State of the County Address
February 16, 2007

Steve Stuart
Chair, Board of Clark County Commissioners

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you all for coming to the 21st Annual State of the County address. And thanks also to the Greater Vancouver Chamber of Commerce for once again serving as a partner for this event.

There are several people I’d like to thank personally for being here today: First, my friends and coworkers on the Board of Clark County Commissioners, Betty Sue Morris and Marc Boldt. Please stand and be recognized for all the great work you do in our community. (Applause)

While the Commissioners grab the headlines – for better or worse – there’s one man behind the scenes who makes sure county government runs smoothly and efficiently. That man is our County Administrator Bill Barron. Please stand, Bill, and take a bow. (Applause)

I’d also like to thank Bill Zimmerman from BiZi (Busy) Farms and the Farm Bureau for their help in showing off some locally grown farm products here today. (Applause) I’ll talk more about farming later, as an intricate piece of our past and important part of our future.

Finally, I’d like to thank my family – parents Joan and Ned, son Jeb, and girlfriend Heather – for their steadfast love and support. (Applause)

It’s been a crazy, hectic first two years on the job. Without the support of my family and friends you would’ve been more likely to find me balled up in a corner somewhere, rocking and talking to myself, rather than standing here talking to you.

Some of you may be wondering why we’re meeting in this setting instead of at a traditional spot in downtown Vancouver. Truth is, I couldn’t think of a better place to illustrate the theme of my remarks, “proud past, promising future.”

Those words rise above the commissioners in the hearing room at the county’s Public Service Center. They communicate to me the importance of understanding and appreciating where we’ve been, and learning from that to create a promising future in the county we love.

I’m part of a new generation that’s stepping up to its responsibilities to create that promising future in a community that has given us so much. Whether it’s Mayor Dennis in Camas, Mayor Sellers in Washougal, Mayor Warren in Yacolt, or Councilmember Leavitt in Vancouver, our generation is committed to building on the work of the people who preceded us. I’m proud to call all of those elected leaders my colleagues, friends, and great public servants.

Of course, all of us young cronies are aging as well – sorry to say. So we’re relying on the next generation to also begin investing in our community. Thankfully, it’s already happening, with amazing young men and women like those who sit on our Youth Commission. Would all of the Youth Commissioners please stand.

You are the leaders who will carry on my generation’s work; who will look at me and think my ideas are old and outdated and that I ramble on too much about the good old days. Despite that, I thank you in advance for stepping up. And remember, the lessons of our past help define us and give us stability and purpose.

From where we are gathered today, look to the fairgrounds and area to our west as a reminder of the agricultural and rural past that have defined and shaped our independent spirit.

This building and the amphitheater show the changing face of Clark County, providing the latest in advanced technology and enhanced services for our citizens.

To our south and east are areas that will soon see more commerce, industry and jobs – a trend we’re encouraging throughout the county.

And embrace the great memories from the fairgrounds itself. When I was young, growing up nearby, I used to go to the fair every year. I’ve taken my own son many times, and even got to judge a couple of cheesecake contests. Commissioner Boldt showed animals at the Fair, though he still won’t help judge the cheesecake contest. I’m sure many of you share similar memories.

Those memories, both individually and as a community, are essential to remind us who we are and where we came from.

Whenever we talk about where our county is headed, we should first look at where we’ve been. If we don’t — if we instead try to redefine ourselves looking to other cities and counties — we’ll lose what’s so unique about Clark County and become just another Anytown, USA.

Clark County’s history and attributes have drawn more than 400,000 people to live here, have attracted diverse employers to bring jobs here, and caused tourists to spend more than $300 million here annually.

That I choose to recognize our proud past doesn’t mean I’m suggesting we dwell on it. I just think our unique attributes give us a competitive advantage as we move forward.

And we will move forward, because change is the only constant. Whether it’s our population, jobs, environment, watching our kids grow up or our waistlines expand, change will continue to occur whether we deal with it or not.

