voltage power line problem. I'm
involved in this for one and
only one reason I'm trained to
do it. A I'm one of only seven
people in the state that is a
registered civil and registered
electrical engineer. B I spent
28 years running high voltage
power operations at BPA. So I'm
going to present to you the
solution to the problem, and
then I'll cover why I believe
those facts are right to
support it. If you remember,
two months ago, I gave you a
presentation where I said, do
not tear down the I-5 bridge
based on engineering reasons,
not based on anything else.
Okay. Thank you. Pal's proposed
a power line through Clark
County Eastern, and it goes
near the city of Battleground.
And a lot of people came in and
complained to you a month ago,
and I was in that group. I said
nothing. The solution to the
problem is you can't stop a
train and you can't stop
eminent domain. If they want to
build it, they're going to
build it. So what we're going
to do is modify what they're
doing to be something more
acceptable to the people of
Clark County. Pal wants to put
in a two pole, 230 zero zero
zero volt line. I'll explain
that in a minute. And it has
some EMF, electric and magnetic
fields and a few other things
that people don't like. Our
solution is instead of building
the 230 kV two pole line, we
build 120, 115 120 zero zero
zero volt single pole line, and
and we can double string it and
carry the same amount of power.
So that's the solution that we
came up with. And all the
people that were in here
complaining are buying in on it.
And we're trying to get people
to buy in on it. Now, what is
voltage? Voltage is the water
pressure of electricity. It
produces an electric field.
Current produces a magnetic
field, and the two combined are
called EMF. And 230 is a little
high. 500 kV is higher. There's
only four voltages 582, 345,000
not shown, and 120 or 115 kV.
The way you tell is you count
the insulators multiply by
20,001, two, three, four, five,
six oh. I get 120,000V. It must
be 115 kV line. Count the
insulators. So again, voltage
is the water pressure of
electricity and it produces
current flow in amps. You
multiply the two together ten
volts producing ten amps of
current is 100W of power. Thank
you very much and I appreciate
you listening.
>> Thank you.
>> Caamal Lehan.
>> Nice job man. I'm Carmen
Carmen de Leon. I go by Melo.
Just to reiterate Idaho gained
1 billion and Montana Montana
added 500 million in wealth as
Washington lost half a billion,
according to IRS. Immigration
figures cited by Mountain
States Policy Service. Hamas
commander. Our issue is not
with Palestine. Our issue is
killing every non-Muslim. We
will pursue Jews, Christians
all over the world. Either they
convert to Islam or we kill
them. I would say our president
is protecting us by not
allowing these types into the
country. Here's one more. As
Islamic teacher, when Muslims
become the majority in the West
in the next 40 years,
non-Muslims will have to
convert or be killed because of
Sharia law. Reule. Now let me
make this clear. We've lost
over 100 500 million babies to
abortion while these people
marry their first cousin and
have ten kids. So when they say
in the next 20, 40 years,
they're going to outbreed us.
So when you tell people, oh,
you breed. Yes, I do, very
proudly, I have kids, you
should have some too. And stop
murdering babies because we
obviously need them. These
people are being trained and I
have seen the videos of them
training their kids to say,
five years old, you must kill
every Christian. Really?
Because my God says, respect
life. My God gives you a chance
to convert. He doesn't say, if
you don't do what I say, I'm
going to kill you. And here are
some more Quran quotes. Just a
couple here. Oh hold on, I got
it right here. This is from the
Quran. Slay all infidels.
That's me. What is it? Oh, gosh.
Show a crucify infidels
criticizing Islam. That's me.
Unbelievers are stupid. Muslims
need to fight them. They do not
bring peace. They bring war. If
we don't do as they say, that's
called Tanon totalitarianism.
When they. You better do what
they say or they kill you.
Muslims must not take the
infidels as friends. And by the
way, they are allowed to lie to
your face and. And if it means
that either they convert you or
they have to kill you. And like
I said before, don't give me 40
virgins. Give me 40
professionals. That's no price.
And they're lying to these
little boys that women are
going to be their servants in
eternity. So where's all the
the women's saying, where's
women's rights? Here's another
one. Quran 9.5 when the
opportunity arises, kill the
infidels wherever you find them.
Did you just give those types
of proclamation? I don't know
what their religion was, but
Quran 2219 says, punish the
infidels with garments and
hooked and irons and boiling
water until their skins melt.
>> Your time is up.
>> That's all we have signed up
in the room. We do have three
online chair okay, caller,
you've been sent a request to
unmute. Please go ahead and do
so. State your name for the
record and go ahead with your
comment.
>> My name is Heidi Pozo. In
1999, after the first Salmon
Creek development pause, WSU
Vancouver became concerned
about their ability to grow
given the lack of
infrastructure. So they entered
into a development agreement
with the county to ensure they
would have transportation
capacity available. As the area
grew. That agreement expired in
December 2025 and appears to
have fallen through the cracks
due to significant leadership.
Turnover at WSU. Staff is
advised that because the
agreement expired, WSU's
reserve trips will no longer be
included when evaluating new
developments in the area,
effectively giving those trips
away and capping WSU s ability
to grow. This is not how to
treat a valued partner. Clark
County and WSU Vancouver have a
deep partnership spanning
decades workforce development,
public health, education, not
to mention a number of
infrastructure improvements.
The council should not allow a
lapsed agreement to foreclose
future without a deliberate
conversation about the
disposition of those trips, WSU
deserves the chance to
negotiate a renewed agreement
not to discover after the fact
that their capacity was given
away separately. You have the
right of way acquisition on
your docket related to the 1/79
corridor. Before committing to
that investment, consider
whether the design assumptions
still hold up. Developer
commissioned traffic studies
for projects along this
corridor have been showing
volume to capacity and
intersection failures for years.
The volume to volume of traffic
being improved will overwhelm
the capacity of the road you
are building. This is not my
opinion. It is what the Traffic
Studies Commission for each
development shows. Every recent
concurrency staff report for
this corridor includes the same
language. The volume to
capacity ratios should be used
as an indicator that these
roadway segments should be
subjected to site specific
study with a more detailed
operational analysis before any
major design, reconstruction,
or investment decisions are
made. The right of way
acquisition before you as a
major design and investment
decision, your own staff is
telling you that the analysis
is not been done. Council
should direct staff to complete
that analysis before committing
to the current design and
additional land acquisition, or
stop approving developments
that add traffic to a corridor
your own reports say cannot
handle it. I'm asking that
council do two things. First,
before allowing WSU trips to be
absorbed by other development.
Ensure the county and WSU agree
on the disposition of that
capacity. A partnership this
important should not be ended
by oversight, by oversight.
