Business leaders, cities expect elected commissioner to lead on transportation, growth and job creation issues
On Nov. 7, Steve Stuart and Bruce Hagensen will square off for the Dist. 3 seat on the Clark County Board of Commissioners, currently held by Stuart. The district represents city of Vancouver residents and businesses.
Stuart, a Democrat, was appointed to succeed Craig Pridemore on the board of commissioners in December 2004 then was elected to fill the remaining year of Pridemore’s term last November. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in community planning and law, and spent three years as state policy director for 1000 Friends of Washington, now Futurewise, and two and a half years as executive director of Friends of Clark County – both groups that encourage smart growth.
Hagensen has a long history of serving Clark County. The Republican served 14 years in public office beginning in the early 1980s, first as city council member then as mayor. Along with owning Vancouver Sign Co. for 30 years, he was chairman of the Citizens Committee for Good Schools for 23 years and chairman of the Regional Committee on School District Organizations for 25 years. Hagensen headed downtown and waterfront redevelopment efforts, worked on the development of Officer’s Row and now serves on an Educational Service District 112 committee.
Both candidates sat down with the VBJ to discuss issues now facing the county.
Transportation continues to be a key talking point. Attracting businesses and jobs means transportation improvements, but Stuart said the underlying problem with transportation is money.
Maintaining and preserving the existing system would require $600 million, he said.
"There is not enough public money to help pave the way for more jobs," Stuart said.
To promote economic development through transportation, Stuart said the county needs to attract more private money. He pushed transportation benefit districts, quasi-municipal bodies able to impose some taxes in one geographical area to funnel into transportation projects in that area.
Stuart said he is leery of leaving it up to voters to tax themselves, and said he’s spoken with business and property owners who are in favor of the benefit districts.
In addition, Stuart said the county has only used 20 percent of its nonvoted bond capacity, and said there is $800 million more it is able to bond.
"We have a great bond capacity," he said. "This gives us the ability to get projects done now."
Hagensen agreed that Clark County needs more roads and highway to handle its growth. But he said the city, county and state should be working together to solve the problem, and added there are funding tools that aren’t being used.
The ability to create consensus is one reason Hagensen said he threw his hat into the ring.
"When I started as mayor, (the city and county) weren’t talking," he said. "One thing I do well is build bridges and mend fences. … That chasm has re-emerged. We all should be on the same page, and right now, we’re not even in the same book."
The problems stem from turf, ineffective communication and revenue, Hagensen said. In government, he said, there are two keys – the issues themselves and how officials conduct the public’s business.
"Right now, they’re not doing their job," he said.
But Stuart said as a commissioner, he is working with individual cities on their visions for job development in what he called a no-net-loss policy.
With the deadline for crafting the county’s 20-year growth plan fast approaching in December, job creation is a pressing issue. The county is expected to grow 50 percent in those 20 years, creating a pressing need for more jobs.
The former county commission focused on industrial and land issues, not jobs, Stuart said. Currently, there are 3.1 people for every job in Clark County. The county is planning for 1.39 people for every job in 20 years.
In zoning, Stuart said the commission is focusing on the kinds of jobs cities want created and what value they provide the community – performance-based zoning.
"But we’ve worked with the cities to (ask) what do we want to preserve the land for?" Stuart said.
In the past 20 years, Clark County’s big-boom industry has been primarily in the high-tech sector. But Stuart said that market has peaked. To stay afloat, the city may look more toward niche manufacturers, such as Smith-Root, a Vancouver-based company that develops and markets fisheries conservation equipment.
To make the area more appealing for such companies, Stuart said the county can ensure there is an adequate land supply available and streamline the permitting process with the use of programmatic environmental impact statements, which would help zone and plan an area before developers get involved. Then, once the land is ready to go, the county’s recently hired economic development director can recruit businesses to shovel ready land.
It allows for a master plan, he said, and gives the county more control over growth as well as making the business climate more friendly.
"That’s the joy of my background," he said. "I bring new tools for how we do things. There is no reason we shouldn’t be the best county. No reason we shouldn’t be a shining light for other jurisdictions to look at."
But without strong leadership, Hagensen said, the area will not thrive.
"I bring a history of reaching out and working cooperatively with the public and private sector," he said. "I’ve done it."
If elected, Hagensen said he will honor the current commission’s work on the 20-year growth management plan.
"Might it need to be tweaked in the future?" he asked. "Maybe. This plan is four years late. They had a plan and didn’t finish it."
Former commissioners Pridemore and Judie Stanton adopted a growth plan in 2004 over the objections of Commissioner Betty Sue Morris. When Stuart and Commissioner Marc Boldt took office months later, the board moved to draft a new plan.
Hagensen said he is concerned the commission has a bit of a bunker mentality and is pushing ahead without thinking.
"They are not truly listening to those around them," he said.
