Washington state transportation officials are denying a proposal from municipalities in Clark County that sought to change which cities are represented on the board of C-TRAN, the county’s transit agency.

In an Aug. 28 letter to the C-TRAN Board Composition Committee, a top Washington State Department of Transportation official wrote the agency “does not agree with the Board’s analysis” that smaller cities in Clark County should get an outsized voice on the transit board.

The C-TRAN board is made up of representatives from municipalities throughout Clark County. In addition to overseeing the basic functions of public transit, like bus maintenance and route design, the board is in the process of recommending light rail funding on a new Interstate Bridge over the Columbia River.

Smaller cities have long been opposed to a light rail train that connects Southwest Washington to Portland.

During a March C-TRAN meeting, a question about paying for potential light rail maintenance and operation costs became a flash point on the board.

C-TRAN board members in Vancouver and unincorporated Clark County are generally in favor of light rail funding for the Interstate Bridge, while representatives from the county’s small cities are generally opposed.

The March funding vote culminated in C-TRAN board member Michelle Belkot being voted out of the group after she opposed the majority of the county commissioners. The legality of her removal is slowly working its way through federal court.

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This summer the C-TRAN Board Composition Committee, which decides what cities are represented on the transit board, had been discussing how to respond to an initial letter from WSDOT stating that C-TRAN must comply with state law that requires transit benefit area boards to proportionately represent the people they serve.

“Your board is underrepresented by the City of Vancouver and the unincorporated portions of Clark County. Additionally, your board is overrepresented by cities with populations under 30,000,” WSDOT Interim Director of Public Transportation Molly Hughes wrote to C-TRAN in a June 30 letter.

Remaining out of compliance could cost C-TRAN approximately $10 million per year in state grant funding, according to Camas City Councilor and C-TRAN board member Tim Hein.

On Aug. 12, the composition committee proposed a compromise. Members decided to ask the state to split the nine-person C-TRAN board equally between the small cities, Vancouver and Clark County — three seats for each.

WSDOT rejected that proposal Thursday.

In her response, Hughes noted the committee’s plan would still disproportionately favor the voice of small cities in Clark County.

“WSDOT does not believe the proposed 3-3-3 Board composition complies with the law,” she wrote, noting that Camas, Battle Ground, Washougal, Yacolt, Ridgefield and La Center combined “represent about 18% of the population serviced in the benefit area.”

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Meanwhile, Vancouver represents 44% of the population and unincorporated Clark County represents about 38%.

“Applying a plain reading of the statute based on these population percentages, WSDOT does not believe that a 3-3-3 composition of the Board complies with the statute’s requirement for ‘proportional representation, based on population,’” Hughes wrote.

The prospect of a reduced voice on the C-TRAN board is already causing at least one small city to consider pulling out of the transit district completely, leaving their residents’ access to public transit up in the air.

Earlier this month, Camas Mayor Steve Hogan discussed with the city council the idea of leaving C-TRAN because of the potential for light rail on the new Interstate Bridge.

Hein said he believes all the small cities in Clark County are overpaying for the services they get back from C-TRAN, even before light rail. He said he was not surprised the state had rejected the composition committee’s proposal.

“I think ultimately we’ll have to vote and I think we’ll vote to accept it,” Hein said.

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Camas is developing talking points to discuss with their community, he said, including what alternative public transit might look like without C-TRAN.

“We see an opportunity to provide public transportation potentially in a more cost-effective manner than what we’re currently paying and having limited control over,” Hein said.

The Board Composition Committee is set to meet again Wednesday to vote on WSDOT’s recommendation. The C-TRAN board will meet Sept. 9.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/08/29/washington-c-tran-board-reshaped/