Second, direct staff to
complete the operational
analysis their own reports as
needed before committing to
additional right of way
acquisition and corridor design.
Thank you.
>> Thank you.
>> Caller. You've been sent a
request to unmute. Please go
ahead and do so. State your
name for the record and go
ahead with your comment.
>> Good morning Council, this
is Jackie Lane. I would like to
comment on consent agenda
number two appointments,
specifically the reappointment
of James Housley to Dbw. I
believe it is important that
people who serve on advisory
boards for the county should be
people who live in Clark County.
They should be a part of the
community that they are
impacting. Mr. Housley
represents clients who stand to
benefit from recommendations
that Dbw has made, but he is
not a part of our Clark County
community. He lives in Portland,
I believe. Thank you.
>> Thank you.
>> Caller. You've been sent a
request to unmute. Please go
ahead and do so. State your
name for the record and go
ahead with your comment.
>> Kimberly Goheen Elbon. We
need the name of the first
speaker, that man, to be put
put to the record. I we didn't
introduce himself. Well,
there's nothing like having a
10 a.m. council meeting of the
people's business with a total
of 26 consent and separate
business items. You will pass.
And most of your bosses, we,
the people, are struggling to
pay high gas prices to keep
their jobs and food on the
table, and the constant
inhumane pressure to vaccinate
slash jab. Their schoolchildren
put the effort into actually
teaching our children instead
of dumbing them down. The
proclamation for court
employees is greatly
appreciated. Yet, as I'm
involved with bringing
awareness to the public about
our broken law and justice
judicial system, many of these
hard workers, dedicated
backbone of the broken system,
have a clean conscience, and
it's only a matter of time
before they speak up about the
injustice happenings that occur
daily in the Superior District
and juvenile court system. This
sanctuary socialist form of
government, must get back on
track of serving the people
with constitutional true
justice. Again, I'm doing my
best to bring awareness and
welcome all who can help. The
proclamation of national
corrections officers is also
warranted. Yet our system here,
thanks to the unelected County
Manager, has deemed our
corrections services
unaccountable to we the people.
And this system is also broken.
I know of bad correction
officers that do not treat
inmates humanely. No
accountability as I make weekly
complaints, as I support and
advocate for not only my son
Cleghon Rengulbai, but all
others who suffer unjust
circumstances. Dimension of
bringing back trust in our
judicial and corrections
systems is and will happen as I
serve the will of the people to
correct a broken system as I
inform the people of services.
Excuse me of serious issues. My
son is held not as presumed
innocent, but punished as
guilty. I also question why
lead criminal prosecutor Dan
Gasperino and lead Clark County
Public Defender Christopher
Schwab have both stated to me
that they listen to every word
I say. I think they want to
entrap me or find that I say
something wrong. But as I speak,
what I consider the truth in
bringing awareness, I fear not
when my son Cleve is found not
guilty. Among other actions we
will take to rectify the
illegal injustice he has
endured, I will also have him
take a blood test to get the
levels of toxic fluoride and
heavy metals, such as lead, as
I've put on record to this
council and you as the Board of
Health, of inmates drinking
Dayley fluoridated water
through lead pipes and nothing
is being done. I'll tell the
people that I hear the judge's
chamber.
>> Thank you for your comments.
Is there anyone else?
>> That concludes public
comment, chair.
>> Okay, great. Then let's move
on to the consent agenda. Are
there any items that anyone
would like to pull?
>> Chair.
>> Yes. Go ahead.
>> I'd like to pull items four,
six and 13. Okay.
>> Four, six and 13. I'd like
to pull two. I just have a
brief comment. Any other items?
Okay, then I'll entertain a
motion to approve consent
agenda items one
>> Through 20, with the
exception of two, four, six and
13. Is there a motion?
>> So moved.
>> Thank you. Is there a second?
>> Second.
>> Moved and seconded. All in
favor, say I. I. Thank you. Now.
Item two. County Council
appointments and letter letters
of acceptance. Just to respond
to the commenter. I have
mentioned in the past the need
to really look at all of our
boards and commissions. They've.
We've added some. Over the
years, their bylaws have
changed. There's different
requirements for some. As far
as duration, there's just. I
think it's important to add
some continuity to all our
boards and commissions and to
really look at their scope to
see if it is what we want them
to be advising us on. It's one
of those, in part, housekeeping
chores that we've just needed
to keep up with. I think
resolving conflicts. It's not
clear to me how any of the
boards and commissions may
address that, but this is just
to say, I appreciate the
commenters comment, and with
Dyba in particular, it is
allowed that someone can live
or they need to live or work in
Clark County. So and so that's
the case with deep. I don't
know if that's the case with
other with other boards and
commissions, but I'd just like
to express that need. Okay. Is
there a motion.
>> Motion to approve consent
agenda item number two.
>> Thank you. Is there a second.
Second there? There is a second.
Okay. All those in favor say I.
I I. Motion carries. Thank you.
Then moving on to item four.
Councilor Young you pulled that
one.
>> Yes, chair. Just wanted to
pull it out and highlight that
this is the work of our
accessible Community Advisory
Committee. They have gone
through. They were able to
secure a grant to pay for some
brochures that are that they're
able to give out and disperse
into the community to increase
awareness of their what their
goals and what they're able to
accomplish. So that was all I
wanted to do is just pull it
out and recognize their work.
>> Great. Thank you for that.
It's been a very active
committee. I appreciate their
work. Any other comments on
this one?
>> I'll move approval of
consent agenda item number four.
>> Second, moved and seconded.
All in favor, say I, I, I. Okay,
moving on to item six six.
>> I just felt like it was
worthy of pulling out. This has
it almost kind of came up a
little bit in our previous
discussion with the Cdbg
funding, but this is the
building that is in
battleground that is currently
used by Cmaa for for Wick, if
you recall, I just wanted to
give a quick report that the
board had extensive
conversations on this property.
And ultimately, I believe it
was unanimous recommendation
that the county do sell the
building and and gave staff
some instructions on timing to
ensure that we don't because
when that fund those funds go
back into the pool, it starts
messing with our timeliness
issue that I mentioned earlier.
So there are ways that we have
looked to mitigate that, but
just wanted to pull it for if
there was any questions that
the council had.
>> I do have a question I was
wondering about. Seymour is
currently located there, and I
think there have been concerns
expressed as we've talked about
this, where they will be
located next. Is there any
update on that?
>> Well, they we had invited
them multiple times and they
did come at least one, maybe
two meetings. The last one,
they were not there to be able
to answer our questions, but
they had said and indicated
that they had abilities, the
ability and other facilities
that they're operating to move
the services to those places.
