The move to table the vote surprised at least one board member who wants C-TRAN to revert to previous language in its support for the Interstate Bridge Replacement program, saying C-TRAN will not pay for the operation and maintenance of light rail
Paul Valencia
ClarkCountyToday.com
A surprising, last-minute political maneuver at the C-TRAN Board of Directors meeting Tuesday (March 11) night led to no vote being taken on an action item regarding language on how Clark County will or will not support light rail transit via the new Interstate 5 Bridge.
The issue has been tabled until a future board meeting.
This came hours after more than 40 people asked to give public comments at the meeting in east Vancouver. There were passionate opponents and proponents of light rail, and public comment took about 90 minutes.
C-TRAN Board Member Michelle Belkot, who proposed the action item, said she was shocked when one colleague asked to table the vote and another seconded. The board then voted 6-3 in favor of tabling the action item.
This came immediately after discussion suggested that Belkot’s action item was, indeed, going to pass, that C-TRAN would revert to language that stated C-TRAN will not be responsible for costs and operations of light rail in Clark County.
“Clark County residents have voted no on light rail in 1995, 2012, 2013. I am the Clark County councilor that represents my constituents,” Belkot said after Tuesday’s meeting.
In July 2022, the C-TRAN Board of Directors approved the Modified Locally Preferred Alternative (MLPA) for the Interstate Bridge Replacement (IBR) program, but with a list of conditions.
One of those conditions was clear:
“C-TRAN will not be responsible for any costs for operations and maintenance of LRT in Vancouver or Clark County, including any new park-and-rides that may be constructed as part of the project.”
That language was amended in November 2024, with the board of directors now stating: “C-TRAN may participate in funding the operations and maintenance of the bi-state transit, including any new park-and-rides that may be constructed …”
Belkot does not believe Clark County should be funding Oregon’s (TriMet) light rail transit system. She wants the board of directors to revert to the previous language, to protect Clark County tax payers.
Before a vote was called, Vancouver Mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle, also a C-TRAN board member, asked other board members if they were instructed to vote one way or another and how that process worked.
There are nine C-TRAN board of directors with voting powers. Three are from the Vancouver City Council, two from the Clark County Council, and one each representing Washougal, Camas, Battle Ground, and another representing Ridgefield, La Center, and Yacolt.
Tim Hein of the city of Camas noted that his city council voted unanimously to revert to the older language, to vote that Clark County will not pay for operations and maintenance of light rail.
Molly Coston of Washougal, Troy McCoy of Battle Ground, and Sean Boyle of Ridgefield/La Center/Yacolt also said through council votes or feedback from citizens that they, too, were going to vote to revert to the older language.
The city of Vancouver’s intentions were not discussed in the meeting, but Clark County Today learned earlier in the day that all three representatives were obligated to vote for the current language, as voted on by city council the previous week.
That led to Clark County Council members — Belkot and Sue Marshall — disagreeing on how the county was going to vote. Belkot said she was under no obligation to vote other than how she felt on the issue.
“There is nothing in our bylaws,” Belkot said. “I consulted with our legal team … I can have my own individual vote.”
Marshall said the County Council voted 4-1 to maintain the present language, saying C-TRAN may help in funding light rail.
McEnerny-Ogle then asked Belkot: “Is it your intent, then, to not go with the directive that was given to you by your colleagues in that 4-1 vote?”
“There was no direction for me individually or specifically,” Belkot responded.
Marshall said the direction was provided by the majority of the County Council, saying it was very clear.
Belkot mentioned again there is nothing in the bylaws that force her to vote against her beliefs.
At that point, it appeared reverting to the older language would prevail 5-4 with Washougal, Camas, Battle Ground, Ridgefield/La Center/Yacolt and one Clark County vote (Belkot) to insist the county does not pay for operations and maintenance of light rail.
The four others — three from Vancouver and one from Clark County (Marshall) — appeared to be prepared to vote to maintain the current language, allowing Clark County to help pay for light rail operations and maintenance.
After seven seconds of silence, Marshall said: “Chair, I move to table this item.”
“I second the motion,” McEnerny-Ogle said.
Six voted to table the action item: Coston, Marshall, McCoy, McEnerny-Ogle, as well as Erik Paulsen and Bart Hansen of the city of Vancouver.
Belkot, Boyle, and Hein voted against tabling the action item.
A few moments later, the meeting was adjourned.
“It was a surprise to me,” Belkot told Clark County Today after the meeting, noting she expected a vote Tuesday night.
Belkot did not appreciate Marshall implying that the County Council gave a clear mandate, and she did not care for McEnerny-Ogle saying that Belkot had a directive from her colleagues on county council.
“I have my own individual vote. There is nothing in the County Council bylaws that would preclude me from having my own individual vote,” Belkot said.
Belkot added that she is not even sure if the County Council had a vote on the issue.
“We did have a robust conversation with the council but we were not making a decision for the collective council,” Belkot said, adding that regardless, she still has her vote.
“It’s not even part of our conversation,” she said.
By the end of the evening, Belkot said she knows she is doing right by the people she represents. She has listened to them on this issue.
“That’s what my constituents in District 2 have said: They do not support the O&M costs. They don’t support TriMet,” Belkot said.
Also read:
- Belkot speaks before C-TRAN board; directors pause vote on light rail funding language until July
Michelle Belkot spoke at Tuesday’s C-TRAN board meeting, calling her removal from the board unlawful; directors postponed a vote on light rail funding language until July amid legal challenges. - Travel Advisory: Expect delays on northbound I-5 near RidgefieldWSDOT is warning travelers to expect delays near Exit 14 on northbound I-5 in Ridgefield as crews begin barrier and lane improvement work supporting future development.
