Good evening. Welcome to
Vancouver City Council. Today
is Monday, October 5th, 2026.
We had three workshops this
afternoon. We discussed our
legislative priorities. We
worked on some budget and title
19 with the municipal code for
parking. Please stand and join
me in the Pledge of Allegiance.
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. Thank you,
Miss Dolor. Please call the
roll.
>> Okay. Councilmember Harless,
present. Perez. Present. Fox
here, Paulson here. I'm going
to note that Council member and
Council member Hansen are both
online for the meeting. Thank
you. And Mayor McEnerny Ogle.
>> Present, all present and
accounted for. Thank you. We
have two proclamations this
evening. Let's start off with
Dia de Muertos, day of the dead,
and Mariana Cruz. Ana Cruz,
both just one. Okay, here we go.
Whereas the City of Vancouver
welcomes and celebrates the
cultural traditions of its
diverse communities,
recognizing that Latino culture,
history, and traditions add
richness and color to the
fabric of our city, and day of
the dead is a cherished
tradition rooted in indigenous,
African, and European
influences that bring families
and generations together to
honor ancestors, share stories,
and strengthen connections to
their cultural heritage, and
the City of Vancouver
recognizes the Latino community
as an important and valued part
of our city, honoring their
contributions, creativity,
traditions, and the resilience
of Latino families who helped
make Vancouver a stronger, more
connected and vibrant community.
And where on October 17th, 2026,
the City of Vancouver will join
with the community in
sponsoring and actively
participating in Dia de Muertos.
Day of the dead Luminaria
celebration at Esther Short
Park from 2 to 8 p.m. inviting
residents of all backgrounds to
come together in remembrance,
celebration and appreciation of
this meaningful cultural
tradition. Now therefore, I
Anne McEnerny Ogle, Mayor of
Vancouver, Washington, do
hereby proclaim November 1st
through the second as day of
the dead in the city of
Vancouver and encourage the
community to join, participate
and learn more about this
observance and the rich
cultural history it represents.
>> There you go.
>> Good evening, Council
councilors and Madam Mayor.
City Manager and all. Thank you.
I believe a beautiful city is
the one that embraces culture,
art and traditions. That is key
to a healthy community. I'm so
thankful that you, Madam Mayor,
will be attending and accepted
our invitation to be part of
the festivities of Luminarias
2027 day of the dead Dia de Los
Muertos. At our beautiful
Esther Short Park. We are
looking forward to beautiful
weather and thank you again so
very much for appreciating this
beautiful tradition that is
part of the Latino community.
Have a wonderful evening.
>> Thank you so very much. And
this is National Disability
Employment Awareness Month.
Gabriela and Bob, please.
Whereas the City of Vancouver
is actively involved in the
implementation of the Americans
with Disabilities Act,
celebrating the 36th
anniversary of this historic
legislation and the most
comprehensive civil rights
legislation in the world for
people with disabilities. And
whereas, people with
disabilities are an
irreplaceable resource and we
cannot morally or financially
afford to lose the
contributions that this
untapped workforce brings, not
only in the workplace but
community life. Whereas, the
City of Vancouver, in
partnership with Clark County
and other public agencies, and
with the cooperative assistance
of numerous civic and nonprofit
groups, can look forward to a
continued expansion of
employment opportunities for
the greater acceptance of
people with disabilities in the
competitive labor market, and
the theme for 2026 is
Celebrating Value and Talent,
and it recognizes the
contributions that American
workers with disabilities add
to our workplaces and the
economy, and highlights their
achievements, both past and
present, and confirms our
commitment to ensuring that
workers with disabilities have
access to good jobs every month
of every year now. Therefore, I
Anne McEnerny Ogle, Mayor of
Vancouver, Washington, do
hereby proclaim the month of
October as National Disability
Employment Awareness Month in
the City of Vancouver and
encourage the community to join
in reaffirming our
determination to fulfill both
the letter and the spirit of
the Americans with Disabilities
Act.
