Bellingham City Council

The Bellingham City Council conducted a busy regular meeting covering infrastructure investment, affordable housing preservation, and committee appointments. The most significant financial action was approving a $12.8 million contract for the new WhatComm Emergency Communications Center, reflecting the city's commitment to modernizing critical public safety infrastructure. The evening's most policy-rich discussion centered on the surplus declaration of two I Street properties that had served as transitional housing for 36 years. The council unanimously approved declaring the duplex property surplus and designating it for special disposition through a request for proposals process, prioritizing continued affordable housing use over market sale. Three public commenters offered different perspectives on the property's future, from selling it to fund more housing units to ensuring it remains permanently affordable through community land trust or similar models. Council also adopted the city's updated four-year Commute Trip Reduction Plan, with amendments to strengthen targets and remove an ineligible employer. The plan delegates administration to the Whatcom Council of Governments through their Smart Trips program, reflecting regional coordination on transportation demand management. The meeting included multiple mayoral appointments to advisory boards, including four new members to the Whatcom Racial Equity Commission representing different districts and expertise areas. The appointments demonstrate continued effort to ensure diverse representation on regional equity work. Council members provided substantive reports from their external assignments, particularly updates on Lake Whatcom protection efforts and the state legislative session. The legislative update highlighted the city's active engagement in Olympia, including testimony on housing bills and advocacy for transportation and shelter funding.

**AB 24824 - I Street Surplus Property:** Approved 7-0. Declared 1504 and 1506 I Street surplus to city needs and designated for special disposition through negotiated RFP process. Staff recommendation aligned with council action to retain property for affordable housing use rather than market sale. **AB 24826 - WhatComm Emergency Communications Center:** Approved 7-0. Awarded construction contract to Colacurcio Brothers, Inc. for $12,763,390.80. Project includes $970,000 in state grant funding and will replace 1954-era facility with modern, climate-resilient 911 dispatch center. **AB 24829 - Commute Trip Reduction Plan:** Approved 7-0 as amended. Adopted four-year plan (2025-2029) with two amendments: drive-alone rate target strengthened from 64% to 57%, and SilFab Solar Inc. removed from affected employer list. **AB 24828 - WCOG Interlocal Agreement:** Approved 7-0. Authorized mayor to sign agreement with Whatcom Council of Governments for $25,000 annually to administer CTR program through Smart Trips. **AB 24823 - Lodging Tax Grants:** Approved 7-0. Recommended grants totaling $323,063 for Bellingham Fan Zone ($198,063) and Downtown Activations/Beautification ($125,000) programs. **Advisory Board Appointments:** All approved 7-0. Water Resources Advisory Board (3 appointments), Whatcom Racial Equity Commission (4 appointments), Arts Commission (2 appointments). **AB 24827 - Civil Service Special Counsel:** Approved 7-0. Confirmed Bridget Bryck appointment as special counsel to avoid conflicts of interest. **Ordinances:** Two ordinances passed final reading 7-0: Municipal Court second judge position (Ordinance 2026-02-002) and NFC Northwest telecommunications franchise (Ordinance 2026-02-003).

**Council Member Lilliquist, on growing housing operator capacity:** "One of the things that we need to do is grow more housing operators, more nonprofits. So it seems to me then rather than requiring an experience, we should prioritize ability to deliver which might be in a newer entity." **Carrie Burnside, on global housing models:** "Vienna treats housing as essential infrastructure. More than half of its residents live in mixed income, permanently affordable homes built by public and limited profit developers. Rents are tied to the actual cost of construction and maintenance, not to speculation." **Council Member Hammill, on emergency communications importance:** "When we consider who's on the other end of that phone call, who's calling in, I think it's very important for public safety to provide for this facility." **Council Member Anderson, on Lake Whatcom invasive species:** "In 2025, the AIS program intercepted its first vessel fully encrusted with invasive muscles during the offseason and somehow this vessel was in infested waters and somehow bypass all the highway checkpoints on its route." **Tara Sundin, on I Street property approach:** "We think the needs are still very high in our community. We know they are. So we'd like to retain this property rather than it going on the market, retain it for use by other community organizations." **Adam Bellinger, on property condition concerns:** "Was the property inspected, tested for any sort of contamination issues like meth and also deferred maintenance. Underground storage tanks because this is a 105-year old building at least."

