2009 State of the County address to air on TV starting Feb. 15

Vancouver, WA – On Thursday, Feb. 12, Clark County Commissioner Marc Boldt presented the annual State of the County Address before a crowd of about 500 people at Camas High School. Clark-Vancouver Television filmed the event and plans to broadcast it several times, starting at 9 p.m. Feb. 15 on Channel 23. The speech is also available on the county’s Web site at www.clark.wa.gov.

In his address, Commissioner Boldt focused on the economy. He talked about the need for the county’s local governments and nonprofit agencies to work together to solve the difficult problems facing our community.

“We need a forum where the county and cities can come together to discuss programs, differences, opinions and opportunities,” he suggested, “a place where we can honestly share what services we should provide, who should provide them and how we can pay for them…We must come together and bring up our fears and our dreams, the easy questions and even those that seem too difficult to discuss.”

Here are some of the other topics Commissioner Boldt covered:

· Community Development: “Just like a business, tough times are causing us to take a closer look at our costs and how we are operating…We are working with our stakeholders on fees … The next step is to determine how we change our business processes and from there the county code.”

· Jobs: “Economic development is crucial for our future…The Board firmly believes that if we are going to get our economy going again, we need to generate new jobs on the land we added in our last growth plan. Unlike other states, we can’t offer major cash incentives to businesses. What we can offer is a great place to live, great schools, parks and roads. And a reliable, affordable and courteous permit system… “

· Natural resources: “Another new and very exciting development…is combining all our departments dealing with our environment and creating a department dealing with natural resources. We believe this department, with one mission and one director, can place us ahead of all others in economic development and at the same time protect and even enhance the environment…”

· Transportation: “We are asking for stimulus money for road, rail and related projects. We are working to prove up our requests… We are showing that we will provide jobs, from the ribbon cutting to many anniversaries.”

· Rural land use plan: “This plan deserves as much attention to detail in its planning and participation from landowners and stakeholders as our growth management plan for urban areas.”

· Social Services: “We are working with many social service agencies to plan what may happen if unemployment foreclosure sales and other problems force more of our residents into economic hardship.”

· Leadership: “Real leadership is not getting the job, promotion or being elected — it is being kind, respectful, selfless, forgiving, honest and committed…We, as the Board of Clark County Commissioners, will hopefully lead a change to a kind of leadership that is based on helping each other.”

· What you can do to help: “I ask sincerely that you shop in Clark County. Remember, our Sheriff’s deputies and city police officers are paid from the sales tax we collect here. We get nothing from Portland to pay for the services they provide.”

· Be prepared, help one another: “Get to know people around you and plan how you can help one another. And I don’t mean just during flooding, storms and other natural disasters. FEMA doesn’t provide disaster relief for those who have lost their jobs or their homes. But by working together, we can help each other.”

Want more State of the County?

In addition to the Feb. 15 premiere, CVTV will also show the State of the County speech on the following dates:



· Monday, Feb. 16, at 5:15 a.m. on Channel 23 and at 9 p.m. on Channel 21.

· Friday, Feb. 20, at noon on Channel 23 and at 10 a.m. on Channel 21.



A link to CVTV is on the county’s Web page at www.clark.wa.gov.