>> I would like to thank our
Mayor and City Council members
for your proclamation and
support of Disability
Employment Awareness Month. My
name is Bob Friedland and I'm a
volunteer member and chair of
the Clark County Developmental
Disabilities Advisory Board. I
would describe myself as an
older, retired white man with
curly gray hair, and I wear
glasses. Joining me at the
microphone is Gabriela Ewing, a
distinguished advocate and
parent serving on our advisory
board. We are also joined in
the room by Angela Gomez, a
professional program
coordinator within the Clark
County Developmental
Disabilities Program, and lead
staff member to our advisory
board, the Developmental
Disabilities Advisory Board is
charged with advising our Clark
County councilors on issues and
services related to
developmental disabilities
throughout Clark County.
>> October is Disability.
>> Employment Awareness Month
nationwide. Locally, our
advisory board will be hosting
Clark College County 26th year
anniversary or Disability
Employment Awareness
celebration. Our awards event
reflects the important role
people with disabilities play
in the workforce. Diversity. We
invite you to join us in
honoring local employers,
employees, and employment
agencies, and employment
professionals for their
commitment to employment for
all. Our very festive in-person
event will be held this
Wednesday, October 7th from 4
to 6 p.m. at Clark College
Geisen Hall, located at 1933
Fort Vancouver Way in Vancouver,
Washington. The event will also
be live streamed and recorded
on CVTV. For those who prefer
to watch remotely, this free
public event is is for all to
attend. For additional
information, please call
(564) 397-2130. Thank you very
much.
>> Thank you very much. That
concludes our communication or
our proclamation. Before we go
into communication, counselors,
Counselor Stober and Hanson
have asked to be excused due to
communication issues and such.
>> Mayor, before we do that, I
just got teams back up. I
believe both are still on. Let
me give them the permission to
unmute. Council member Stober
and Hanson, are you on?
>> I am present this council
member Hanson.
>> President Stober.
>> Okay, so we don't need to
excuse them. Thank you so very
much. We're into communications
from the community. Carmen
Dayley Lehan. Bruce Barnes,
please. Carmen. Go ahead. Come
on up.
>> Gentlemen. Thank you man.
Right on. Okay. Hey, so my name
is Molodih Lehan, also known as
Carmen de Lehan. And we have a
number of things that I don't
want to get in trouble for
talking about, because I'm
talking about what you guys
talked about earlier, about
80,000 people coming to
Vancouver, and that you guys
have to make adjustments for
the new 80,000 people that are
coming to Vancouver. But nobody
talked about new schools.
Nobody talked about more cops,
more firemen, more hospitals.
And that's key because you got
a half a million people with
two hospitals, and you want to
add another almost 100,000.
Nobody's talking about a
hospital here. I don't know,
maybe you guys encourage sick
people dying, I don't know. So
anyways, what's the next thing?
Okay, we got 22. Okay. Oh, you
want to talk about Dia de Los
Muertos? I'm not sure you
really want to because I have
talked to the dead and it's not
fun. So for them to celebrate
that, hey, you all go for it.
But when you really talk to a
dead person, you might have a
different opinion about
celebrating Dia de Los Muertos
because you should be
celebrating every day you're
alive because the real life,
the real joy, is life. And now
we have disabilities. Okay, I
have a disability. Why don't I
get a job? Because the more I
work, the more they take from
me. So why would I get a job?
How many people do I know with
disabilities working under the
table? Because they know that
if they. Report it, they're
going to lose dollar for dollar.
So congratulations on people
with Disability Employment
Month because a lot of them
won't tell you. We have another
thing. Let me see.
Communications. Is there
anything else open here. Well
we did talk about the the what
is it called the plan of. Oh
yeah. The youth. You guys want
a youth advisory board and the
guys listening that said that
they want a humanitarian board.
And I kind of agree with that,
considering that this youth is
the lowest IQ youth on record,
that we have systematically
brought in more computers and
gotten our population stupider.
So if you want to keep taking
advice from stupid people, you
go for it. But I would listen
to the other dude who said, we
need a humanitarian board
because like I said, you can
listen to the youth all you
want, but take it with a grain
of salt. They're not as smart
as we were at that age. They're
being mummified with all of
this computer crap that's being
put in their heads and at a
young age, being made to
question whether they should
pee standing up or sitting down,
which I think is why that the
schools are being nobody wants
to go to public school anymore
because they're not teaching
reading math and math and
arithmetic because they they
want to poison the mind of the
youth. And it's really sad to
see that instead of getting
smarter by the generation, we
have the stupidest generation
on record and you want to
listen to them. Why don't you
advise them to turn off their
computers and their cell phones
and then next generation, maybe.
