The Clark County Council will consider an update to the county’s fireworks rules during a public hearing at 10 am Tuesday, Dec. 1.

The council will consider possibly restricting sales and use of fireworks to “safe and sane” fireworks. If approved, the update to the code will prohibit fireworks that fly, explode or travel more than 1 foot into the air or more than 6 feet on the ground.

Any changes the council makes to the code at this hearing would apply to the unincorporated areas in Clark County and would go into effect on Dec. 1, 2021.

Interested Clark County residents are invited to apply for a position on the Clark County Housing Options Study and Action Plan Project Advisory Group (PAG). The PAG will help the county develop recommendations to encourage the creation of additional housing types that are affordable to a variety of households within the unincorporated Vancouver Urban Growth Area.

Learn more about the project at www.clark.wa.gov/housingoptions.

Project Advisory Group

The Clark County Council today adopted its 2021 annual budget. The total expense budget for 2021 is $557 million.

In her remarks to the council, Interim County Manager Kathleen Otto said, “the recommended budget is balanced, sustainable and provides flexibility.”

2020 budget

Like many government entities, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the county budget.

The current 2020 expense budget, which includes everything that the county council has adopted through the 2020 fall supplemental, is $594 million.

Clark County’s Master Composter Recycler program is offering a series of free sustainable green living webinars this fall.

Here are the upcoming workshops:

In the last month, COVID-19 case numbers in Clark County have increased 50%, with more than 2,000 new cases reported in four weeks. In the last week, Clark County has averaged more than 100 cases per day. Today, Clark County announced 277 new cases.

The dramatic surge in cases has strained Clark County Public Health’s ability to quickly reach people who have tested positive for COVID-19. And that has impacted Public Health’s ability to identify and notify close contacts in a timely manner, which reduces the effectiveness of the contact tracing process.

Vancouver, Wash. – Clark County Superior Court will not modify court operations based on information provided by Gov. Inslee during his Nov. 15, 2020, press conference.

The court has instituted safety measures that meet or exceed recommendations from the Washington State Department of Health for the Clark County Courthouse, Juvenile Courthouse and Family Law Annex facilities. Those measures include temperature checks, mandated masking, enforced social distancing, increased ventilation and targeted cleanings of high touch surfaces throughout the day.

Clark County Public Health launched a new online data exploration tool called the Healthier Clark County InfoMap. The interactive tool offers a new way of learning about health issues and how they impact people in Clark County. Through data visualized on maps and charts, users can explore how health and the circumstances and environments that influence health are distributed across the county.

Clark County Public Health is urging everyone to take steps to reduce their risk of catching and spreading COVID-19 this holiday season.

COVID-19 case numbers are increasing at an alarming rate in Clark County. Eight weeks ago, Clark County averaged 28 cases per day. Four weeks ago, we averaged 42 cases per day.

In the last week, we’ve averaged 116 cases per day, and this week our COVID-19 activity rate increased to more than 171 cases per 100,000 residents.

County Council public hearings scheduled to begin Monday, Nov. 16

Interim Clark County Manager Kathleen Otto has presented her recommended 2021 balanced budget to the county council for consideration.

“All budgets require prioritization and I affirm that this recommended budget sustains current operations, may result in future efficiencies, and is consistent with council priorities,” Otto said in a statement to the county council.

Vancouver, Wash. – With the uncertainty around how public-gathering regulations will unfold over the next several months, Clark County Public Works has made the difficult decision to extend the temporary pause on new picnic shelter reservations and park use permits until Feb. 1, 2021. As part of Gov. Inslee’s “Stay Home, Stay Safe” order, gatherings for those counties in Phase 2 must remain under five. Not accepting new reservations for park areas helps ensure those guidelines are being followed.