>> Okay. Thank you. Okay. Is
there a motion to approve?
>> So moved.
>> Second.
>> Moved and seconded. All in
favor, say I I. Okay. That
brings us to 13.
>> Yes. Item 13. I just wanted
to pull because it's Camp
Bonneville, which there's
significant interest in all
those issues. So staff would
just give a real brief
explanation of what we're what
we're doing here.
>> Thank you, counselor, for
the record. Jennifer Coker,
deputy director of public works
here with Bonneville Compliance
Manager Betsy Wing. And I'll
turn this over to Lance
Division Manager Kevin Tyler.
>> Good morning, Council, for
the record, Kevin Tyler, land
Management division manager
with Clark County Public Works.
And today we're asking for you
to approve a resolution that
essentially approves an
agreement with the Department
of Natural Resources to house
their forward operating base
for helicopter operations at
Camp Bonneville. We've been
doing this since 2019. So every
year from essentially May
through October, DNR helicopter
forward operating base will be
established at Camp Bonneville,
and they're allowed to stay
there and use the site for
their helicopter operations,
which help fight fire in the
region. And I think the major
highlight from this year is
that we upped the the rent
about 500 bucks a month. So
that's the the one big
difference.
>> Okay. Has there been any
improvements to their because
they spent did they stay
overnight?
>> They do stay overnight. We
have not made any improvements,
but we have facilities coming
out to do a walk with us
actually. Is that this week or
next week to look at how we
reinvest that money into these
structures, both for public
works benefit and for DNR
benefit?
>> Great. Thank you. Is there a
motion to approve?
>> So moved.
>> Thank you. Second. Second.
And I would just say this is
really important to have a
forward site. So there could be
rapid response. I think the DNR
has had success over the years
in being able to do that, that
rapid response. So it's very
good that we can accommodate
that. Okay. With that, all
those in favor say aye. Aye aye.
Motion carries. Thank you.
>> 23456.
>> Okay. Here we are clipping
along. We're on to separate
business item one internal
Services. Michelle is here to
talk about our garage.
>> Good morning again. Council.
Michelle Schuster Director of
internal services. And I'm here
today to request that we
increase our public parking
spots rates. And there's a
number of factors that's
driving this. One is the city
of Vancouver has recently
implemented a new tax on
downtown visitor parking. That
applies to public and private
lots not owned by the city also.
And so for each transaction we
do in our parking meters, we
have to pay them $0.15 to that
parking tax to the city. So
each month we run a report to
determine how many people have
parked in our lots and pay them
$0.15 of each transaction. And
that started as of January 1st.
Also, we haven't raised our
rates since 2018. In those
parking meters, it's been $1.25
per hour with a three hour
maximum. And so our cost of
repairing the machines, the
upkeep on the machines, our
credit card fees, our fees that
we have to pay to the company
that we purchase the machines
from, from the software, it all
continues to increase. And so
what we're looking for is to do
a $0.20 per transaction
increase for 2026. So bring it
up from $1.25 per hour to $1.45
per hour. And then also an
annual increase after this of
$0.05 per year. And $0.02 of
that $0.05 would go to the city
of Vancouver, because they have
a built in annual increase into
the tax of $0.02. And so and
then the other $0.03 would go
to other annual increases for
things to cover the parking
meter repairs.
>> Great. Thank you. Are there
any questions?
>> Yeah. So the I'm the $0.20
is a per transaction. So it's
not per hour. It's just the
minimum amount you pay to park
there is going up by $0.20.
>> Correct.
>> Okay.
>> Yeah. Yeah. So people can
plug the meter for one hour, 2
hours or 3 hours. And so we'd
want the $0.20 to be per that
transaction. So if they did a
one hour transactions, $0.20
because I'm giving $0.15 of
that to the city of Vancouver.
If it's a two hour plug meter,
then it's still the $0.20, 15
of that going to the city of
Vancouver.
>> Okay. We definitely do need
to collect for repair of that
machine because I think it's
broken more than it works.
>> Yeah. And we have the part
that was actually under
warranty for that one. And we
have the part we're just
waiting for their warranty
support to come out and
actually install the part now.
>> So great. Okay. Any. Go
ahead chair.
>> Has there been thought put
into having it be an annual
increase by percentage versus a
straight five cent amount,
because the percentage would
change over time based if it
was a set number.
>> So the city's increases the
$0.02 for a year. So we know
that we could look at something
different for the other $0.03
and do that portion as a
percentage. But we do need to
collect at least $0.02 to give
the city a raises to 17 next
year, then 19 year after. So we
would need at least a
commitment of the $0.02. So so
we just figured.
>> Yeah, I don't know what
others think. I just having a
set amount of the excess based
on like inflation would be a
little bit more equitable, I
think, than having a set three
cent every year.
>> Yeah. We just need something
that's easy for the machines to
calculate to. And so raising it
by $0.05 as opposed to. You
know, a percentage that may not
equal a nice rounded to plug
into the parking meters.
>> I get that. I guess if you
did that, you'd have to add.
>> A yeah, add up or down.
>> Up or down around it. Yeah.
What do others think.
>> Are their thoughts?
>> No, it sounds like we're
just what we also want to say
in lockstep with the increases
that the city of Vancouver has
applied. Right. And so just
kind of makes sense for us to
kind of kind of stay in
lockstep with them. Yeah.
>> Other comments. If not, I'll
entertain a motion to approve.
>> Motion to approve separate
business item number one.
>> Thank you. Any I'll second.
Okay. Moved and seconded. All
in favor say I, I, I thank you.
Thank you. Okay. Moving on to
public Works. Jeff Knable hi
there. So Bioretention facility.
Tell us all about it. Okay,
who's starting here? I'll start.
Okay.
>> Good afternoon chair. Good
afternoon. Council had to check
the clock. There it is.
Afternoon. So for the record,
Jeff Schnabel, clean Water
Division, infrastructure and
assessment services manager.
Item number two on separate
business here for you today is
to authorize the county manager
to sign a professional services
contract and any future
amendments with environmental
incentives incorporated for our
Bioretention facility.
Community based public private
partnership development. When
last we talked with you about
this topic, we were here back
in August of 2025, asking
council to approve a grant for
about $360,000 from the
Department of Ecology to fund
this work, to develop a
possible CP3 program.
Specifically, we're looking to
use this program to help us
maintain our large fleet of
Bioretention facilities within
the county. We have about 600
of those style of facilities.
They are vegetated treatment
and flow control facilities.
You'll see them oftentimes
along roadways highway, our
99th, 119th, places like that.