What I know is that I’ve grown the most when I’ve faced change head on and learned from the experience. For our community to prosper, we’ll need to face our future together and deal with some difficult challenges ahead.

But for a moment, let’s take time to enjoy the calm and start with where we are right now.

The county is in excellent financial shape. That’s because we have a long history of commissioners implementing fiscally conservative policies, especially in the last ten years when voters and the Legislature passed tax-cutting measures.

As a result of these policies, departments forged partnerships and found new ways to solve problems. They increased our revenues from state and federal grants. They leveraged what was left to be super-efficient with your tax dollars. We’re justifiably proud of the work being done by our county employees. They’ve kept doing a great job despite tight budgets and staffing.

I am pleased that in December of 2006 the Board of Clark County Commissioners adopted a very robust, sustainable 2 year budget that will maintain and enhance services for the people we represent.

It also contains new revenues to fight some of the challenging issues ahead. One major challenge is the devastation caused by methamphetamine in our community.

In the past, we’ve tried to treat symptoms of the disease by targeting local meth labs and throwing users in jail.

Today, our jail is overcrowded, even greater quantities of meth are being imported from Mexico, and related crimes are on the rise – all of which is costing every person in Clark County about $360 per year.

We need to try many different ways to turn this around. One method alone won’t stop the flood of new crimes and criminals any better than sticking one finger in a dike that has 100 holes.

To begin dealing with this complicated problem, Clark County has already taken some important steps.

To study this issue and make recommendations, we created a Meth Task Force, which was honored earlier today with a Spirit of Clark County award.

We opened Hotel Hope, the first inpatient drug and mental health evaluation and treatment center in the state.

We developed Drug, Substance Abuse, and Mental Health courts.

We pioneered two new programs with the help of federal grants: COMET (Co-Occurring Methamphetamine Expanded Treatment) and the Youth Offender Re-Entry Program.

We’ve done a lot to fight meth.

We need to do more.

In the recently approved budget, the Board approved new revenues aimed at an integrated strategy of prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and enforcement.

First, a new one-tenth of one percent countywide sales tax will raise revenue to fight drug and alcohol abuse, including meth.

This revenue will be placed into a special fund that will only be spent after a community advisory group chaired by Commissioner Boldt narrows the list of possible strategies and programs to those most likely to succeed.

Once the Board signs off on those steps, the program will be audited every year to assess how much money was raised, spent, and with what results for our community.

Second, an estimated $5 million annually will be raised by a new two-tenths of one percent sales tax in unincorporated Clark County.

Funds from this tax will be used to put more deputies on the streets, increase staff in the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office and the courts, and begin planning for badly needed jail and court facilities.

People who choose to break the law should know that they will get caught, and there will be real consequences for their actions.

Besides adopting our biennial budget, the Board has spent much of the past year dealing with issues surrounding growth in Clark County. Not that it’s surprising or new.

Back when Lewis and Clark visited this area in 1806, Lewis described it as "the only desirable situation for a settlement which I have seen on the West side of the Rocky Mountains."

Apparently a bunch of people agree with him, because Clark County has been growing at a phenomenal rate for many years.

Based on state projections, Clark County’s population is expected to keep growing, from a little over 400,000 today to almost 600,000 in 20 years. State law says that the County Commissioners have to plan for this increased population by designating areas where new people will live, work, and play.

Beyond the legal requirements to plan for this growth, it’s our responsibility as leaders to look ahead to what may come and lay the foundation for continued community health.

Simply burying our heads in the sand, avoiding our reality and wishing it wasn’t happening, will not prevent growth – it will only ensure that we’re negatively impacted by it.

To be successful, we have to work in close partnership with our city councils and mayors; with interest groups including the building industry, neighborhoods, environmental groups and smart growth organizations; and ultimately with all of you who will be affected by the decisions we make.

To lead on this issue, though, the Board cannot make decisions based on pressure from any one group. In 2005, we created a set of “Principles and Values” to guide our planning and provide stability while we make difficult site-specific decisions. It’s a key component of our work on the 20-year plan and a benchmark by which we will be judging our success.