>> We thank you for your
testimony. Bruce Barnes, I want
to.
>> Good evening, Mayor and
Council. My name is Bruce
Barnes. For the record, can we
talk about number seven here at
this point, or do we have to
wait till the end of the
meeting?
>> You have to wait until
public hearing on that.
>> So the other things I want
to talk about is the last two
days, I've witnessed two fires
at homeless encampments. The
Clark County sheriff also found
a huge marijuana grow out on
highway 99. I don't know if you
guys saw that or not. And with
all the cameras around town
here, I'm just wondering why we
don't have any down here to
monitor the criminal behavior
that's going on down here at
the share house every night. We
we got to we got to do
something better. I just
traveled through Montana, Idaho,
Wyoming, Utah, South Dakota.
They don't have any of these
problems. Cities are clean. No
homeless tents, no garbage. You
know, I haven't been here for a
while, but I definitely think
that we can we can improve on
that. The Main Street promise I
see is pretty much complete. I
appreciate you guys actually
putting the white paint on the
speed bumps so people don't get
out of their vehicles and trip
on those, because I see
numerous people hit the deck
because they couldn't actually
see that that incline on the,
the speed bump. That's very
sharp. But I also have some,
some concerns about what's
going on on Saint John's
Boulevard. Now, if you're to
turn right off of Saint John's
now, there's no light for the
Bicyclers. So they're just
going as the light is green.
But a lot of people don't look
back to turn. I think there's
going to be some accidents. And
I think that there should be a
traffic signal there for the
the cyclist or to let the
public know, like over in
Portland, they've got a
flashing red sign when the
bicyclists are coming, right.
So you cannot turn off that
main thoroughfare until they go
through. And I think that'd be
a good idea for the Bicyclers.
Not that there's any that I
really ever see going up Saint
John's, but I guess that's all
I got for that part. And I'm
going to talk on number seven
later. Thank you so much.
>> All right. That concludes
our communication. I have some
cards for item number seven,
which is the public hearing. So
do we have Kimberly Elbon
online? No. All right. Let's go
to the consent agenda. Then
we're pulling item number two.
Councilors. Are there any other
items of the six that you would
like to pull on consent? Let me
read a couple of them into the
record. Item number four A
resolution fixing October 26th,
2026, is the date for a public
hearing on our proposal to
vacate public right of way
associated with Southeast First
Street, located on the
northeast corner of northeast
184th Avenue in Southeast First
Street. Located within the
southeast quarter of section 30,
Township two North range three,
East Willamette, Meridian City
of Vancouver, Clark County,
Washington. Item number five is
an ordinance relating to the
Comprehensive Plan and Zoning
for the City of Vancouver and
the Vancouver Municipal Code
title 20 in matters related to
statutory requirements to
facilitate housing near transit.
Amending VMC 20.4, 50.030 and
20.5 30.040. Providing for
severability and establishing
an effective date. I'll
entertain a motion to approve
items one and three, four, five
and six.
>> Move to approve. Paulson,
>> Paulson seconded by Perez
Perez. Those in favor say aye.
Opposed. Motion passes. Item
number two, Councilor Fox.
>> Good evening. So item two is
a project for improving Upper
Main Street. And I had asked
staff some some follow up
questions for things that
weren't included in. Well, that
aren't typically included with
these consent items, but I
asked to see the striping plan
for the proposal and also ask
some safety questions. And so.
Oh, okay. I should look up for
my notes. So starting with my
first question is along the
lines of better understanding
what pedestrian plans we have
during construction for
ensuring that there is an
uninterrupted flow for
pedestrians along the route.
And I would say my hope is that
you will tell me that they will
still be able to access both
sides of the street during the
entire construction, because
that that section of Main
Street is very well utilized by
pedestrians. And I couldn't
imagine if you shut off one
side of Main Street that folks
would go to the other side. I
think they would walk in the
street.