- Large crowd expected at C-TRAN Board of Directors Meeting Tuesday, April 15
A large turnout is expected at the April 15 C-TRAN board meeting, where public input and a key vote on light rail funding will follow the recent removal of Michelle Belkot. - Letter: ‘The IBR needs a more cost-effective design’Bob Ortblad argues the I-5 Bridge replacement project is overbudget and inefficient, urging a more cost-effective tunnel alternative to avoid excessive tolls and taxpayer burden.
- Clark County beginning installation of upgraded traffic signals in mid-April
Clark County will begin upgrading multiple traffic and pedestrian signals in mid-April to improve safety, accessibility, and transportation technology.
Anyone who has followed the Save Our Streets Vancouver movement will instantly recognize this “do nothing” move by the City Clowncil Members. This exact tactic is what is landing the City in Court right now.
Hanson and Paulson are gutless followers and are both clearly in thrall to Herhonor Mayor Annie. Don’t reelect any of these charlatans.
In 2022, former County Councilor Lentz was chair of the C-tran board and voted for light rail, as did Washougal City Councilor Molly Coston, with strict conditions,as part of the “modified locally preferred alternative’ for the proposed I-5 Bridge replacement.Including, “C-TRAN will not be responsible for any costs for operations and maintenance of LRT in Vancouver or Clark County, including any new park-and-rides that may be constructed as part of the project.”Former County Councilor Karen Bowerman was on the C-tran Board, and did not vote to approve light rail.
Recently, Washougal City Councilor Molly Coston voted during a Washougal City Council meeting to keep the November CTRAN funding of light rail in place, and was joined by Councilor Julie Russell. The other 5 Washougal City Councilors voted to restore the CTRAN funding restrictions of 2022, and Coston indicated she would vote to stop funding light rail. By voting to table the issue, CTRAN Representatives Molly Coston and Battle Ground Mayor Troy McCoy insured that CTRAN funding of light rail would continue until C-Tran considers the matter again.
In November, Vancouver Mayor Ogle advocated that CTRAN lift the prohibition against spending funds on light rail, which the board majority agreed to. In December, Mayor Anne Ogle urged the board to authorize spending C-Tran funds on a lobbyist to advocate for light rail, which she has been doing since. It is unclear how much money CTRAN has already spent on light rail since November, and none of the board members asked about it. They should ask.
On Feb. 26, Clark County Council held Council time at which the matter of light rail was discussed following an IBR presentation in favor of light rail given earlier that day. For Council times, public comment is allowed “on agenda items only”. Continued Spending of C-Tran funds on light rail was not on the agenda.
Vancouver Mayor Anne Ogle was invited by Chair Marshall to provide lengthy input to the council about why she believes light rail is good for Vancouver and Clark County. Councilor Marshall continues to advocate strongly for light rail, as does Councilor Fuentes.
I had the opportunity to make the 1st public comment. I reminded the board members that the citizens have said no multiple times; don’t want a sales tax increase and that the light rail IBR was a “boondoggle”. I reminded them of the 5 documents on the County website taking stands against all of this. those supporting appeared to be in their 20’s and 30’s and refused to own a car or preferred bikes and walking. They want someone to pay the billions to build and the tens of millions to support so they can grab a train if they want to. No amount of data presented appeared to make any difference.
Vancouver is driving this. It fits their agenda regardless of what the rest of the county thinks or wants.
I think characterizing folks with whom you happen to disagree as little more than lazy and entitled youths should be beneath you. Either your policy position will stand on the merits or it won’t – making such a massive assumption in a clear attempt to discredit their position is not sound analysis. I realize that there are high emotions around the subject, but nobody is well-served by devolving into that sort of behavior.
I’ve said elsewhere, including in comments to folks like Mr. Ley, that while there are certainly cogent arguments that we need to consider before blindly signing off on such a major investment, there are serious flaws in many of the arguments against that simply have not been addressed.
Just a few for the sake of clarity:
I realize that there is a temptation to feel that our own position is correct and that all the data supports us, but it is important to recognize that the other side often feels exactly the same way. We need to avoid the temptation to simply dismiss the positions of (regardless of which side you happen to be on) the other ~50% of the people who live here.
Thank you Councilor Michelle Belkot for giving people a voice last night who oppose funding Portland’s Tri-Met (it’ll cost taxpayers $20M a year). So, what did Mayor Anne & Sue Marshall do when Michelle was ready to vote NO? They tabled the motion and today voted her off the C-Tran board and replaced her with the Hillsboro transplant Wil Fuentes (the guy who recently tried to remove the Pledge of Allegiance & prayer from Council meetings).
Typical. If they don’t like the vote or what the people want, they’ll cancel you so they can jam their boondoggle anyway.
More to come…
We can beat up on Annie Ogle, but she was just playing a little democracy game. it was Molly Coston and Troy McCoy that handed it to her. They knew better than to let it get tabled. Their constituents need to pay attention to how they operate.
“We are concerned how you might vote, so you need to be replaced”, Table (the vote after hours (years) of debate) if there is any danger in not having billions of powerful influence slushing around? You bet says Molly and Troy.
Additional plain bridges are needed. No light rail. No I-5 bridge replacement until a couple additional bridges are completed. A bridge near Woodland or Ridgefield and maybe both, a bridge near Washougal or Camas and maybe both. The traffic would spread out with multiple crossings. Things might speed up if those who have been talking about this for years would stop being paid to do nothing.
Belkot is a true representative of the voters. How many times- and in how many ways- do we need to say “NO” to tri-met and light-rail costs?! No No No No No!!