That 20-year growth plan update has been the subject of a lot of debate since I took office. Should we still be working on it? When it will be finished? Who will bear the costs?

Let me assure you that the Board will adopt a 20-year growth plan this year. The plan will leverage the great work done by the commissioners who preceded us, and update it with improved technical information, innovative land use, and rigorous analysis of infrastructure costs and how they’ll be paid.

We will adopt a plan that ensures our existing neighborhoods are not bordered by incompatible uses. We will adopt a plan that’s affordable, by focusing public investment into areas offering the greatest potential for new jobs and easiest development.

We will require developers to pay a larger percentage of the costs of roads and other infrastructure in areas where public funds are not available.

Most of all, we’ll set the stage for more jobs in Clark County by adopting a plan that throws the final shovel of dirt on any notion that we’re a bedroom community.

Historically, logging, trapping, and agriculture were some of the jobs that attracted early adventurers to Fort Vancouver.

Clark County has always provided fertile ground for farmers and many of our streets and neighborhoods still show off our agricultural past, including Orchards, Prune Hill, and Fruit Valley. In the 1920’s, Clark County was the prune capital not only of the United States, but of the world.

Later, the county became a manufacturing center with industries such as the Camas paper mill. During World War II, Clark County workers built many of the ships for the war effort.

Today, our farming and manufacturing base has dwindled and many of our citizens have found jobs in Oregon, aggravating our traffic problems. To change that trend, the comp plan update calls for more aggressive and real targeting for jobs land than has ever been done in Clark County. By 2024, if we’ve done our work well, Clark County will have as many jobs per household as the rest of the Portland metropolitan region.

We’re part of that region and part of a global economy, but we specifically need to do whatever we can to aggressively pursue more high quality jobs in this community.

Some of those jobs are and will continue to be in the rural area. After the comp plan is finished, the Board will be taking a good look at how to keep those options in rural Clark County. We need to define what farming is in Clark County now and how we can support it in the future.

We need to look at our local farms as a part of our local economy and treat them that way instead of acting like their purpose should be providing open space and cows to look at during a drive in the country. Farmers have contributed more to our community than they will ever get credit for, but we can at least make sure they can keep working if they want to.

The growth plan will help us move forward over the next 20 years, but I believe we also need to look further into the future, to craft a 50 year vision for what we want to look like as we reach our outer limits for growth.

Past experience shows us two simple but stark reasons for this.

Number one, if we don’t start thinking about the longer term impacts of our shorter term development, we’ll destroy the livability that brought and keeps us here.

A recent presentation from staff of the Regional Transportation Council illustrates the need to proactively plan for our future before we get run over by it.

Their report estimates it will take roughly 50 years at current growth rates to reach one million residents in Clark County. If we continue growing in the same way, every acre of dirt in Clark County, except the northeast hills, will be developed in a city, and 16,000 households will still not have a place. One of the major draws of this county — the mix between urban, suburban, and rural settings — will disappear.

Number two, land we ultimately would like to preserve as rural or use for transportation corridors will get increasingly difficult to find and expensive to buy.

It took nearly 50 years for the Padden Parkway to move from vision to reality. During that time, the cost of right-of-way acquisition and construction increased by 750 percent. Similarly, restoration of the Salmon Creek Watershed has been much more expensive and difficult because land is fragmented and developed. We can’t afford to wait around while the next Padden Parkway or Salmon Creek slips away or becomes too expensive.

With full knowledge of these harsh realities, there’s now work being done to plan for a future Clark County that maintains the quality of life we love here.

Thanks to the leadership of Commissioner Morris and Vancouver Port Commissioner Arch Miller, There’s a study under way to identify long-term transportation corridors within and through Clark County.

There’s also a study that will determine how high capacity transit options may fit within those corridors.

A major program created by the County Commissioners last year will also ensure that at least some very precious natural areas are NOT converted to urban development.

The Conservation Lands Management Program is already identifying and combining resources from many public and private sources with similar goals. It’s working to coordinate projects aimed at protecting lands highly valued for habitat, scenic corridors, low-impact recreation or other qualities that enhance the local environment. Land like that around the East Fork.