>> Yeah. So Ryan Lopossa, a
transportation manager for the
city. Excellent questions. So
as with any of our construction
projects, one of the things
that contractor is required to
do is they're required to
provide us with any kind of
plan that includes closing or
rerouting the sidewalks,
pedestrian pathways and so
forth. With this particular
project, most of the work is
happening on the roadway itself.
So we're resurfacing the
roadway and then we're coming
back and we're putting a
different striping pattern on
the roadway. We're putting the
new two way mobility lane in
the roadway, but we're really
not doing anything behind the
curb per se. So I'm not
anticipating the need for any
closure of the sidewalks. Now,
that's not to say that the
contractor might not come in
and say, well, we're going to
be working right next to this
area. We'd like to close this
off just to make it a safer
area. If they do that again,
they're required to submit
plans to us ahead of time.
Those plans are always routed
to me for my review. And we'll
look and see, okay, where
what's being closed? How are
the pedestrians being rerouted?
How long is that going to occur?
And do we have a reasonable
pathway that these folks can
take? But again, given the fact
that they're not actually going
to be doing any, any work on
the sidewalks or anything
behind the curb, that should be
fairly minimal for this one.
>> What is the timing for the
construction of the project?
>> So we are, you know,
basically in the, in the bid
award phase. So here in
probably another couple or
three weeks, we'll get
contracts signed by the
contractor, we'll hold a
pre-construction meeting. The,
the sizable portion of the work
obviously involves the pavement
work. That work is not going to
happen until we get back into
paving season this next spring.
There is maybe a little bit of
work that they can do. I do
believe there's some signal
work that they need to do and
some, you know, some non
pavement related work, but the
lion's share of this work is
going to be happening this next
spring. And and then I don't
know the exact number of
working days, but I would say
this project should be
completed by next fall.
>> And my final question and
followed by a statement is, I
didn't notice any changes to
crossings on this project. So
it looks as if the crossings,
pedestrian crossings are going
to remain in the same places.
>> Yeah. So we have we have the
existing crossing at 39th
Street with that signal, as
well as at 45th Street. We also
have the existing crossing,
although it's been out of
commission for a little over a
year, about halfway between
45th and 39th, by way of a
separate activity, that
crossing is going to be brought
back into brought back online
here within the next few weeks
as well. We've just been
waiting on materials to be
delivered so we could restore
that that mast arm and pole
that was knocked down last year
by an automobile. So we'll get
that crossing restored. But
there's yeah, there's no other
crossing improvements or
changes being made as a part of
this project.
>> And I was I was going to
raise that concern on that
mid-block crossing for those
that are as old as me here in
the city of Vancouver, when I
was in high school, there
wasn't a crossing there, and a
lot of high school students
would park across the street at
the church because we didn't
have enough parking at Kiggins
Bowl, and student crossed and
was killed there, you know,
didn't they didn't walk down to
the crosswalk. Right. And so I
think it was about a year or
two later, that crossing was
put in place specifically to
assist with folks going to
Kiggins Wolf for games. And so
not having that operational
when it comes to football
season again is really
concerning to me. So I
appreciate to know that it's
going to be back online.
>> Yeah, we're it's been sorely
missed and I can't wait for it
to, to get back online so we
can restore the safety at that
at that intersection.
>> Thank you. I don't have any
more questions on this project.
>> Thank you. Councilor Stober,
did you have a point to make?
>> Yes. Thank you mayor. Hey,
Brian. Help me. I, I have been
under the understanding for a
number of years that the Upper
Main Street project started
much further south than this.
Is this just one portion, or is
this all of the Upper Main
Street project that we've been
talking about for a while?
>> So we did a, we did a
corridor study of upper main
that extends all the way down
to Fourth Plain. And that study
essentially analyzed what
needed to be done to the
corridor as we do projects
along the corridor. So it
looked at the need for
additional crossings. It looked
at what type of mobility
improvements we could make
along the corridor. So it
really helped us to uncover the
types of improvements that we
could make to the corridor. As
we encountered projects along
the corridor. So this is the
first project per se that we're
doing in the wake of that of
that corridor plan. And so this
project goes essentially from
39th Street up to 45th,
although it does extend a
little bit further south than
39th, we're actually going down
to 37th with some of the
striping work. But then there
will be another element of
improvements on the corridor.
