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Public commenters urge alternatives to bridge shelter, question timber sales and stress need for voter input on light rail
Summary
Multiple members of the public criticized the proposed bridge shelter and light-rail proposals and raised concerns about state timber sales on legacy lands; commenters urged the council to pursue alternative shelter sites, question light-rail voter processes, and requested more transparency on timber-sale decisions.
Several residents used the council’s public-comment period to raise concerns about homelessness services, a proposed bridge shelter project, light rail, and state timber sales.
Carmen De Leon (who said she goes by Melo) criticized plans for a bridge shelter near Vancouver, argued the county should lease an existing nearby building rather than build a new shelter, and linked what she described as the county’s homelessness problem to drug use and border enforcement. De Leon said the county “used to be” able to repurpose nearby county buildings and questioned whether the proposed approach was financially prudent.
Teresa Hardy urged the council to press the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to pause sales of legacy forest lands and asked whether parcels could be swapped so that younger plantation lands would be harvested instead; Hardy said counties have a stake as trust beneficiaries and that some board members had asked to pause legacy land sales in December but were not supported.
Caller Margaret Sweet questioned whether voter approval is required to introduce light rail in Clark County, referencing a 2012 vote in which she said voters rejected light rail and citing RCW Chapter 81 as the governing statute. Sweet asked the council to obtain and publish ridership information for bridge crossings that would inform light-rail planning and asked staff to make presentation materials easier to view on CVTV.
Kimberly Goheen Elbon, dialing in during a memorial, urged councilors to “listen to the people” and to be transparent about timber sales and light-rail spending; she asked staff to report how much public money has been spent on light-rail planning and maps that she said voters have rebuked previously.
Ending
Public comments raised three main themes: (1) residents oppose the proposed bridge shelter siting and urged reuse of existing buildings; (2) community members requested a pause or swap option for legacy-timber sales and greater state-level engagement; and (3) commenters urged clearer public disclosure and voter processes around light rail and associated ridership/cost data. The council did not take action on these public comments during the Feb. 26 session.