We’re blessed to have these beautiful areas in our county, and access to many more in our region. However, those natural features that greatly enhance our quality of life are in jeopardy if we don’t act responsibly today. Clark County’s livability and the role we play in a global environment are at stake.

Recognizing our responsibility to preserve our natural heritage for future generations, the Board of Clark County Commissioners took several other actions in 2006.

With the help of the environmental community, farmers, rural property owners, and others, the commissioners just finished updating the Habitat Conservation Ordinance. This is an innovative ordinance that will provide better information about how we can all be good stewards of the land, while recognizing the importance of helping small farmers find success in our community. In addition, I was pleased to be the lead commissioner in the process to update our Wetlands Protection Ordinance. We created a living document to protect the values our wetlands offer while providing flexibility and incentives for higher quality, lower impact development.

Beyond the required ordinances and updates, we’re proactively finding ways to preserve the beauty of Clark County’s natural areas.

We’re working with Fish First, property owners, and the state to counter stream bank erosion on the East Fork of the Lewis River.

In early 2006, we secured $450,000 in federal funds to build a trail from Battle Ground to connect with the Lucia/Moulton falls trail.

In 2005, the county applied for and received $750,000 in state grants for a program to enhance valuable wetland and habitat complexes as mitigation for road projects. That work continued in 2006.

Natural features that need to be preserved are not limited to the rural areas. In February 2005, voters in the unincorporated urban area of Clark County approved the Greater Clark Parks District. This district will provide revenues to develop, maintain, and operate parks land already owned by the public.

The property taxes collected by the Parks District, along with Park Impact Fees and Real Estate Excise Taxes, are being used to fund planning, design, construction, and maintenance of 35 new parks, seven miles of trails, and additional sports fields for youth sports programs.

In 2006, the following neighborhood parks were finished: Eisenhower School, Orchards Highlands, Raspberry Fields, Vista Meadows, and Walnut Grove.

In 2007, construction will start on Community Parks in Hockinson and Pacific, along with neighborhood parks including Greyhawk, Cherry, Jorgenson, Little Prairie, Sifton, and Tenny Creek.

Increases in design and construction costs have put other projects in question. We’re working hard with Vancouver-Clark Parks and Recreation to save money and find new efficiencies to keep all our projects on track. Let me assure you that the Board of Clark County Commissioners will make sure that every one of the parks and sports fields promised to the voters when they approved the parks district WILL be built.

In addition, we’re changing the way we prioritize, plan for, and build parks. We have to enhance partnerships between parks and school districts, because space for both is limited and expensive – especially in our rapidly urbanizing areas. Schools such as Eisenhower in West Hazel Dell and Pleasant Valley in Salmon Creek are good examples of the opportunities we have all over the county.

We also need to coordinate our plans for parks with the work on other open space and mitigation sites. Projects such as Thomas Lake show us that these integrated spaces are possible and more cost-effective than digging holes in the ground with a fence around them for stormwater detention. We simply need to take the time to think beyond what we’ve done and imagine where we want to be.

Whether they live in the city, suburbs, or rural areas, all of our families need healthy places to play, exercise, and rest in spaces where dreams aren’t drowned out by the mechanized hum of an urban jungle. So the Board will continue looking for park opportunities throughout our county, from the neighborhoods surrounding Salmon Creek to the rural landscape of Camp Bonneville.

In 2006, after more than a decade trying to work out details on the transfer of Camp Bonneville from the Army to Clark County, it finally happened. The transfer will speed the cleanup of the former military reservation and eventually provide more than 3,000 acres of open space and wildlife habitat, plus a regional park for county residents.

We’re a long way from that right now, but years from now I have great hope that Camp Bonneville will be a great asset and a showcase for the entire region.

Clark County’s parks are even more valuable when a system of trails threads through and between them. Thanks to the work of dedicated parks staffers like recently retired Kelly Punteney, we have a countywide trail system plan that will do just that, connecting Vancouver’s revitalized waterfront with the natural beauty of the East Fork and beyond.