When we come in to resurface
the segment all the way down to
fourth Plain. And then we'll
we'll go back to the corridor
plan. We'll look at the list of
recommendations for that
segment of the corridor and
apply those to that particular
project when we when we get to
that project.
>> Okay. Thank you very much. I
thought there was more involved,
but thank you. Have a great day.
>> You two.
>> Councilors, any other
comments on item two?
>> Mayor, move to approve.
>> Thank you. Stober seconded
by Fox. Fox. All those in favor,
say aye.
>> Aye aye.
>> Opposed. Motion passes.
Thank you very much. Thank you.
Thank you Ryan. That brings us
into the public hearing item
number seven. It's a resolution
considering initiative. Measure
number IL 26-001 concerning
parental rights relating to
their children in public school.
This measure would repeal
amendments to a statute listing
certain rights of parents and
guardians of public school
children, and reenact the law
as it was originally enacted by
initiative to the legislature
2081, an initiative measure
number IL 26-638. Concerning
participation in athletics at
K-12 schools. This measure
would prohibit students. It
identifies. It defines as
biologically male from
competing in certain school
athletic activities and
intended for female students
only. It would require
verification of biological sex
by students, health care
providers. Done. Okay. Staff
summary, please.
>> All right. Thank you. Good
evening, Mayor and Council
Aaron Lande, assistant city
manager, joined by Catherine
Kelly, policy and programs
manager. I appreciate, mayor,
you reading that subject. So I
didn't have to read that whole
thing. But that's what the city
attorney says we have to say
for this one. So just a
reminder, on September 14th,
the Vancouver Council discussed
these two initiatives that will
appear on the November 3rd,
2026 general election ballot.
And at the end of that
discussion, the City Council
directed staff to return with a
resolution expressing the City
Council's opposition to the
passage of those two
initiatives. So what you have
in front of you this evening is
the resolution doing as council
directed. I'm happy to answer
any questions, but I think
honestly, the the subject that
was read pretty much lays out
what these two initiatives
would do. And. Yeah, okay, I'll
leave it there.
>> Let's go ahead then and open
the public hearing. Kimberly
Elbon no. Carmen de Leon.
>> Yeah, this is Carmen de
Lehan. Molodih Lehan. And it's
my understanding that, you know,
some little confused boys want
to crash the girls party. And
it's not cool, because in case
you haven't noticed, in
gymnastics, the girls have four
elements designed specifically
for their body type.
>> Miss de Lehan, you're
speaking to the council, not to
staff.
>> Well, I want to talk to
people who might listen, but.
Okay, if you want me to look
this way, I'll look at you.
Okay, so the boys have eight
elements with upper body
strength because they naturally
have pectorals, not bosoms
because their physical bodies
are different than women, so
they do not belong in women's
sports, no matter how much they
want to pretend. For example,
they cannot get tattoos, they
cannot smoke cigarettes, they
cannot drink beer, they cannot
drive because a rental agency
waits till the age of 25,
because the brain hasn't fully
developed yet. So you can't do
certain things because your
brain doesn't know the reality
of the situation. Your brain
isn't completed until age 25.
So these little confused 1020,
whatever age they are that want
to do the the, the easy sports.
Because none of these boys want
to be in gymnastics. I don't
see them doing the splits. I
see them running, which most
toddlers can do. So they just
want to boost their own fragile
egos because they're failing as
men. So they want to crash the
girls party. And it's not right
to take away their scholarships
and their trophies and their
medals that they work so hard
for. Just because some boy
decides that he's not good
enough to win on that side. So
he wants to join this side. And
I'm not even going to talk
about the embarrassment of
having to get undressed in
front of a boy when I'm a
teenage girl. No wonder I left
school. There is no way I'm
going to take a shower with a
bunch of girls, much less a boy
who thinks he's a girl. So can
you please get the boys out of
the girls locker rooms? And by
the way, thousands of people
have taken their kids out of
public schools in favor of
private schools because of this
kind of thing, because girls
are being pretty much sexually
abused and molested. Because
when you have to deal with a
naked boy, that is a form of of
mental molestation. And these
boys, like I said, they do not
belong in a girls locker room,
period. End of story. They were
born with 50% more muscles than
girls. We were not born
physically to lift weights. We
were born two feet or
breastfeed our daughters and
sons because we have breasts.