# Bellingham City Council Focuses on Housing and Major Infrastructure at February 9 Meeting ## Meeting Overview The Bellingham City Council convened for their regular meeting on February 9, 2026, with all seven members present in Council Chambers. Council President Hannah Stone presided over an evening that would prove significant for both housing policy and critical infrastructure investments. The meeting was notable for its focus on preserving affordable housing opportunities while advancing major public safety infrastructure, with council members demonstrating both thorough deliberation and unanimous support for key initiatives. The evening began with Council Member Skip Williams delivering the land acknowledgment, recognizing the traditional territory of the Lummi, Nooksack, Samish, and Semiahmoo peoples. Williams spoke with particular emphasis on the "many legacies of violence, displacement, migration, and settlement that bring us together here today," setting a tone of reflection that would carry through discussions about housing equity and community values. ## The I Street Duplex: A Housing Decision Three Decades in the Making The centerpiece of the evening was a public hearing regarding 1504 and 1506 I Street, a duplex that has quietly served low-income families for 36 years through the Opportunity Council's transitional housing program. What began as a straightforward surplus property declaration evolved into a broader conversation about housing philosophy and the city's role in preserving affordability. Community and Economic Development Manager Tara Sundin explained the unusual circumstances that brought this property before the council. In 1990, the city had conveyed the duplex to the Opportunity Council through a creative financing arrangement — a $145,000 fully deferred loan at 4% interest, with a reversionary clause that would return ownership to the city if the property ceased serving as transitional housing. This arrangement, largely forgotten until recently, has protected the property from market speculation for more than three decades. "This property was a surprise to city staff," Sundin admitted. "This was a transaction that occurred 36 years ago. The city conveyed this property to the opportunity council for transitional housing and they have since been operating that program recently informed my team that they were no longer shifted priorities and were no longer able to continue operating the property as transitional housing." The Opportunity Council's decision to cease operations wasn't due to failure, but rather a strategic shift away from scattered-site housing toward larger facilities. This left the city with two options: require the Opportunity Council to pay back the loan (now worth over $600,000 with accrued interest) or exercise the reversionary clause to reclaim the property. City staff recommended the latter, viewing it as an opportunity to preserve the affordable housing use. The public hearing brought three speakers with distinctly different perspectives. Adam Bellinger raised practical concerns about the property's condition and suggested selling it to fund tiny home construction instead. "If the home's worth between 7 and 800,000," he argued, "maybe the best use for those dollars would be to sell the property on the market and then sequester those funds for something like tiny home villages. We're currently building them at around 50,000 a unit. So that would put us in the neighborhood of a dozen tiny homes from the sale of this property potentially." Michael Shabario, speaking remotely, advocated for converting the property to community land trust ownership, highlighting how such arrangements require fewer ongoing subsidies while providing permanent affordability. "CLT owners do their own maintenance," he explained. "CLT home owners take care of their own maintenance because they can afford to because the mortgage prices are way lower like a third to a fourth of what market rents are." The most compelling testimony came from Carrie Burnside, president of the Future Home Buyers organization, who placed the decision in global context. Drawing on examples from Vienna and Singapore, she argued for treating housing as essential infrastructure rather than a speculative commodity. "Around the world, cities facing the same pressures we faced, rising costs, limited land, and displacement, have found solutions that work," she said. "Vienna treats housing as essential infrastructure. More than half of its residents live in mixed income, permanently affordable homes built by public and limited profit developers." Her testimony resonated particularly when she addressed the scale and significance of the decision: "Tonight's decision is small in scale, but large in meaning. Declaring this property surplus is not inherently harmful if the city ensures that the next steward is a mission-driven community-based organization capable of providing permanently affordable housing or transitional housing comparable to what the opportunity council offered for decades." Council members engaged in thoughtful discussion about the Request for Proposals process that would select the next operator. Council Member Michael Lilliquist raised important questions about balancing experience with the need to grow the nonprofit sector's capacity. "One of the things that we need to do is grow more housing operators, more nonprofits," he noted. "So it seems to me then rather than requiring an experience, we should prioritize ability to deliver which might be in a newer entity." His observation sparked broader discussion about how the city has helped bootstrap organizations like Road to Home and one-time homes now into successful housing operators. "At one time, Road to Home was just an idea and it needed support and some bootstrapping from the city and from Lehi to get there," Lilliquist recalled. The council ultimately approved the surplus declaration unanimously, but the discussion revealed deeper questions about the city's approach to affordable housing preservation and the balance between experience and innovation in selecting nonprofit partners. ## $12.7 Million Investment in Emergency Communications The council also approved a major infrastructure investment that received less public attention but represents critical progress in public safety capabilities. The $12.7 million contract award to Colacurcio Brothers, Inc. for the new Whatcom Emergency Communications Center addresses decades of deferred infrastructure needs. The current 911 dispatch center operates in a converted 1954 fire station that Public Works Assistant Director Carol Rofkar described as having "multiple points of failure including electrical and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning infrastructure which cannot support the console systems, as well as current construction and redundancy requirements for emergency centers." Council Member Daniel Hamill, who had recently shadowed dispatchers, provided context for why this investment matters beyond the technical specifications. "This building was built in I think 1954 was a fire station at first and it was repurposed into the 911 call center. It's very small. It's very compact and tight. This new building would open up and provide for just a better work environment. And when we consider who's on the other end of that phone call, who's calling in, I think it's very important for public safety to provide for this facility." The