This work goes beyond providing exercise and access to nature. Trails offer green trees and vegetation that help our air quality. Paths for walking, running and riding also entice businesses and individuals to relocate here.

To enhance the work being done, our Parks Foundation is introducing the Walk-A-Mile, Build-A-Trail program this month. The goal is to recruit individuals, families and companies to raise money to build trails for the future. As Honorary Chair of this program, I’m pleased that Clark County employees have joined these efforts, as well as schools such as Skyridge Middle School in Camas and businesses like iQ Credit Union.

Right now, Clark County is blessed with a great environment and robust economy. We need to make sure that we continue to have a safe, secure future where there’s healthy food to eat, clean air to breathe, fresh water to drink, good jobs to support our families, strong schools to educate our kids, and social services to make sure that everyone has the essentials. For me, that’s the definition of sustainability, which is a critically important issue for our county.

Thankfully, we have great people at the county who are already moving toward sustainable practices in their work.

Public works has piloted an Environmental Management System in our vehicle shop and is now integrating it into the entire department. Eventually, we hope to take it countywide, with measurable cost savings and environmental benefits.

The county is also working to improve fuel economy on the vehicles we purchase, reduce idling of fleet vehicles, and provide incentives for employees to drive less.

We’re looking at ways to conserve more energy in our buildings and purchase additional green power. Our Public Service Center is a LEED building. That means it is certified for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.

We recently announced a new “green” transitional housing program that will test the outer limits of alternative energies and green building practices, while working to create long term independence for some of our most vulnerable citizens – the homeless and mentally ill.

We’re working on plans to create a broader green building program, one that provides information and technical assistance to homeowners and builders.

Homeowners are asking in increasing numbers for homes that require less energy, use recycled materials, contain less toxic materials, and lower overall operating costs. Clark County should be prepared to respond to this new market. To showcase these efficient and environmentally friendly projects, I’ll be working this year with the Building Industry Association to develop a “Sustainable Street of Dreams.”

With all that Clark County is already doing to support sustainability, we can still do more. Soon, my fellow commissioners and I’ll be considering a policy on sustainability that looks at current efforts and builds upon them.

We’ll also be working with our partners — businesses, schools, other local governments, neighborhood groups and citizens — to sponsor a conference this year on sustainability, bringing people together to create integrated solutions.

Sustainability is much bigger than just a catchphrase we can apply to county activities. Almost every day we read about the environmental challenges facing our region, country, and globe. Whether it’s the recent climate change report by leading scientists suggesting we need to take dramatic steps in the next ten years or face an inhospitable planet; or DEQ air-quality studies linking greater exposure to toxic levels of benzene from car emissions with higher rates of cancer and nervous system disorders. Scientists and governments around the world are recognizing the need to change our practices to make sure our air and water are clean for ourselves and our children.

This isn’t new. However, we’re now seeing citizens and representatives at all levels of government coming together to recognize these dangers and begin addressing them. It’s in these efforts that I see great opportunity for economic development in Clark County.

To see that potential, all we need to do is look at all the measures being created to address sustainability, from Mayor Pollard signing on to the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, the Washington Legislature requiring green building techniques for government offices, Governor Gregoire signing an executive order to drastically slash greenhouse emissions by 2050, all West Coast states signing into law tougher vehicle emissions standards, Congress considering the New Apollo Energy Act, or even President Bush recognizing the need to address climate change in his State of the Union Address.

What do all these measures have in common? They’ll require new technologies to meet the standards being adopted. Clean fuels, clean water management, energy efficiency and alternative source production, green building materials, and clean cars are just a few examples of those new technologies.

All of this means thousands of new research and development, engineering, manufacturing, and marketing jobs for whichever jurisdictions are most successful in attracting them. I say why not us?

I believe Clark County is the best place in the world for companies creating sustainability technologies to locate.

We’re located along the lifeline of West Coast states which are leading the way in new sustainability mandates.

