Councilmember Project Updates

 council priorities discussion 

Chair Scanlon conducted a round-robin soliciting each councilmember's top priorities heading into 2026 — framed as preview content for the February 17 Annual Retreat. Key themes:

Shelter and homelessness (Boyle): Boyle identified expanded shelter options as her top priority, specifically micro-shelters distributed throughout the county rather than concentrated in Bellingham. She cited Ferndale Community Services' church-based micro-shelter as a model. She and Scanlon noted that the Bellingham Downtown Library is closing for renovation, removing what has functioned as the city's de facto daytime shelter, with Mayor Lund convening a working group to address the gap. Scanlon also noted a Nooksack Tribe council member's interest in modeling a tiny home village on Lummi Nation's.

Flood management (Stremler): Stremler called for a comprehensive "menu of options" for long-term river management that integrates both flood excess and drought/water shortage perspectives — "same river, same communities." He also asked for an update on deployment of Healthy Children's Fund dollars to families impacted by flooding.

Behavioral health (Stremler, Rienstra, Buchanan): Stremler, Rienstra, and Buchanan all independently expressed priority interest in expanding mental health access and treatment, particularly for people who want help and are ready for it. Scanlon noted that children in flood-affected communities in Everson and Nooksack are showing trauma symptoms — teachers are closing blinds when it rains because students become anxious — and raised the question of whether the Nooksack Valley School District has a community coalition similar to Birch Bay Blaine Thrives.

Code reform (Elenbaas): Elenbaas identified three specific projects. First, concomitant agreements: Council staff has identified at least 25 agreements from 1987–2015 that restrict land use below what current zoning allows; Elenbaas is reviewing each individually and may bring repeal motions for those that are no longer appropriate, noting the concern that affected parcels may be counted in the buildable land survey as developable when they are not. Second, department-level rulemaking transparency: Elenbaas is drafting an ordinance that would require public notice and comment when county departments translate council-enacted policy into department-level implementation rules, analogous to federal and state administrative rulemaking processes. Third, slaughterhouse code: The Agriculture Advisory Committee asked Elenbaas to share his knowledge of the issue; the committee will bring its own recommendations to Council. Elenbaas also noted his pending ATV ordinance (ready but deprioritized relative to flood issues) and his continuing interest in alternatives to water rights adjudication.

Criminal justice (Buchanan): Buchanan highlighted the Joint Justice Project Advisory Work Group as a priority.

Scanlon's list: Flood recovery and mitigation, comprehensive water planning, Point Roberts stormwater and transportation benefit district funds, a Columbia Valley workgroup on property cleanup, senior centers, healthcare access and costs, community health assessment, Bay to Baker Trail, strategic planning, ferry replacement financing plan, and potential merger of the Drayton Harbor and Portage Bay Shellfish Protection Districts.