And we have a lot of them in
our in our subdivision areas as
well. So they are a thing that
that requires some fairly
specialized maintenance,
maintenance, that it's a little
more difficult for us to
provide with our internal
forces. And so this looked like
a good opportunity for us to
sort of explore this
possibility of a CP3 more of a
performance based contracting
model. So we've been
participating in clean water in
Ecology's Learning Network for
C, BP3 for a couple of years
now, and they've been generous
enough to offer us grant
funding to support this work.
So the last time we were here,
you all encouraged us to
proceed by by accepting that
grant, this is the next step to
now implement the phase one
program development. So this is
to sign a contract with
environmental incentives to
begin developing that CBP3. So
it's a $270,000 contract. Again,
this is a fully funded 100% no
match required grant. So this
this this work will be funded
under that existing grant, as
well as some internal work by
staff to support the process.
So.
>> Can I interject for the
record real quick, the acronym
CBCBP3 stands for Community
Based Public Private
Partnership.
>> Why the three?
>> Three P's.
>> Public Private partnership?
Yeah.
>> You had to spell it out.
Just to make it.
>> Just to make it difficult.
Councilor. That's what they do.
>> Great. Thank you. Does that
conclude your presentation?
>> Yeah, I'm happy to answer
some questions.
>> Okay. Are there any
questions? Well, I think
maintenance is a critical
component. Monitoring and
maintenance. You can spend a
lot of money on these things.
And but unless you're
monitoring and maintaining them,
it's not going to work as well.
So I think this is a great step
forward. Everyone. No more
questions. I'll entertain a
motion to approve.
>> I move separate business
item number two.
>> Second moved and seconded.
All those in favor say I, I, I
thank you very much.
>> Thank you.
>> Thank you Council.
>> Okay. Item three. Oh, this
is to approval for to purchase
full electric equipment and
trucks utilizing the state of
Washington's transportation was
Ziply incentive program. I just
felt like I needed to say was
up here. So please go ahead.
Tyler.
>> Had to read the instructions,
I apologize. Thank you,
councilors chair, for the
record, my name is Tyler
Bennett. I am the Fleet
Services division manager
within public works for Clark
County. The Washington State
Zero Emissions Vehicle
Incentive Program was was
launched in 2025 to help more
businesses switch to commercial,
medium and heavy duty zero
emissions vehicles and
equipment. Funded by the
Climate Commitment Act and
managed by the Washington State
Department of Transportation,
administered by Cal Start, the
program provides point of sale
discounts to make cleaner
vehicles more affordable. While
Ziply is a new point of sale
voucher program that lowers the
cost of zero emissions vehicles
and commercial equipment right
at purchase so buyers don't
have to wait for rebates or
file extra paperwork. Dealers
handle the paperwork, and
customers see the savings
immediately, making it easier
and faster to transition to
zero emissions. Technology over
$112 million is available for
Wazap vouchers for fiscal years
25 to 27. The 2026 incentives
became available April 28th,
2026, and funds are available
until they're exhausted to
align with the county's green
transition fleet has identified
T 905, 90 and T 90 1974 for
Jail services division that are
ideal candidates to be replaced
with battery electric vehicles
that qualify for the Wazap
incentives. These trucks
regularly experience emissions
related issues due to the short,
regular duty cycle of the
jail's logistics operations.
Fleet is requesting a one time
budget increase in the amount
of $129,932, and approval for
the purchase of two battery
electric vehicle trucks to
replace the current trucks. In
the staff report, you'll see
that the base price for these
trucks are roughly $386,254 a
piece. Was it an incentive?
Covers $135,000, which gives us
a remainder of $251,254. These
vehicles are a part of our air
and our program, and already
have capital collections in the
air and our fund. So the delta
for that difference, EVs being
significantly more expensive
than their diesel comparative
vehicles. We need the
additional $129,000 for both of
them to cover that delta
difference. And in addition to
those two battery electric
trucks, fleet and public works
operations and maintenance has
identified asset X 30418, a Cat
loader that was retired or was
replaced a few years ago and is
scheduled to be retired in 2027
as a candidate to be replaced
with a battery electric backhoe
loader that also qualifies for
the Wasp incentive program.
Fleet is requesting one time
budgeting in the amount of
$108,700, an approval for the
acquisition of the KC580 EV
battery electric backhoe loader.
This piece of equipment is
significantly more attractive
to us, as was it covers of the
$400,000 initial acquisition
covers $333,500. We made. The
county's required input is only
$108,700.
>> Hey, are there questions?
Yes, please.
>> Go ahead. I know you
mentioned that the fleet
identified is a T 905 90 and T
901974. Will you just briefly
describe what that what that I
don't know what that.
>> Vehicle is. Freightliner M2
business class box trucks. So
they are gross vehicle weight
of 2600 0 pounds. And they're
used to transport stuff for our
jail services department. Thank
you.
>> Other questions? Go ahead.
>> This is great. Are we maxing
out our zip incentive
possibilities here?
>> To the extent that we can.
Currently we've went through
this. So the state of
Washington Department of
Transportation has a
pre-approved list that dealers
have to go to the state and say,
we have a battery electric
vehicle that we believe is
acceptable to due to the
program guidelines, the state
of Washington then takes that
vehicle purchase price and will
reassign all of the vehicle
incentives. So the dealer has
no input. It's all through the
state of Washington. We've
reviewed every available
vehicle that is on the wasp. It
gets updated all the time. And
at this time, we believe that
these are our three prime
candidates that we could try
out and verify that they do
work for the counties operating
cycle before we make larger
purchases in the future.
>> Okay. Thanks for doing this.
>> Thank you. Other questions?
Please go ahead.
>> Yes. Thank you for bringing
this forward. I'm super
interested in in the backhoe. I
mean, that's got to have a
massive battery pack on that
thing. Does it? Is it rated for
like a certain number of hours
per day or how do they do that?
>> Well, depending on your
actual use cycle of that
vehicle, I, they, they
estimated about an eight hour
work cycle with a 45 minute
charge midday. So roughly a
break, a lunch break. So we're,
we're hoping that the area that
this piece of equipment is
lower duty cycle, but because
it's lower duty cycle will
actually be able to take it and
move it around the county to
verify whether it's not going
to work in some of our more
rural areas that have a higher
duty cycle than our centralized
78th Street location, where
this will be housed.