We’re already known as the silicon forest of Washington, with an established high-tech industry cluster that would work well with sustainability product development.

We already have many employers making sustainability products. For example, Smith Root manufactures fish monitoring devices to satisfy state and federal requirements under the Endangered Species Act. Also, the recently formed Four County Economic Development Corporation, which includes Scott Campbell of the Columbian, recently announced plans to help build the sustainability industry in our region.

Meanwhile, Washington State University Vancouver is poised to become a major research university. Plus we have opportunities for a world-class research park that could serve as an incubator for the creative engineering necessary to develop sustainability technologies.

For its part, our farming community could be a great partner to supply bi-products to ethanol producers looking to locate here.

Finally, our great quality of life is a natural attraction to the kinds of employers who would be developing and manufacturing environmentally friendly technologies.

Many times, in many different settings, people say we need more good-paying jobs in Clark County. I agree.

The Board of Clark County Commissioners is aggressively designating land for jobs, focusing infrastructure investment in key job-creation areas, and streamlining the permit process, all to attract employers.

But we can and should go further, to attract employers who will create good paying white and blue collar jobs for our citizens, in a rapidly developing, market driven, sustainable industry cluster.

My goal is to make Clark County the premier location for development and manufacturing of new sustainability technologies. To get started, I’ll work with Scot Walstra – the man who originally brought this idea to me and a key member of our business community – and our Economic Development Manager Kelly Sills to develop our next steps. As we do that, I ask that you contact me with any ideas or suggestions you might have on this issue. Working together with our public and private sector partners, we can be the place where green meets mainstream.

In order to attract and keep good employers in Clark County, we also need good roads, excellent schools, and other infrastructure. Today, the most expensive capital service the county provides is building and maintaining safe roads.

Developing roads and bridges has always been a major concern in Clark County. When the county’s first commissioners met in a log cabin about a mile below Fort Vancouver in June 1850, their first item of business was to grant a license to the operator of a ferry across the Columbia River. Ferries remained in business until 1917 when the Interstate Bridge was constructed.

Now it’s 2007 and we’re still tying to get people across the Columbia River. Currently, more than 65,000 county residents cross the river each morning to work in Oregon.

While I’d rather those people kept their time and tax money in Clark County, we still need to ease the congestion they deal with every day at the I-5 Bridge, which frustrates them and slows down delivery of goods throughout the region.

But when you’re looking at a multi-billion dollar project, it’s much easier to talk about a solution than it is to fund one. There are only so many transportation dollars to go around, and always more projects than dollars.

In Clark County, the focus has been on easing congestion in Salmon Creek, creating a new I-5 interchange for Battle Ground, widening SR-14 in Camas, and easing congestion on East Mill Plain and 18th Street in Vancouver, among many other necessary projects. These are road dollars spent IN Clark County, FOR Clark County residents.

This brings up an interesting question posed by an economist at a recent Columbia River Crossing town hall. He said, “If Bill Gates dropped by Southwest Washington … and said “you know, I want to help take care of your most pressing needs, so I’m writing you a check for $6 billion”, would you spend all of that $6 billion on the Columbia River Crossing?”

Before you “armchair quarterbacks”, “grassroots gurus”, and “sidewalk superintendents” take too much time thinking about that, I have two things to say to you.

Thank you, and keep it up. This is YOUR project, using YOUR tax money, to deal with YOUR commute and economy, and will only happen if YOU decide to vote for taxes and tolls to pay the bill. And let’s be clear – the Board of Clark County Commissioners believes that any bridge or high capacity transit that needs public funds from Clark County residents must go to a public vote.

But before you get your checkbook out, let’s have a reality check. I believe that we need to be honest with each other about this project, instead of painting an overly rosy picture just so we can get something built.

First and foremost, we cannot end rush-hour congestion on the I-5 corridor by building a new bridge over the Columbia River, no matter how much we spend on it. This is not opinion. It’s math.