That's what a woman is. If
that's offensive, then you're
offended. Shame on you because
that's just the reality of the
situation. So I'm just saying,
they, I, I do believe in making
the drinking age 25 because the
brain hasn't developed yet. And
you should not give kids to
drugs because that's ruining
them permanently for life and
the damage you make. You know,
the first thing a child
molester does is say, don't
tell your parents.
>> Thank you for your testimony.
Bruce Barnes, please.
>> For the record, Bruce Barnes.
A few things that concern me
about this. One of them just
came up where Dennis Rodman
wanted to join the WNBA and
women freaked out. Right. Which
they should. Okay. I've also
been involved in motocross and
supercross my entire life, and
so is my son, the fastest woman
motocross rider is 30s a lap
slower than the number 40 guy
on the gate. All you had to do
is watch the Olympics. At the
last Olympics in boxing, where
the biological man just
absolutely annihilated the
other women boxers, it was
disgusting to watch, honestly.
He hurt those women badly. Some
of them wouldn't even compete
with him after that. Our prison
system and other system, which
allows biological men that are
transgenders to be in with the
female population and lots of
pregnancies have happened. But,
you know, title nine was put in
place 50 years ago for equality.
So women did have a place to
compete where they felt safe,
where they felt that there
would be no injuries, where
they felt like there was no
physical advantage. There are
so many things wrong with this,
honestly. And I mean, all we'd
have to do is just make a
separate sport, you know?
That's the simple solution to
me. I don't care what people
are. I don't care who they love.
I don't care who they what they,
they want to act like or, or
impersonate. It doesn't matter
to me. But what matters to me
is that women strive to be the
best that they can be, and to
have their medals taken from
them, their scholarships taken
from them, lots of other things.
When, if I was a woman in this
day and age, I'd be just
absolutely furious at what is
going on. I mean, I'd be
infuriated. So we got to do
something different, you know,
and I don't know what it's
going to be. You know what I
mean? I don't want to
discriminate against anybody,
but I don't think that they
belong in in a man belongs in a
woman's sport, period. Not only
do I think that I don't think
they belong in a locker room
with them either, especially as
a, a K 12 or below student. I
just think it's ridiculous. You
know, as a parent, I would I
would never allow my kid to go
to a school that allowed that.
So anyways. I don't know what
else to add. I just, I don't
even know what kind of times
we're living in here, man. I
just, I think we need more
mental illness. Counseling is
what we need. Thank you for
your time.
>> And we have Heidi Green.
>> Good evening. Good evening,
mayor and staff. Thank you for
having me. I really want to
thank you for taking the time
to consider this resolution
opposing Washington state
initiatives 001 and 638. I'm
here tonight to ask you to pass
the resolution and to thank you
for considering it. These
initiatives may be statewide
measures, but their
consequences would be felt
right here in our schools, our
classrooms, athletic fields and
our homes. Our children deserve
to learn in environments where
they feel safe, respected and
supported. They deserve privacy,
dignity and the opportunity to
participate fully in school
life without being singled out
or excluded. By passing this
resolution, you have the
opportunity to send a clear
message than. Cooper stands
with children and families. Now,
I know that taking a position
on a controversial issue
requires courage, but local
leadership means listening to
the community and speaking up.
When our values and the
well-being of young children
are at stake. So tonight, I
urge you to take that step.
Please pass this resolution
before you and and once you do,
let it be more than a statement.
Let it be a signal to other
cities and communities across
Washington state that local
leaders can and should stand up
for safety, dignity, and the
futures of young people. Let's
show that that we can protect
our children. We can support
our families and build
communities that every young
person in them knows that they
belong. So thank you for your
leadership, your courage, and
your consideration. Please pass
the resolution and let
Vancouver lead the way. Thank
you.
>> Thank you. Terry, please.