>> Okay. And I completely
appreciate that we're we're
moving forward with this
because it's only a matter of
time until we're required
anyway. And this allows us to,
to dabble into it and
understand what the
implications are going to be
and start building the
infrastructure around it while
doing so with minimal local
fund investment. Obviously,
we're paying more for these now
because the technology is so
new. As time progresses, the
the, you know, the prices will
decrease. But one of the things
that I would hope that you
would be willing to do is
compare these, these pieces of
equipment side by side to
standard diesel equipment that
we normally would purchase. And
so we can really get a hard
number in terms of savings on
maintenance and fuel and such.
I mean, it's going to be a
little tricky because you plug
it in, you don't really know
how many kilowatt hours go into
it. But if we can try to figure
out what the cost savings is
and how much of that additional
$100,000 we might get back, I
probably doubt at this point
that we'll get the whole thing,
but you never know. And I was
interested in, like with the
backhoe, what is our our
typical policy for like number
of hours before we retire the
equipment?
>> Right now we're at a 15 year
life cycle for.
>> We go by years as opposed to
hours.
>> We, we do have in the
replacement policy, a our
equivalent. But right now we're
focused on year based
acquisitions. It's easier for
us to plan and strategically
spend money equitably instead
of having unexpected expenses
come and hit us where we might
use a piece of equipment a lot
in one year because of a
snowstorm or a FEMA rated event
where a year based allows us to
take that planning effort and
actually be able to go out 20
years. So we kind of know from
a financial aspect where we're
at at a much more reasonable
state.
>> Okay. And just I just have a
very high level of interest in
this. So as it rolls out, I if
you could just update me on how
the equipment is working, I'd
love to have that.
>> Absolutely. And with the
telematics that electric
vehicles have, we will be
actually be able to tell you
how many kilowatts went into
that vehicle. And it'll be a
part of our in the policy that
we met with one on ones, when
we start coming up yearly with
that yearly annual report, what
some of our fuel cost savings
might have been compared to the
internal combustion equivalents.
Thank you.
>> Thank you, Councilor Fuentes.
Are you excited about backhoes,
too?
>> Probably not as excited as
Councilor Young, but I do have
a couple of more questions. I
just heard the the excitement
in his voice comparatively, you
know, what is the cost of a of
a similar diesel vehicle?
>> I printed it out just in
case you asked. So on the
backhoe, for example, the
diesel equivalent of the unit
that we're purchasing, it's
purchase price is $135,000.
We're purchasing one at
$400,000. So quite a
significant increase. Yeah. And
on our box trucks, still a
significant increase. But in
the staff report, we did call
that out because these are
replacements. We would expect
about 100, anywhere from 173 to
$190,000 per unit, and we're
spending 380,000 per unit.
>> My mind is the incentive,
right? Yeah, yeah. When do we
expect to have these vehicles
delivered?
>> Right now it is up in the
air. So what after? If council
approves, we will then reach
out to the dealers with our
intent to purchase. Then they
will submit all the paperwork
to the state. The state will
then rubber stamp our
application that says we are
going to meet the product or
the program guidelines. We will
keep it for at least three
years. It's 75% of its use has
to be in the state of
Washington state. And we do
have to allow for that
telematics data to be
interpreted by Wasep for their
program. Once we've done all of
that, we're looking at anywhere
from 12 to 18 months. Just kind
of depends on when our our
application gets approved and
when the manufacturer can fit
us in.
>> And will you have a welcome
ceremony? Because I think
Councilor Young would be very
excited to cut the ribbon if
that was the case. Actually,
I'd be interested in being
there as well. Yeah.
>> 18 months.
>> So 12 to 18.
>> We'll see where I'm at. At
least.
>> I'll jot that one down so
that we can remember that.
>> Okay. Thank you. Let's see.
So as I'm, I'm wondering, it
looks as I just did a little
bit of math here that the
funding request is $238,000, of
which we'll save $270,000
because of the Wasch Ziply
program. And so I'm wondering
what the funding source is.
>> So there's three separate
funding sources. One is the 50,
91, R and R fund. A portion of
it is the County Roads Fund,
which is the $101,000 purchase
for the backhoe loader and then
for the general fund is the.
$129,000.
>> Is it also the 108,700?
>> The 108 is the County Roads
Fund.
>> Oh, so that's that's a
funding source. Okay, great.
Thank you. And there's a budget
note hearing. Kathleen, I don't
know if you want to summarize
what the budget note says as
far as when we're going to this
will come back to us in the
fall.
>> Yes. Any staff report that
council considers during the
year that has a budget impact
that was not part of the budget
process, comes back during the
fall, supplemental to troop,
excuse me, troop the the
technical financial allocation.
>> Okay. Just a reminder that
we'll be looking at this again
in the fall.
>> Yes, it'll come back as
previously approved by.
>> Council, previously approved.
Okay, great. All right. Is
there any other questions. And
if not, I'll entertain a motion
to approve.
>> Motion to approve separate
business item number three.
>> Second.
>> Thank you. Moved and
seconded. All in favor, say aye.
Aye. Motion carries. Thank you
very much.
>> Thank you, Council Chair.
>> Oh, and you know, I just
have another thought because
we're doing our comp plan
update. And if this sort of
thing can be included in our
climate change, part of our
climate change response, I
don't know if this is too small
of a item, but it seems to me
that it would be an important
thing to include.
>> In a generalized sense. It
is, as the comprehensive plan
does, have a commitment to
transition. These vehicles in
particular wouldn't be, but
they are covered under the
larger, larger requirement to
transition to greener
technology.
>> Great. Thank you. Okay.
Councilor Fuentes, did you have
anything?
>> I do not I just want to turn
this off.
>> Okay. Then moving on to
we're on item four, County
manager to execute a
cooperative agreement with
Washington State Department of
Transportation for the vast
traffic signal software and ATM.
S replacement project. Is
someone going to come forward
and talk.
>> To us?
>> Laura.
>> Oh, Laura. Online people
were pointing at you, but I was
looking at them. So Laura,
please welcome.
>> Thank you so much. Good
afternoon. For the record, I am
Laura Hoggatt, Transportation
capital programing specialist.
I have with me today
Transportation Division Manager
Steve Gallop and Transportation
Capital Programing section
manager Chris Karl. They'll be
here to help answer any
questions you might have on
this agenda item. There are a
couple of acronyms in the
opening paragraph of our staff
report that I just wanted to
clarify. Vast stands for
Vancouver Area Smart Trek and a
TMS stands for Advanced Traffic
Management System. I'll go
ahead and jump in. Clark County
has been awarded $1,750,000 in
federal grant funding from the
Congestion Mitigation and Air
Quality Program for the Fast
track Traffic signal software
and ATMs. Replacement project
150,000 of that is for
preliminary engineering. Our
first phase, also called PE,
and 1,000,600 000 for the
construction phase work. This
project will evaluate the
feasibility of transitioning to
a unified vendor for signal
controller hardware and
software for the Washington
State Department of
Transportation, Clark County,
and several small cities. The
selected system will be
implemented with support from
the Construction Funding Award.
