News From Your Friends

What’s on our Radar – Week of March 24th, 2025

March 24, 2025 in General

 

    • Last week, we told you about Clark County Council for District 2, Michelle Belkot, being removed from the CTran Board for voting against the wishes of the Council. At the Tuesday evening Council meeting, there were multiple hours of public comment regarding this action. Many spoke in support of Belkot’s actions and many spoke in support of the Council’s actions in removing her. There was also commentary on light rail, which was related to the vote that Belkot cast. Notably, Councilor Glen Yung mentioned that he wanted to discuss at an upcoming hearing the issue of councilors not only not attending meetings, but not notifying their alternates. This statement was made in reference to two councilors on the CTran Board. The next day at Council Time, Councilor Matt Little made a motion to rescind the Council’s previous vote to remove Michelle, but the Council voted to keep the action in place.
      You can view that Council meeting on https://www.cvtv.org/ (March 18th meeting).
      You can view the recording of last week’s Council Time on the Clark County, WA YouTube page here: https://youtu.be/t4yuE3dVLn4?si=zjlI9oElMlaRG47q
    • The Clark County WA YouTube page has also just posted recent Neighborhood Association meetings for Hazel Dell, Felida, and Four Creeks.
       
  • This week: 
    • TODAY: A reminder that FOCC and Legacy Forest Defense Coalition’s (LFDC) motion for a preliminary injunction against the DNR is TODAY, March 24th, at 1:30pm. You can attend in person at Clark County Superior Court, 4th Floor before Judge Vanderwood or tune in via Zoom here.
    • At the Wednesday 3/26 Board of Health meeting starting at 8:30am, there will be a presentation regarding PFAs, aka “forever chemicals” and our drinking water.
    • On Wednesday, 3/26, after the Board of Health meeting, there will be a Work Session from Public Works called Sustainable Future – Parks and Nature, regarding the County’s level of parks service deficit and lack of funding. Notably, FOCC has shared disagreement with the County over the past year regarding its inclusion of the entire acreage of Camp Bonneville in its Regional Natural Area acreage (making up over half of the acreage) when it is not being managed for natural and ecological value and has no public access, in contrast to the County’s own definition of a natural area. You can read all about that and more in our Camp Bonneville Breakdown article from our spring newsletter: https://friendsofclarkcounty.org/camp-bonneville-breakdown/
    • On Wednesday 3/26 Council Time at 1pm, there are a few things supporters might be interested in on the agenda. Note that there is a public comment opportunity for agenda items. First is the subject of Boards and Commissions, which is likely regarding the recent Belkot Council action and/or Councilor Yung’s wish to discuss councilors missing meetings and failing to notify alternates. Second is Chelatchie Bluff, which will likely be a discussion about whether or not to repeal the Chelatchie SMO ordinance now that the Washington Court of Appeals has ruled in FOCC’s favor. As always, there will be Policy Updates on the agenda regarding what’s happening in the legislature, Medicaid, and a SUPER CUTE letter from Lincoln Elementary in Hoquiam in support of Bigfoot protections.
  • Ongoing action items:
  • Other happenings:
    • For Clark County Farmers: FOCC is asking farmers to complete our 2025 Clark County Farm Survey by Saturday, April 12th, 2025. This year, we are happy to be able to offer a $20 Wilco gift card as an incentive for each farm that completes the survey (each farm is eligible for 1 gift card).

See you next week!
Karissa
FOCC Community Outreach

 

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