Vancouver, Wash. – Jim Rumpeltes has tapped Mitch Nickolds to be the director of Clark County’s Community Development department. Nickolds has been serving as interim director since April.

Nickolds was hired as the county’s assistant building official in February of this year. Prior to that, he worked for the city of Portland as Inspection Services Division manager. He served as the Inspection Services Division manager for the city of Pasco for more than 16 years. Nickolds is a Certified Building Official and has more than 26 years of work experience in community development.

Vancouver, WA – Effective Sunday, July 1, all land clearing and residential burning in Clark County will be restricted due to increased fire danger. Cowlitz and Skamania counties also will impose bans for lands in their jurisdictions.

Clark County Fire Marshal Jon Dunaway is canceling all burning permits issued in Clark County for this year. Permits can be reissued or extended when the ban is lifted. The burning restrictions do not apply to federally managed lands.

Vancouver, Wash. – An exhibition of Erika Bartlett’s artwork 7 Loves is on display at the Rebecca Anstine Gallery in the Clark County Public Service Center through August 2018.

Vancouver, Wash. – Starting this summer, Clark County drivers will have additional help maintaining their vehicles and reducing water pollution caused by vehicle leaks.

A new program, Don’t Drip and Drive, aims to reduce vehicle leaks by working with participating repair shops to offer free visual leak inspections, along with a 10 percent discount for repairs, up to $50. 

In addition, the Watershed Alliance will hold “leak check” events where residents can find out if their vehicle has a leak and learn about repair options from an third party auto technician.

Vancouver, Wash. – The Clark County Council is accepting applications from local organizations for grants that encourage historic preservation and programs, including preservation of historic documents.

The Historical Promotion Grants program is designed to increase awareness and education to better preserve, exhibit, and/or interpret local history and historic preservation.

Vancouver, Wash. – Clark County is coping with an unexpected, temporary reduction in Animal Protection and Control and Code Enforcement service levels.

The county continues to provide animal licensing and is working diligently to restore previous levels of animal control service.

Vancouver, Wash. ‒ The Clark County Audit Oversight Committee will meet at 2:30 pm Tuesday, June 19, to consider a recent performance audit of overtime use at the Juvenile Detention Facility. The meeting will be in County Council Conference Room 683B on the sixth floor of the Public Service Center, 1300 Franklin St.

The audit is available on the county website at www.clark.wa.gov/auditor/audit-reports.

Vancouver, Wash. – In a meeting before the Clark County Council yesterday, Mitch Nickolds, interim director of Community Development, presented strategies for implementing recommendations from a recent performance review of the county’s building permitting and review process.

The review was performed by Citygate Associates, LLC and outlines 36 recommendations for updating the county’s construction permitting process.

Vancouver, WA – Clark County’s Historic Preservation Commission has listed the Blair Building to the Clark County Heritage Register. The building is located at 1801 Main St., Washougal.

Built in 1925, the Blair Building is one of the oldest structures remaining in Washougal’s traditional downtown core. It also is the most intact of all remaining older brick commercial buildings in the nearby vicinity.

Vancouver, Wash. – The Clark County Council approved changes to county fireworks law Tuesday, including raising money for enforcement and other activities by adding a $156 permit fee on retailers who sell fireworks in tents.