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Office of Neighborhoods Weekly Update
February 3, 2012
Greetings Neighborhood Leader
Seating is limited. Please RSVP to CityHallRSVP@cityofvancouver.us
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Neighborhood News
Check out all that is new in these Vancouver neighborhoods:
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City Council Meets February 6
The Vancouver City Council will meet at 7 p.m. on Monday, February 6, in Council Chambers, City Hall, 415 W. 6th Street, 2nd floor. The public is invited to attend and may provide testimony to the City Council on agenda items. The Guidelines for Citizen Comments provides information on how to address council with comments.
Council workshops begin at 4 p.m. at the same location, and are for information sharing on topics of community-wide interest, or issues that may require a future council decision. While the public is invted to attend the council workshops, public testimony is not taken during these work sessions.
Council workshops and meetings are televised on CVTV cable channel 23 or may be viewed through video stream from the CVTV website. You may view the agenda for the upcoming workshop and meeting, as well as past meeting agendas and minutes here.
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City Seeks Applicants for Boards & Commissions
Vancouver city government is enhanced by the citizen volunteers who serve on various boards and commissions. Currently, these working groups are actively seeking applicants:
Building-Fire Codes Commission
The Building-Fire Codes Commission is a volunteer board, made up of at least five members, that makes recommendations to the Vancouver City Council regarding building and fire codes and proposed code changes. It hears and resolves disputes concerning the building or fire official’s code interpretations and application to permits, investigates building code, fire, and construction-related problems, and recommends uniform construction and fire-prevention regulations. The board is "on call" and meets as needed. City residency is not a requirement.
The City is seeking individuals to fill 2 positions on the Commission. Both vacancies are for six-year, full-term positions, expiring in 2018. The first position is a "Public at Large" representative. Applicants for the second position must represent the civil engineering field. Applications must be submitted by 5 p.m. on Friday, February 10, 2012.
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Street Sweeping Schedule
Here is the Street Sweeping Schedule for next week. Check it out to see if your neighborhood streets will be swept next week. The frequency with which residential streets are swept is approximately every eight or nine weeks, except during severe weather.
In case of severe winter weather you can stay informed through the Severe Weather Public Works Response webpage. By subscribing to this page through GovDelivery you can receive email updates as soon as new information is added.
You can also connect with the City of Vancouver Department of Public Works on Facebook.
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City News You Can Use
Check out the city's Most Recent News Releases. These stories would make great additions to your next neighborhood newsletter. Some of the latest include:
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
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Look for Coupons in your Waste Connections bill
Yard debris and tire coupons will be enclosed in your early April Waste Connections bill. The coupons may be used from April 5 through June 30, 2012. Enclosing the coupons in your garbage and recycling bill is being done, in part, due to the number of neighborhoods that are moving towards online newsletters. It also ensures that each customer throughout the city receives one set of coupons at the earliest possible date.
Yard debris coupons can be used at West Van Materials Recovery Center, H & H Wood Recyclers, City Bark or McFarlane’s Bark. Please note addresses and hours on the back of the coupons.
Tire coupons can be used at West Van Materials Recovery Center, Central Transfer and Recycling or the Washougal Transfer Station. Be sure to check facility locations and hours on the back of the coupon before you go. Note: West Van is closed Sunday and the Washougal Transfer station has limited public hours.
Tenant Coupons: Residents whose garbage services are paid by their landlord should contact the landlord to obtain coupons that are being delivered with the April bill.
Online Bill Payers: Garbage customers who receive their Waste Connections bills online will receive an email message telling them to contact the City of Vancouver’s Solid Waste office by email for their yard debris and tire coupons.
Questions? If you have questions about the yard debris and tire coupons, please contact the Solid Waste office at solidwaste@cityofvancouver.us or 619-4120.
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Vancouver Community Library: Wow!
Livability.com has ranked the Vancouver Community Library #2 in the nation, in its Top Ten Libraries for Children!
Among the many accolades they tout the comfortable seating, tables for playing games and Legos, and reading nooks. The Children's Program Room is featured, where library staff host six weekly story times for different age groups, plus craft projects and parlor games. The library offers several summer reading events, some of which have drawn about 1,200 children.
Wow Factor: More than 280,000 people have visited the library since it opened in July, 2011!
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Senior Messenger Hits the Streets
 The latest edition of the Senior Messenger is now available. Check it out online or request a subscription.
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Vancouver Neighborhood Alliance Meets February 8
Vancouver Neighborhood Alliance meets at 7 p.m., February 8, 2012, at East Police Precinct, 520 SE 155th Ave.
The agenda includes speaker Steve Lundin, on the topic of Taxes, Fees and Other Revenue Streams: Boring Things to Understand.
For more information contact: Anne McEnery-Ogle, VNA Chair, 360.695.5124 or macogle@pacifier.com
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Marshall Youth Leadership Award - Seeking Nominations
Nominations are being sought for the 2012 General George C. Marshall Youth Leadership Award/Scholarship.