>> Good evening, Mayor and
Council and staff. My name is
Tara Eby and I use she her
pronouns. And I am here tonight
as the president of Queer
Community Network. We're a
local nonprofit serving the
queer and trans community and
part of the statewide coalition
of organizations that support
No Hate in Washington state,
which is the official
opposition campaign for these
initiatives. My colleague Brant
Baker, who many of you met a
couple weeks ago when they were
here, was unable to join us
tonight and asked me to extend
their thanks as well. First, I
want to thank Mr. Lande and
Miss Kelly for the care that
you put into researching these
initiatives and engaging with
the community, and for the
staff who worked thoughtfully
to draft this resolution.
That's before you here tonight,
and to Mayor and Council for
your attention to this
important issue and for
considering the resolution. One
of the things that I really
appreciate the most about the
text of the resolution is that
it doesn't simply state a
position. It grounds the
position that Vancouver already
has established the values of
recognizing equity and
community safety as universal
policy priorities, and equity
and inclusion as one of our
five core values. Maybe most
importantly, it also reflects
that the city believes that all
children deserve to be
respected. This issue is also
really personal for me, as the
parent of a young girl who
loves playing sports, I want
her to have every opportunity
to compete and grow and have
fun with the kids her age. But
I also want her and every child
to be treated with dignity and
respect in that process. I
appreciate that this resolution
recognizes that supporting
girls and girls sports does not
require sacrificing their
privacy, safety or dignity
dignity for the children. The
concerns identified in this
resolution safety and privacy
of young people, their ability
to seek support from trusted
adults, equal access to
activities, and the potential
for two LGBTQ youth and youth,
from other marginalized
identities to experience stigma,
harassment and involuntary
disclosure. Their fundamental
questions of equity, inclusion,
safety, and dignity. So tonight,
I am simply here to say thank
you on behalf of the Queer
Community Network, on behalf of
the No Hate in Washington State
campaign. On behalf of my
daughter, thank you for
listening to the community.
Thank you for the work that
went into bringing this
resolution forward. And thank
you in advance for passing this
resolution and continuing to
demonstrate that through our
actions. That equity, inclusion,
community safety, and respect
for all children aren't simply
words in Vancouver strategic
plan, their commitments with
real meaning.
>> Thank you. Eunice Inger
Minson.
>> Good evening, esteemed mayor
and members of the council. My
name is Eunice Manson and my
pronouns are she her. I am your
neighbor in battleground. I'm a
board member with PFLAG
Vancouver and co-founder of
Call to Love. I'm here to
express my enthusiastic support
for the resolution you have in
the works, expressing the City
Council's opposition to
Washington state initiatives
001 and 638 on the November
ballot and the mother of a
transgender man before his
coming out. All I thought and
knew about the LGBTQ plus
community was what my mother
taught me 60 years ago that God
and the Bible were against
these godless people. After my
child came out, I had a
counterexample and the
motivation to reexamine my long
held belief. This caused me to
thoroughly turn from fearing
queer folks and voting against
equal rights for the LGBTQ
folks. I now spend my time
serving LGBTQ plus youth and
families, supporting GSA clubs,
and coming alongside folks at
the intersection of faith,
LGBTQ, apologizing to the LGBTQ
folks who have been harmed by
the faith community, and
helping faith communities
become fully affirming and safe
places for LGBTQ people wanting
to. Wanting a place at the
table. Organizations that I
worked most closely with,
namely PFLAG Vancouver and Call
to Love, have spent the entire
summer alerting folks of these
two dangerous, oppressive, and
other initiatives at pride and
other community events in
collaboration with No Hate and
Wall Street, and canvasing with
them. To a lot of folks living
in rural communities such as my
community of battleground,
still think like I used to, and
don't even realize that the
strong armed approach of
initiative 001 to protect
parents will take away
protection from the most
vulnerable youth, and that the
way the initiative seeks 38
claims to protect girls will
actually hurt all girls wanting
to play sports. Having the City
of Vancouver stand up and
oppose these initiatives will
make the youth that the
initiatives are targeting feel
seen, supported and protected
and boost the credibility of
our efforts to inform voters.
Please use your loud voice in
our community and back up our
quiet voices. Thank you.