If a new fund, a new vendor is
recommended. Through this work,
the total project is estimated
to cost 2,495,000, of which 740
000 of the grant funding match
requirement will be prorated
between Clark County and the
Washington State Department.
Department of transportation.
This cooperative agreement
authorizes monetary exchange
and provides details of
Washington State Department of
Transportation's portion of the
project, and I will mention
that the pro rate is according
to the number of signals that
each jurisdiction operates. So
we're here in. Welcome your
questions as we request that
you authorize the county
manager to execute this. This
cooperative agreement.
>> Great. Thank you. Are there
any questions from council? Go
ahead. Councilor young.
>> Couple questions here. I'm
first of all, I'm curious. Is
this something that is like
kind of a pilot with Clark
County or is this happening all
throughout the state?
>> So it's my understanding you
might be familiar with our
Southwest Washington Regional
Transportation Council, and
they sponsor the the vast
network, which again is the
Vancouver area smart truck. And
within that group, it's my
understanding that the City of
Vancouver has switched to
another provider. And the
larger group, including State
of Washington, Clark County and
five smaller cities, wanted to
look at the feasibility of also
switching. So there was a
unified program throughout the
region. And I welcome Stuebe to
jump in and share any more that
you might have.
>> Here he comes.
>> Steve Gallop, for the record
Transportation Division manager,
the main reason for this
project is because we're
starting to get our controllers,
traffic signal controllers, and
our central kind of command
traffic signal center is
starting to get old. So we. The
first part of this project is
to initiate a basically an
engineering study to look at
our system, to look at the
system that City of Vancouver's
using. Look at the system that
Wasch Dot's using, and then
make a recommendation off of
that. And I think eventually
the goal is for all three big
agencies to try to have the
same system. So we're all
talking to each other. So
that's kind of the main reason
for this project.
>> Okay. So this is really
something that needed to take
place anyway. And we're able to
take advantage of the grant
funding to fund most of it.
>> That's correct. Yes. Yeah.
>> Thank you.
>> Any other comments or
questions? Hearing none, I'll
entertain a motion.
>> Motion to approve item
number four.
>> Okay. Is there a second?
Second moved and seconded. All
in favor say I, I I motion
carries. Thank you very much
all of you.
>> Thank you.
>> Okay. Item five. Request for
approval. Authorizing the
county manager to sign an
agreement. Amendment number one,
on any future amendments to
professional services with
Windsor engineers for Philbrook
Farms track D stormwater
facility design. There we go.
So we've heard about Philbrook
Farm before and it's good to
see this moving forward. So
please go ahead.
>> Yeah. Thank you, chair,
again for the record, Jeff
Schnabel with public Works,
clean water Division
infrastructure and assessment
services manager. I have Jenny
Kocher, deputy public works
director, with me to help
answer any questions. So this
item, yes, is a is an extension
and, and an increase to a
contract that we have with
Windsor engineers. They are
currently working with us to
try to sleuth out a solution
and design that solution for
the the Philbrook Farms track,
the stormwater facility. So I
think most of you are familiar
with this facility. It is the
one where we have ponding
within a park area, occurring
at a much more frequent rate
than what was intended by the
original design. And so we're
trying to trying to get a
handle on what's causing that
issue and design a solution. So
we're currently scoped and
currently planning to construct
a solution out there next
summer in 2027. We are still
under that schedule even with
this increase in the cost and
this extension and the contract.
So the contract that we're on
with Windsor, what we've got is
we've run into some more
complicating factors on site
there than we had hoped when we
first scoped this contract. And
so what we needed to do in
order to try to fix the problem
is figure out what the
underground layout looks like
of this system. Not well
documented. There were several
different as built versions
that came to light. Nobody
really knew which one we had,
so we did have to do some
underground exploration to
figure that out, as well as
figure out exactly what's wrong
with the system, whether that's
an infiltration rate problem or
some sort of other issue, you
know, construction issue or
otherwise. So the lower cost
hoped for solutions that we
scoped for didn't pan out.
Things like ground penetrating
radar and a few other things
like that that were helpful but
couldn't allow us to get the
good look at what we had
underground. So we ended up
doing a little bit more
excavation on site to get
ourselves into the system. We
brought in the the folks from
the manufacturer, as well as
local geotech firm that we've
worked with quite a bit to kind
of help us with that
exploration. So what we've got
now is we've figured out what's
wrong with the system. We know
what the configuration is, we
know that it is clogged.
Unfortunately, with sediment.
We also know that unfortunately,
these types of systems don't
lend themselves to being
cleaned. And so our options
going forward are limited to
tearing it out and replacing it
entirely, or leaving what we
have under there, getting this,
getting the level of function
that we can out of it, and then
adding some additional
functionality around the edges.
And that's the that's the goal
of what we're heading for.
That's our kind of our
preferred alternative. So what
this extension and increase of
140,000 for the contract will
allow us to do is to finalize
some of the modeling, looking
at what the original
anticipated configuration could
do versus what the actual
configuration can do versus
what it can do in this, in this
sort of encumbered, clogged
state. And so based on that, we
can then design a solution that
will get us out of this
recurring flooding. So. Again,
we think we're on schedule for
a, for a 2027 construct. But
unfortunately, we did we did
see the need to sort of extend
this budget a little bit to
cover those unknowns. So but
happy to answer any questions
or discuss further.
>> Are there any questions? Go
ahead. Councilor young yes.
>> Do you know how many units
housing units this support.
>> Offhand? No, but it is in
the hundreds. It's a large
development, multiple phases.
There are four stormwater
facilities serving the entire
community. So not all of those
go to track D. But I think it's
you know, it's up up in the
close to 100. Yeah, yeah.
>> And I just say that just to,
to, you know, elevate something
that I know very well is that
clean water is very expensive.
You know, it's expensive for us
to repair. In this case, it's
expensive. And it is a large
contributor to housing costs,
unfortunately. I mean, it's
something you have to do, but
it is very expensive. I mean
you're 400 000 for a couple
hundred units probably. And
that's just the design. I mean,
just, you know, figuring out
what we're going to do. It's
not actually the action. But
yeah, that that's that that was
all I had.
>> So what I wonder about this
project is what we can learn
from it. You know, as I, I feel,
I feel like in the past we
heard that this is something
the county inherited and it was.