Established in 2000, this award is presented to an 11th or 12th grade Clark County student that:
- Demonstrates Leadership
- Takes a stand for the rights of others
- Motivates others to become involved
- Serves as a role model
- Shows initiative
The award is intended to identify, encourage and support young leaders in our community. It is based on the commitment to public service demonstrated by General Marshall, Commander of the Vancouver Barracks from 1936-1938. General Marshall was instrumental in leading the nation to victory in WWII, authored the Marshall Plan and received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1953.
The nomination deadline is February 9. Nomination forms are available through the Fort Vancouver National Trust; www.fortvan.org, (360) 992-1804.
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CERT Training is Available to You, Your Neighbors
 Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training classes start Thursday, February 16 at Clark County Fire District 6 (CCFD6), 8800 NE Hazel Dell Avenue, Vancouver, WA 98665.
Training Schedule: Thursday evenings, 7-9:30 pm starting 2/16, 2/23, 3/8, 3/15, 3/22 and Saturday 3/3 (9 am to 3 pm) Final Drill on Saturday, 3/24 (9 am to Noon)
Cost: $30, Registration required with payment. Access the schedule and the registration at http://ccfd6.org/cert.html.
This class is expected to fill up soon so register now and let your neighbors, friends and co-workers know about this great opportunity.
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NPS Seeks Public Input
In early 2012, the U.S. Army Reserve will formally relinquish all lands and structures within the East and South Vancouver Barracks to the National Park Service (NPS). This change will effectively end the long-standing military presence at the Vancouver Barracks, which was the first major U.S. Army post in the Pacific Northwest. To prepare for this important event, the National Park Service carefully developed a master plan for the preservation and reuse of the East and South Vancouver Barracks as part of the nationally significant Fort Vancouver National Historic Site (NHS).
The East and South Vancouver Barracks Draft Master Plan/Environmental Assessment is a product of ongoing public involvement and consultation with other agencies. The planning team incorporated previous public comments to create and analyze four alternatives for the protection, use, and management of the barracks. Park staff now invites the public to review the plan.
Overall, the Draft Master Plan/EA establishes the groundwork for future preservation, site design, and development of the East and South Vancouver Barracks. The NPS preferred alternative would create a dynamic, sustainable public service campus, where the multi-layered history of the East and South Barracks would be preserved and interpreted. Headquarters for Fort Vancouver NHS, other NPS administrative uses, and certain interpretive functions would be relocated to an East Barracks building along the historic Parade Ground. To promote public service and sustainable historic preservation, the National Park Service would also encourage the adaptive reuse of other buildings for a mix of other tenants and uses, including offices for public agencies, retail and community functions.
Sensitive rehabilitation of the cultural landscape would also be extensive.
All alternatives, as well as an analysis of their environmental effects, are described in more detail in the Draft Master Plan/EA, which is available on the project website (http://parkplanning.nps.gov/fova).
The National Park Service invites the public to review the document and help shape the future of these historically significant public lands.
Public comments can be submitted online or mailed to the park between February 1st and March 5th, 2012.
The National Park Service will also hold two public meetings on February 22 – 23 to discuss the Draft Master Plan/EA. Meetings will be held at the Red Cross building, located at 605 Barnes Street within the Vancouver National Historic Reserve, on the northeast corner of Barnes Street and Hatheway Road. The meeting scheduled for Wednesday, February 22nd will be held from 12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m., with a short guided site tour beginning at 12:30 p.m. The second meeting will be held Thursday, February 23,rd beginning with a short guided site tour at 5:30 p.m. and the meeting following from 6:00 p.m. – 8 p.m. Meetings will be conducted in an open house format to provide the public an opportunity to give comments directly to NPS personnel. Each meeting will begin with a brief presentation showcasing the proposed changes for the East and South Vancouver Barracks.
For more information, please call (360) 816-6212.
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Herbal Lore of the Wetlands – Free Educational Seminar
On Thursday, Feb. 23, from 4 to 5 p.m., the City of Vancouver’s Water Resources Education Center is excited to host Kim and Chris Chisholm of the Wolf College, as they offer a free seminar for residents interested in wintertime plants and herbal remedies. Wolf College was started by the Chisholms 15 years ago in Puyallup, Washington, as an earth skills educational institute offering summer youth camps, workshops and teaching apprenticeships focusing on the traditions of natural science, outdoor adventure, wilderness survival, sustainable living, primitive technology, permaculture pioneering, herbal medicine and wildlife tracking.
The ‘Herbal Lore of the Wetlands’ is a special local offering on Feb. 23 at the Water Center, 4600 SE Columbia Way, Vancouver, Washington. For more seminar details, call the Wolf College at 425-248-0253 or visit: http://wolfcamp.com/wolfjourney/classitinerary/herbal-medicine.html
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Port of Vancouver Offers You a VIP Tour
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