Clark County Council 05/06/25
Clark County Council Meetings | Clark County
Observer: Jackie Lane
Council Attendees: Sue Marshall, Wil Fuentes, Glen Yung, Matt Little, Michelle Belkot
Proclamations:
- National Correctional Officers Week
- Juror Appreciation week
- Court Employee Appreciation Week
- Therapeutic Court Month
Annual Legal Advertising awarded to The Columbian. The Reflector, Camas-Washougal Post Record, and Vancouver Business Journal may be used in addition when the notice pertains to a specific locale within the general circulation area of the newspaper. Approved.
Public Hearing: Consolidated Housing Community Development Plan
- Presentation Title
- Allocation of HUD funding.
- CDBG – Community Development Block Grant
- 2025 HIOME investment Partnerships programs
- Looked at Public Outreach and other data resources in some detail.
- Stats and graphs on rents, affordability and availability.
- Priority needs and goals – slide 16
- Expected HUD funding slide 18. Anticipating funding stable to last year because continuing resolution. Might be slightly less.
- Specific projects on slides 19-20. If a project shows ‘Contingent’, its based on availability of funding.
- Citizen participation plan starts slide 25.
- Council questions:
- Glen asked about data – Rent pricing is Clark County, whereas Area Median Income is HUD defined area (includes Portland).
- Matt Asked about funding – these are block grants from HUD so they have a formula they use to determine funding once grant approved. Asked about public comment period. 30-day requirement on plans. There is some info needed from HUD that can impact getting docs out for comment.
- Michelle – asked about Point in time count, ‘homeless connect’ is the service fair which moves, but the count is county wide. Asked about Bertha’s place. Explained the ownership, leasing, operations.
- Public Comment
- Carman, Kimberly.
- Final Council Actions on slide 29, Approved.
- Wil recuses himself because he works for Fourth Plain Forward which is mentioned within the plan.
- Authorize county staff to submit Consolidated and Action Plans to HUD.
- Authorize the County Manager to sign the grant agreements with HUD for the 2025 Community Development Block Grant and 2025 HOME Investment Partnerships Programs
- Authorize the County Manager to sign contracts to allocate the funds into the community.
Public Hearing: Load Limits on County Bridges:
- Microsoft PowerPoint - 2025 - Load Restriction Update Council_5-1-25 - Read-Only
- Was discussed at 4/30 work session
- Load limits provide safety and extend the life of older bridges.
- Required by federal law.
- More than half of bridge inventory is over 50 years old.
- Background info on legal requirements, truck types, etc.
- Council questions
- Glen – what is the lowest weight limit? Would have to look it up. But an electric SUV would be fine. Asked about the 9 where restrictions were removed – those were construction projects.
- Public Comment: Kimberly.
- Approved.
Open Public Comment
- Christine Neal – Swift Troutdale overhead power transmission line. Undersized easement so could require eminent domain of neighboring properties. 52 homes under the easement. Fire concern. Pesticide use to manage plant growth. Requests – county work session, alternate analysis, (ran out of time). Sue – Council is planning a work session, not scheduled yet.
- Bill and Vicky Smith – Separate business #3 (Grace Lodge). In support of Lease. Thanks Councilors Marshall and Yung for their support.
- Kelly Phillips – also in support, former resident of Grace Lodge
- Carman, Kimberly
- Diane George – Also in support of Grace Lodge, former resident, current manager.
- Nicole Carlan – Also supporter.
- (hard to pronounce name) Leonid K… Wrapped in a US Flag – on Corruption in the county. Has video from encounter with police. Doesn’t sound good. (has testified before)
- Holly Hendrickson. Supporter of Grace Lodge.
Consent: Approved.
Separate Business:
Approve agreement with lobbyist
(ours left former company and started another, contract moving with them with consent of former).
Approved.
Wetland Mitigation credit purchase agreement to offset impacts at NE 179th st andNE 29th ave.
Matt asked where the bank is – South 4th plan near ne 162nd ave.
Some discussion of what a mitigation bank is and how it is monitored/reported. Sue asked if we are running out of capacity in the county. There are only 3 right now. Another being developed. We haven’t had issues getting credits, yet.
Approved.
Lease Agreement with Xchange Recovery for Grace Lodge.
SMSCOMM0125042408160 (what most of the comment was about in support of). Women’s recover from substance abuse residential facility.
Questions about how the agreement will be managed.
(Background – last year staff had proposed not renewing the lease, thinking county shouldn’t be landlord and facility was aging. Property is supposed to be open space. They since decided this use does not conflict with that designation)
Approved
Acquisition of right of way at 1900 NE 179th place (near 18th).
For traffic signal and road improvements.
SMSCOMM0125042408331
179th place is county, 18th st. is city of Vancouver. Vancouver approached County because there is a large multifamily development going in in Vancouver that is contingent on a traffic light there. Not in the 6-year TIP (transportation infrastructure plan). County getting the right of way, Vancouver doing the work.
Approved.
Agricultural lease agreements
for Anderson Park, Frenchman’s Bar, & Lauretta Noreen nature preserve (Minkler) and Vancouver Lake park.
clark.wa.gov/sites/default/files/media/document/2025-04/050625_pw_ag-lease-agreements.pdf
Reduce maintenance costs until county ready to use the property.
Long term intention for these properties is parks. Mostly used for grass hay.
Approved.
Contract with Osborn Consulting
for Stormwater Management action planning in lower salmon creek watershed.
Approved
Agreement with Parametrix
re: Engineering, Construction, and planning review for Transfer stations.
Approved
County Manager report – County communication to public going out within next 2 weeks.