The Battle Ground City Council approved two unexpected amendments to its agenda during its Tuesday, Jan. 20, meeting, halting scheduled Lodging Tax Advisory Committee (LTAC) appointments and reopening multiple committee seats, including the city’s Legislative Committee.
The first amendment, brought forward by Councilmember Aimee Vaile, removed three LTAC appointments that had been slated for approval that night. Several individuals were present to accept the appointments when the agenda item was pulled.
Vaile said the move was prompted by her review of state law governing LTAC membership, which she said the city may have been applying too narrowly.
“So, in reviewing this committee as a new council member, I took my role extremely seriously, ensuring that I understood the RCWs that backed each committee, and while reviewing the law, I found that Battle Ground may have been misinterpreting the RCW as it was stated and as the committee was actually appointed,” she said.
She told the council she contacted the Municipal Research and Services Center and was advised her reading of the statute was correct, adding that the city had likely been “accidentally limiting and narrowing the scope of this committee,” according to Vaile
Councilors Troy McCoy and Shane Bowman both pushed back, arguing the delay was unnecessary and poorly timed.
“I think this is a technicality that’s a distinction without a difference,” McCoy said. “Almost everybody who’s applied for funding has got it under LTAC. That’s why we’ve always appointed people who get funding. It’s open for applications; it has been for years. To delay this for that, I think, is silly.”
Bowman said he was troubled that the amendment came without advance notice, especially with prospective appointees already in attendance.
“There are people there that were planning on being appointed and just got surprised from the dais as well as other council members,” Bowman said. “In the future, I would hope that this is handled through the proper channels and put out to all council before we get to a meeting and pulled from an agenda.”
Mayor Eric Overholser expressed disappointment regarding the surprise the decision would cause for those who had attended expecting to be appointed, before voting in favor of the amendment, which passed 5–2, with McCoy and Bowman opposed.
“My gut reaction is we’ve asked people to show up here to accept appointments, and they made their way out here, took the time out of their day to be here,” Overholser said. “That part, I don’t like the idea of kind of dropping the ball on them.”
Following the first amendment to the agenda, Councilmember Victoria Ferrer successfully moved to amend the agenda a second time, proposing to reopen appointments for all committees that were not already scheduled for new membership. The original agenda had focused only on filling seats, either new representatives or alternates, where terms were set to expire or where the seats were held by outgoing council members.
The motion, which passed 4-3 with Bowman, McCoy and Jeanie Kuypers opposed, and set the stage for reshuffling several committees.
Bowman again verbally objected, calling the move another surprise.
“This is a great start to the new year, surprise number two from the dais,” Bowman said. “... Not really happy with starting off two for two with surprises from the dais.”.
The most contentious discussion came later when the council took up appointments to the Legislative Committee, which previously included McCoy, Bowman and Overholser, with terms running through the end of 2026. McCoy and Bowman both argued that ending their terms early conflicted with the council’s governance manual and should have required public notice before being considered. A majority of council members ultimately voted to appoint Vaile and Ferrer to the committee, replacing McCoy and Bowman, maintaining Mayor Overholser’s seat.
McCoy warned against shortening those terms and raised concerns about the political optics of new appointments, noting Deputy Mayor Vaile’s role as vice chair of the Clark County Republican Party as the state Legislature, which has a Democratic majority, convenes its 2026 session.
“I believe, with all due respect to Deputy Mayor Vaile, being the vice chair of the Republican Party is gonna close more doors than it will open for us in a blue state,” McCoy said.
Ferrer sharply disagreed, saying party affiliation should not disqualify an elected official from representing the city.
“I think that’s a very slippery slope … So if I have a Trump sticker on the back of my car, I’m going to have certain representatives up in Olympia not want to talk to me, not going to work with me?” Ferrer said. “That’s not going to help our constituents in this town … Do I have to denounce Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior? Just saying, that’s what I hear.”
“We may not want it to be that way, but that’s the reality,” Bowman responded. “ They’ll be kind to us and they’ll let us in and talk to us, but they’re not going to fight for us. And that’s the difference. When the doors close, are they going to be there and fight for us? That’s the difference because it does take fighting to get money back to us down here.”
Vaile defended her ability to work across party lines and said her role on council is separate from her partisan position.
“Though I am the vice chair of the Clark County Republican Party, that’s not why I sit on this council today,” she said. “I am here on this dais tonight to represent the interests of the Battle Ground citizens as a whole.”
Ultimately, the council voted 4-3 to appoint Vaile, Ferrer and Overholser to the Legislative Committee, replacing McCoy and Bowman, with Kuypers and the two opposed. The decision comes as the 2026 legislative session began Jan. 12, with Battle Ground officials preparing to advocate for funding and policy priorities at the state level.
In addition to the legislative committee, the council adjusted the membership of several other committees not scheduled for review. A list of the updated committee assignments is available at cityofbg.org/105/Boards-Commissions as the website is updated.