Even with a new bridge, the Delta Park widening project, and eventual widening at both the I-5/I-405 split and Rose Garden, we’ll still only have three freeway lanes from here to downtown Portland. Each one of those lanes can handle about 2,000 vehicles per hour, so 3 lanes can handle a MAXIMUM of 6,000 vehicles per hour. As of 2005, there were already about 5,000 vehicles per hour traveling along the I-5 corridor during the peak travel hours. By 2030, that number will jump to at least 7,500 – more than I-5 can handle under the best circumstances. Put another way, Columbia River Crossing staff estimates that congestion during the commute southbound every morning will increase from 2 hours in 2005 to 4.75 hours in 2030. That’s WITH a new 12-lane replacement bridge, AND high capacity transit, AND likely a toll to pay the multi-billion dollar price tag.

Bottom line – Build a new 12-lane bridge. Build a new 30-lane bridge. Shortly after that bridge is built, congestion will return.

Let me be clear that I know doing nothing is NOT an alternative we should consider. If we do nothing, people and goods will be stuck in a rush “hour” that extends through most of the day. That’s not acceptable, for our commuters or the neighborhoods who will see greater health risks caused by the increased car exhaust from stalled traffic. Also, I recognize that there are safety and movement issues that would be helped by replacing the existing spans.

What I am saying is that because our carrying capacity is limited, we need to look at how to move traffic at different times, different directions, and using a variety of modes to clear that capacity for freight and commuters who have to drive.

That means an alternative that’s a complete departure from the business as usual approach of just building a big new I-5 bridge. But you know, sometimes bigger isn’t always better – it’s just bigger.

So let’s start looking at doing something different, with an eye toward a more positive result. An alternative to:

- Increase transit ridership with more efficient service that works for people’s busy schedules. And yes, that likely means pairing bus service with a new bridge structure for either bus rapid transit or light rail.

- Prioritize signals, ramp meters, and lanes for vehicles with more than one person.

- Fix the interchange system around the I-5 bridge to clear the congestion that happens when people try to weave on and off at Hayden Island, SR-14, and downtown Vancouver.

- Move the swing arm on the rail bridge to the center channel and make it a lift span. This $40 million fix would eliminate the need to use the I-5 Bridge lift for barge traffic.

- Work with employers to provide incentives for flexible schedules that allow workers to commute south during non-peak hours when there are no congestion issues.

- Aggressively bring jobs to Clark County so people can live and work closer together and avoid the hours of commuting that keep them away from family and community.

Only by changing how, when, and where we travel will there ever be hope for true congestion relief on the I-5 corridor. We have an opportunity right now to show true vision and leadership that addresses the root of our congestion instead of just putting a band-aid on it.

Please understand that I’m not giving you an answer to what the preferred alternative should be for the Columbia River Crossing project. I’m simply asking that we include an alternative in the study that shows vision, creativity, and lower costs to move more people.

If all we get from analyzing another alternative is a moderately priced solution that helps us better understand the corridor’s limitations and some ways to deal with them when we’re finally sick of banging our heads against the same wall, the money will have been well spent.

I’m asking all of you to think about that, and if you agree, to contact your elected officials and the Columbia River Crossing staff. Let them know what you think now, because this is YOUR commute, economy, and money that they’re working with.

“Proud past, promising future” — Whether it’s our people, environment, jobs, or infrastructure, we should always be proud of our collective history in Clark County. Abandoning it in favor of trying to be like someplace else will only make us less unique. I’m damn proud to be from Vancouver (not B.C.), Clark County (not N.V.), and Washington (not D.C.).

I’m also excited about the promise our future holds. People are getting active to preserve and enhance the things we love about this place. And we have to. All our kids should have the chance to get a job here, raise their families in a beautiful rural area or city, and take THEIR kids to parks all over this county. And maybe, just maybe, my son will take ME to the fair when I’m old, and buy me a milkshake at the dairy wives booth.

Once again, thanks to all of you for taking time out of a Friday afternoon to join us here. Thanks to our public information staff for putting together this wonderful event. Thanks also to the many other county employees and organizations that helped out in numerous ways. Have a great weekend and great year. God Bless.
 

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