And so I, I don't know what the
process was to get this
permitted. I think that's where
you need. If we could
understand if we could learn
from this, what, what what are
the takeaways that we don't
want to have happen again?
Because the expense magnifies
when you have to go back. Well,
not you personally or the
county, but whoever has to come
back and, and repair what's
happened. And I know a lot of
times with stormwater
facilities, they go in during
the construction phase and a
lot of sediment is generated
during the construction phase.
And maintenance, you know, is
always an issue. So I wonder
with your preferred alternative,
because I think we definitely
need to move forward and
correcting this. But how will
the maintenance, will we be
able to do the maintenance?
Because as you mentioned, this
was constructed in a way that
is very difficult to maintain.
So if you could talk to the
future maintenance.
>> Great question on the future
maintenance. And I don't know,
Jenny, you you want to talk at
all or and then I can follow on
with this.
>> I wanted to.
>> Facility specific.
>> We agree with you and
division manager Devin as well
as Jeff. It's always. What are
the lessons learned? How can we
prevent this and how do we look
at our process going forward?
And we are actively looking at
that and tightening up these
systems, especially because it
it is expensive. And and many
of these go in. And this is one
of a handful that has been
problematic. And we're fixing.
And you're right, it is
expensive. So, Jeff, do you
want to talk a little bit more
about the planned maintenance.
>> Yeah. Thank you. Yeah. So
you're absolutely right chair.
The, you know, the the systems
are vulnerable during
construction and during build
out for sure. And also if
there's not, you know, routine
maintenance taking place to
make sure that the water going
into the system is already
cleaned, right. So we looking
at what we see underground
there with the camera systems
and the, you know, incursions
that we made last fall, this,
this system is plugged up
pretty significantly. Right?
And so that's question number
one is where, where do we get
all that sediment from? And
what we do know is that since
construction, you know, the
water that's going in
post-construction is coming
from the road surfaces, goes
through a huge treatment vault
that is maintained and
inspected annually. So we
believe that once we have this
system sort of, you know,
increased enough to take care
of the overage, we'll be able
to keep that because there is
no, you know, additional large
amounts of sediment source out
there. Right. So we've got the
the cartridges in place and
we'll be able to kind of
continually do that. You're
right that the system that's
out there is not accessible.
There were some access ports
that were intended in the
design that unfortunately, did
not ever get put in this new
system that we that we add on
is certainly going to have
those access ports, those view
ports, although we are still
going to be constrained by the
overall design of these chamber
systems. And that is that the
entire system is never actually
designed to be accessed. Right.
So you may have multiple, you
know, underground chambers, but
only typically one row of a
multi row system is designed to
be accessed. They call it a
sacrifice row. And that's where
any additional sedimentation
that might make it through your
treatment. BMP is supposed to
settle out. And then you can
get a you know a piece of
machinery or a vac in there,
right. So that you can clean
out that one thing, but you
can't get to the rest of the
system. So if those get messed
up, you're kind of stuck with
it. And that's what we have in
this situation. So we'll want
to make sure that we have, you
know, a really good handle on
our treatment BMPs there going
forward. So does that make
sense?
>> It does make sense, but it
makes me wonder if in the
future, if this is a design
that we want to be approving in
the future, if it's if it is
proven to be problematic.
>> That's a fair question,
councilor. Yeah, sure.
>> Well, I have a couple more
things, and I think it's a
point of vulnerability because
most a lot of these are
supposed to be maintained by
the HOA. And sometimes people
who live in these communities
aren't aware of that. And so
are we going to be maintaining
this facility going forward?
>> Yes. Yeah. Chair. Well, we
will definitely be doing that.
And we and we're responsible
for the one that's there
already. Right? So this is that
weird kind of multi-purpose
facility parcel. So clean water
owns the parcel and we own all
the underground stormwater
facility infrastructure. The
homeowners association
association owns all the
surface amenities. So the
playground equipment, the
basketball court and picnic
tables, all that stuff that's
owned and maintained by the HOA.
So it'll stay with that
arrangement that was set by the
by the development when it came
in as a planned unit
development. So that'll be the
the way we do it going forward.
But yes, we'll continue to be
taking care of that. And
typically speaking, really big
systems like this usually don't
go to the HOA. They typically
stick with with the county
because they're really not
something that a typical HOA is
going to be very able to take
care of.
>> Good. Yeah, yeah. Thanks.
Thanks for that. And just keep
us posted. And if you have any
revelations of how we can do
things differently, that'd be
good to hear. Go ahead.
>> Councilor Young yes. Thank
you. And your your point is
well taken in learning from
this. One of the things that I
would say is probably the
building industry is probably
cringing with this thing right
now because they see, well,
first of all, the county
shouldn't have to bear an
expense like this. And so, you
know, it's our duty to make
sure that something like this
doesn't happen in the future.
And, you know, you're looking
at potential for more
regulations, more rules, more
inspections, things like that.
And exactly the things that the
building industry does not want
to add expense to their
projects, for sure. But there's
a public need here that does
have to be addressed somehow.
And I don't know how it ends up
being addressed, but I
definitely encourage you to, to
work with folks in the industry
to see how it can be done to
ensure that this does not
happen again, but at the least
impactful way possible in doing
it.
>> So yeah.
>> I can actually respond a
little bit to that councilor.
So a couple of things that that
are in the works right now. So
the stormwater code and manual
currently in the process of
being updated. We do that about
every five years as the, as the
ecology cycle goes. And we have
introduced some language in
there, partly because of this
particular project as a kind of
a poster child for some of the
issues that we can have. So
there are some changes coming
through in that in that new
document that are aimed at
making sure that some
additional pre-study is done on
these, and a little more
modeling to see if we're going
to have mounding of stormwater,
and also to make sure that the
separation between the
groundwater level and the
bottom of these systems is
sufficient to make sure that
we've got room for that water
to go, don't get that mounding
effect. So that's, that's kind
of ongoing and is a direct, you
know, outcome of this situation
that we're in. A couple other
things. You all or many of you
were involved in the rate study
work that we did back in 2024.
There were a couple of items
within that discussion that we
are also moving forward, as you
know, as these next couple of
years pan out. One of those is
to take a hard look at at some
of the maintenance bond
warranty process that the
county has kind of the levels
of those, how they're enforced,
you know, what, what's the
leverage there that can be
utilized to make sure we get
better outcomes? And then also
some additional resources for
additional inspections, maybe
beyond just the minimum
required by the, you know, by
the permitting agencies and
things like that. So hopefully
all of those things together, I
mean, like Jenny said, you know,
we have a, we have a pretty
good success rate, really with
the number of, you know,
systems that are built and the
number, the amount of
development going on. Our
inspector folks, the folks in
community development who are,
you know, approving these and
examining these plans that go
in, you know, that's there's a
lot of work there. And, you
know, most of the time it works
quite well. But there are those,
you know, those one offs.