project benefits from nearly $1 million in state Department of Commerce grant funding and includes apprenticeship requirements, demonstrating the city's commitment to workforce development. Construction will begin in March, with the new facility operational by summer 2027, while maintaining full operations at the existing site throughout the transition. ## Transportation Planning and State Advocacy The meeting also addressed the city's compliance with state transportation requirements through adoption of a four-year Commute Trip Reduction Plan. Transportation Planner Dylan Casper and Assistant Director Tim Hohmann presented an approach that partners with the Whatcom Council of Governments' Smart Trips program to meet state mandates for reducing single-occupancy vehicle trips. The discussion revealed the complexity of balancing state requirements with local flexibility. Council Member Lisa Anderson successfully moved to strengthen the plan's drive-alone reduction target from 64% to 57%, aligning it more closely with the city's comprehensive planning goals. The amendment demonstrated the council's commitment to ambitious sustainability targets while maintaining practical implementation pathways. Council President Stone's legislative update provided insight into the city's increasingly sophisticated approach to state advocacy. Rather than simply opposing or supporting legislation, the city is now actively engaging in the detailed work of improving bills through testimony and amendment suggestions. Director Blake Lyon has testified on multiple housing-related bills, "sought to express our concerns and suggest improvements rather than opposing or you know opposition to the bill." Stone noted this represents a more nimble and effective approach: "This legislative session, it feels like the city has been much more nimble to be able to respond, you know, not just for or against particular pieces of legislation that are pending, but really to dive into the details and utilize our contact points." ## Advisory Board Appointments and Community Engagement The evening's routine appointments revealed the breadth of community expertise the city draws upon. The appointments to the Water Resources Advisory Board included both reappointments of proven contributors and new voices like Kristin Haider, who brings experience in nutrient management and conservation work. The Whatcom Racial Equity Commission appointments were particularly notable for their diversity of experience and community connections. Sharayah Lane, a mixed-race woman with deep roots in the Lummi Nation, brought experience from her work with Sankofa Impact, an organization that takes interracial groups through civil rights history in the American South. Her application emphasized the need for authentic collaboration with Indigenous communities: "I think one of the reasons, rightfully so, that native folks don't work with a lot of outside organizations is because their motives have been very questionable over the years and their persistence in relationship has not been where it needs to be." High school student Neesha Randeo's appointment represented the commission's commitment to youth engagement. Her video application described leading multicultural programming at Ferndale High School and her goal of hosting community events that celebrate diverse cultures throughout Whatcom County. ## Committee Reports and Ongoing Work Council Member Lisa Anderson's report on Lake Whatcom policy highlighted both successes and challenges in regional environmental protection. The aquatic invasive species program intercepted its first vessel "fully encrusted with invasive muscles" during the off-season, validating years of prevention efforts. However, concerns remain about proposed timber harvesting in the watershed, with Anderson noting that "three land parcels within the watershed which are slated for recommendation" under what she described as "an antiquated landscape policy which was written 26 years ago." Council Member Hamill's reports from ride-alongs with police, fire, and alternative response teams provided ground-level perspective on public safety operations. His observations about the Alternative Response Team's effectiveness reinforced arguments for expanding the program: "I hear repeatedly from those who work daily in first response that this effective program could benefit the community by having more hours available during evenings and weekends." ## Lodging Tax Grants: Supporting Tourism and Community Events The council approved an ambitious slate of lodging tax grants totaling $323,063 for World Cup fan zone activities and downtown activation programs. The grants represented a shift from centralized planning to community-driven activation, with 50 applications received for various tracks including community watch parties, designated fan zone venues, and soccer-related activities. Community and Economic Development Manager Tara Sundin explained the strategic approach: "This revised model supports community- and business-led initiatives that align with the original Bellingham Fan Zone goals: creating memorable experiences for residents and visitors, celebrating soccer as a unifying global event, showcasing Bellingham's local identity, creativity, and welcoming community." ## Final Ordinances and Future Planning The council completed final consideration of two ordinances that had moved through committee review. The creation of a second full-time Municipal Court judge position addresses increasing caseload complexity and ensures constitutional requirements for speedy trials. The telecommunications franchise for NFC Northwest, LLC continues the city's approach to expanding broadband infrastructure through competitive providers. ## A Meeting of Values and Pragmatism The February 9 meeting demonstrated the council's ability to blend practical governance with deeper questions about community values. From the philosophical discussions about housing as infrastructure to the technical details of emergency communications systems, council members showed both the procedural expertise and civic vision necessary for effective local government. The I Street duplex decision, while small in scale, exemplified the council's commitment to preserving affordability in a challenging housing market. The infrastructure investments in emergency communications showed recognition that basic government services require ongoing attention and substantial resources. The transportation planning work revealed the complexity of balancing state mandates with local sustainability goals. Throughout the evening, council members demonstrated the collaborative approach that has characterized this council, with unanimous votes on major items reflecting both thorough deliberation and shared commitment to the city's direction. As Council President Stone noted in discussing the City Vision magazine's coverage of flexible REET funding, "all the little pieces of funding that have to come together to make projects like that possible. Having that flexibility with REIT really was an advantage in this case." The meeting adjourned at 8:16 p.m., having addressed both immediate practical needs and longer-term questions about the kind of community Bellingham aspires to become. The next council meeting on February 23 will include a public hearing on landmark tree preservation, continuing the council's work balancing development pressures with environmental and community values.