>> Thank you. That concludes
our public hearing. Brings it
back to the council Council.
Questions or comments of staff.
ET cetera. I'll entertain a
motion.
>> Move to approve Paulson.
>> Seconded by Fox. All those
in favor, say aye.
>> Aye aye.
>> Opposed. Motion passes
unanimously. Thank you very
much. That concludes our
business. That brings us into
communication from the council.
Councilor Harless pass.
Councilor Perez.
>> Yes. I just wanted to share
a couple of things. Saturday, I
believe it was Saturday. I
attended the Southwest
Washington Manufactured Home
Owners Educational Forum, along
with County Councilor Glen Yung
and others. And that's where I
learned a bit more about what
we call junk fees and a way to
continue to add fees for things
that you wouldn't think about
until now, and what that has
resulted in is many homeowners
who live in mobile home parks
or manufactured homes really
worried, continue to worry
about their future and one bill
away. And so I want to
emphasize how important it is
for us as we work on our
legislative agenda item, to
really stand firm on the junk
fees for our homeowners there.
So I just wanted to share that
that is something to continue
to monitor. Secondly, our
school districts are responding
to not just us here, but I
think across the country, a low
student enrollment. And a lot
of that is the, you know, for
several reasons, just our
population is declining. We are
not having babies. We're
choosing not to have babies.
And thus it's forcing the
school districts to really
think about their facilities.
And locally here, I think that
provides us here at the city an
opportunity to think
proactively and regionally. As
a school. Districts are seeking
input. We are part of that
community. And I think if
facilities or properties become
underutilized, that they could
support perhaps that workforce
or regional training center
that we are looking for a spot
for, or it could be a childcare
early, early learning center
spot for dessert, child care,
desert area, or a much needed
housing that we need for the
area. So I'd like to encourage
us to have those early
conversations with the school
districts, as well as perhaps
the county or other regional
partners in these efforts. And
rather than wait until the
decisions are made, we could be
at the table exploring how
these changes could create that
long term community benefit
that we're working hard to do.
So I just wanted to encourage
that. And if I don't know if
City Manager, you've already
thought about that, or if
there's a process for us to
submit those ideas or comments
to the school districts. And
then lastly, I just want to the
idea that was brought forward
by the gentleman, Mr. Bruce
Barnes, who spoke about the
Crossing Saint John's Crossing
500 on your bike. And I like
the idea of a flashing lights,
but not just for bicyclists,
but for pedestrians. And I
don't know if we have that
elsewhere. And if we do, then I
appreciate Mr. Bruce Barnes
coming forward and showing and
highlighting an area that could
benefit from something like
that for public safety. So
again, not sure if that's been
considered or if that's
something that we can take a
look at, not just that spot,
but other spots that align
heavy use. And in particular
this area along fourth plain
and 500. I know that there are
a lot of folks who commute by
foot, or because they're using
the great improvement on the
road that we did for public
safety. So I just wanted to say
that I support that idea. That
concludes my comments.
>> Thank you, Councilor Fox,
Councilor Paulson, councilor
Stober.
>> Pass tonight.
>> Thank you, Councilor Hansen.
>> I'll pass.
>> Thank you. We had a
wonderful old Apple tree
festival this weekend. Over a
thousand people came down to
press cider, get apple tree
cuttings, learn about the apple
tree and all the other vendors
and everything else that were
there. So congratulations to
staff. That is an ever growing
festival. Thank you for
excusing me. Last week when I
was in Washington DC, talking
to our senators about the needs
of Vancouver. And then a big
welcome to Megan Steel, who
comes to us from Washington, DC
as our administrative assistant
right there in second floor
City Hall. Big time. All right,
city manager, anything?
>> Just a note that my follow
ups from tonight are
administrative in nature,
related to some more background
information and clarification
around the budget and some
follow up there. And then just
a reminder that this Wednesday
is the dedication and
celebration of the Main Street
Promise Project.
>> Yep, we're excited about
that, Miss Cook. Anything?
>> Nothing from LA mayor. Thank
you.
>> Thank you. So it is 720 that
finishes our regular meeting
brings us into the community
forum. Do we have anyone online?
Then we go to Carmen de Lehan.