C-Tran board delays actions tied to light rail

The C-Tran board of directors decided this week to postpone any change in bylaws governing the transit agency’s involvement in planning, cost analysis and negotiations for light rail on the planned Interstate 5 Bridge replacement.

On Monday, the transit agency’s board voted to take up the bylaws issue again at its July 8 meeting.

They hope a lawsuit brought by Clark County Councilor Michelle Belkot, who was ousted from the C-Tran board in March, will be resolved by then.

The postponement leaves in place bylaw language last modified in November, which the directors called “permissive.” That means it gives C-Tran leeway to communicate and negotiate with Portland transit agency TriMet on light rail planning and costs. It also opens up Clark County taxpayers to shouldering some of the cost.

It does not mean there’s any specific plan to raise Clark County sales taxes to pay for light rail needs yet, directors emphasized.

“I know my jurisdiction and my council (are) very in favor of hearing the citizens’ voice on any potential sales tax increase on light rail,” said Troy McCoy, a C-Tran board member representing Battle Ground. “That’s not what we’re discussing tonight. It may be in the future, but it’s not now.”

In December, TriMet set its estimated annual cost of operating light rail on the I-5 replacement bridge at $20.2 million. Belkot, who represents the Hazel Dell area, wasn’t alone in balking at that number. C-Tran board Chairperson Molly Coston, representing Washougal, and director Tim Hein, representing Camas, both described being “shocked.”

But Belkot was the lone vote in favor of reverting to prior bylaw language that would have eliminated local taxpayer funding for light rail. In March, the Clark County Council voted 4-1 to remove Belkot from the C-Tran board and replace her with Councilor Wil Fuentes.

Fellow county councilors suggested that Belkot misinterpreted what was being proposed and should have stayed in solidarity with their position. The matter at hand wasn’t a specific funding plan per se, said Clark County Councilor and C-Tran board member Sue Marshall. It was about authorizing C-Tran to actively communicate and negotiate with TriMet on planning and costs.

“Our understanding is … it would allow C-Tran to be more ‘at the table’ in negotiating possible funding options,” Marshall said at Monday’s C-Tran board meeting. “It wasn’t a vote on any particular funding option. It was a vote to empower C-Tran.

“I would still like to see C-Tran empowered to be able to negotiate the best deal for Clark County related to the bridge,” she said.

Belkot has filed a lawsuit in Skamania County Superior Court claiming that her removal from the board was unlawful and violated her civil rights and open meetings laws, she told the C-Tran board during the public open comment period at Monday’s meeting. A C-Tran board member can only be removed for a cause like misconduct, which was not claimed, Belkot said.

Scott Hewitt: 360-735-4525; [email protected]