Sometimes when we, we get
something that wasn't expected.
And then we gotta kind of
figure out the, the best way to
go forward.
>> So and then just last last
comment I would say is that
although we don't know, I, for
my understanding for certain
exactly how that sediment got
there, I would just say that
during construction, sediment
should not be entering that
system. So that's something to
look at.
>> Yeah. Excellent point. Thank
you. Okay.
>> Just comments. Yeah. Just a
really quick question. I know
that this has been going on.
It's been an ongoing issue for
a while. It's come in front of
council now a few times. I was
curious who who created this
mess? To put it bluntly, was it
the developer or was it the
county?
>> Well, that's a tough
question.
>> If that can be discerned.
>> Yeah, yeah, it it might be a
little bit of a a little bit of
both, a little bit of
everything. You know, we've
been in a position in clean
water, basically kind of more
focused on how do, how do we
fix this? How do we make this
thing better? As opposed to
like, you know, who and all
that? So there's, there's
probably an element of that
that we want to pursue coming
up. And we do want to have some
conversations with legal staff
to see if there are remedies
potentially out there for any
of this as we, you know, kind
of get further in and we know
what actually happened in the
system.
>> So I think, again, that's
that's kind of where I was
going. I was wondering if there
was an opportunity for recovery,
if in fact, it was the
developer. And then my, my last
question, and I don't recall if
this might have been brought up
at some point in the past, but
has there been any I don't see
looking at the pictures.
Probably not. But has there
been any damage to the homes,
any flooding?
>> No, there's this is in a
kind of a closed depression. So
there's a lot of there's like a
freeboard in there to, to hold
water. And it was actually
designed to do this, you know,
but just very, very rarely in
large storm events like, you
know, ten year, 25 year or
above to, you know, pond up and
then go back down. So yeah,
there's, there's quite a bit of
freeboard. So we're not too
worried about the houses
themselves, but a good question.
Yeah. Thank you.
>> And I think to respond to
your question, it it aligns
with the process optimization
of inspecting and making sure
no changes are made during
construction, during
construction that might deviate
from what was designed. So it's
just making sure we're we're
tightening up that process and
we are looking at that
holistically.
>> Thank you.
>> Great. Good discussion.
Thank you all. And with that,
if there's no more questions,
I'll entertain a motion to
approve.
>> Move separate business item
number five.
>> Okay. Is there a second?
Second moved and seconded. All
those in favor say I, I I
thanks again.
>> All right. Thank you counsel.
>> Thank you counsel.
>> Okay. So oh we still have
one more. Okay. Laura Henry sly
this oh 179th. Okay, let's
let's get going on this.
>> We take a lunch break.
>> I think we'll it's just
179th. We can wrap this up
quickly.
>> Yeah. Good afternoon.
Counselors. Yes, just 179. Just
a small little project that
we're going to have a career
making on this. So yeah, for
for today, the business we have
in front of you is to approve
three separate resolutions in
connection with the 179th. And
can you go to slide two, please.
So the before I get into the
three separate projects and the
different phases that we're
getting into, this is for the
audience. You guys are very
well aware of the the
condemnation procedures, but
this is just to kick it off. So
the condemnation procedures are
initiated or they're in three
phases. We have the initiation
phase, which is what staff what
I'm asking for you to sign
today, the notification. This
is where let me kind of back up
the initiation phase is we've
identified what we need for the
project. We're doing our due
diligence. We're designing.
We're going to send the
surveyors out there. We're
going to hire the appraisers.
We have the review appraisers.
We're doing our due diligence.
And this is under our CW8
.08.010 in where that that is
the first phase that says the
council saying. And with our
six year tip, right, go forth
and go by the right of way. So
the the second phase is or the
second chapter is when we've
come to a total impasse with
the property owner or more than
one. And this is where we will
have a public hearing, ask for
a public hearing. And at that
point, that would be the
council's directive to declare
this a public use and necessity,
and then direct the PAS office
to go across the street for the
to start the court proceeding.
So today, let me be clear. This
is just we're kicking it off
and this is a formality. So
let's get into the projects. If
we don't have any questions
about this. So the first
project is the corridor. So as
we know it's a two lane rural
road. And we're going to be
bringing this up to arterial
standards. So this is a big
project. So this is from 15th
Avenue to where we're
connecting up to where we're
currently under construction
under 29th. The intersection at
the roundabout there. The next
slide please. The second
resolution I'm asking you to
ask to kick off is at the the
west side of interstate, where
we have next to the gas station
there and the entry into the
main entrance into the
fairgrounds. And this is the
kind of the a good footprint of
what is being designed at this
point. And so this is, this
would be the second resolution.
And then last slide please.
>> Okay. Hold on.
>> Well, the last the last
slide would be yeah. The, the
construction of the new
alignment of from 15th on up
and connect to 10th Avenue. So
this is a big project. It's
going to be phased over several
years, but this is just kicking
it off, asking having you tell
staff go forth and go get the
right of way. Do you have any
questions?
>> Are there any questions?
Maybe in this case it's good to
come. Last. One thing that was
raised during the open public
comment was related to WSU, and
there. Allocated amount of
traffic. Jeremy's coming up
when maybe you could address
that. And maybe if you're not
prepared to address that today,
I would like to have a follow
up for Heidi's concern. There
is reserved trips that those
are capped.
>> So yeah. Good afternoon.
Jeremy Provenza.
>> The county engineer. The
development agreement that
afforded the the Washington
State campus to vest trips has
expired. So I believe that's
what the constituent was
referring to.
>> Have we spoken to WSU? Is
this okay with them or was it
just.
>> I understand they're aware
that it has expired, but we've
not engaged specific
conversations about it.
>> Know if there's any concern.
Okay. Thank you. Not specific
to this request, but I was just
curious while you're here.
>> Of course.
>> All right. Yeah. Related to
the request on item six, are
there any questions or concerns?
If not, I'll entertain a motion.
>> Motion to approve item
number six.
>> Thank you. Is there a second?
Second moved and seconded. All
in favor, say aye.
>> Aye.
>> Motion carries. Oh I from me
as well. Thank you. So thank
you very much. That county
manager's report.
>> I don't have anything today.
>> Okay. Thank you County
Manager. With that we have
completed our agenda. Very
lengthy one. Thanks for hanging
in there everyone. And without
objection. Without objection.
This meeting is adjourned.
Thank you.