Mayor's Neighborhood Advisory Commission

The second major presentation covered Post Point wastewater treatment plant's $50-60 million emissions control upgrade project — described as equivalent to replacing a car's catalytic converter on a $3 billion facility. Staff explained this represents a "bridge" solution while emerging technologies like gasification and supercritical water oxidation continue developing, with the city recently settling a Northwest Clean Air Agency violation through this upgrade path. Both presentations generated extensive technical questions from neighborhood representatives, particularly around enforcement challenges for speed limits and the risks of shutting down Post Point's incinerators. The speed limit changes will require Council approval in early 2026, while the Post Point upgrades are already underway as part of the settlement agreement. Throughout neighborhood updates, a striking pattern emerged of declining volunteer participation and board membership across multiple associations, with several noting challenges in recruiting younger residents and maintaining functional leadership structures.

- **October Minutes Approval**: Unanimously approved with no discussion or amendments - **Speed Limit Policy Presentation**: Informational only; Council action expected early 2026 - **Post Point Emissions Upgrade**: Project already underway as part of Northwest Clean Air settlement agreement ($50-60 million scope confirmed) No formal votes were taken beyond routine meeting procedures. Both major presentations were educational briefings preparing neighborhood representatives for upcoming community conversations.

"We are not lowering the speed limits intending that people will automatically just start driving slower. The research shows that it's a mild impact on those. But what we're doing is we are looking at the research and seeing what is the correct safe speed for people to be driving." **Mike Welch, on Post Point permit restrictions:** "Once we shut them down. Our permit allows us to shut them down for short periods of time to do maintenance and things like that, but if we were to enter into a trucking contract and shut them down, Northwest Clean Air would remove our permits. We would no longer be a permit facility for incinerating, and re-getting that permit going would... There's really no going back. It's a one-way ticket." **Joel Ingram, on emerging technology risks:** "For us to make an investment and make brand new, like, it's not even a one dot out of technology, it is less than a one dot out. It's an extraordinary roll of the dice of our community's monies, and this is something we cannot, we can't afford to take such a significant gamble with." **Mayor Lund, on infrastructure pride:** "I left with so much pride for Bellingham. How clean and organized both facilities are. Absolutely amazing. The care that is taken in those facilities is commendable." **Bri O'Hare, on neighborhood challenges:** "It seems like all the boards are suffering from... or many are suffering from the same issue, right? And I know that there's lots of stuff going on societal-wise. Since COVID, people are online, people aren't getting together, but... we need more face-to-face, we need more community." **Greg Hope, on enforcement reality:** "Understanding that driving is a privilege that is very, aggressively defended. I'm going to bring up the E word and ask if there have been any discussions, or if any discussions are planned about, enforcement for when these changes are implemented. It's one thing to change the number on the sign, and in my observation, it's quite a different thing to have people comply with the changed law."

## Meeting Overview The Bellingham Mayor's Neighborhood Advisory Commission convened on November 19, 2025, for their final meeting of the year, with members gathering both in the Mayor's Boardroom and online. Mayor Kim Lund opened the session by highlighting recent City Council achievements, including a marathon 14.5-hour meeting that advanced housing ordinances, budget approval, and crucially, a settlement agreement with Northwest Clean Air regarding Post Point violations. The evening featured two major presentations: a comprehensive overview of the city's new speed limit setting policy and an in-depth briefing on Post Point wastewater treatment plant operations, particularly the solids management system. With neighborhood representatives from across Bellingham in attendance, the meeting served as both an informational session and a forum for community feedback on critical infrastructure decisions. ## The Speed Limit Revolution: Safety Over Speed Shane Sullivan from Transportation launched into what he called a fundamental shift in how Bellingham sets speed limits. "Typically in the past, the city and most other agencies around the country have been setting their speed limits based on what we call the 85th percentile speed," Sullivan explained. "That is the speed at which most drivers are driving already. It was baked into this manual that we use, it's kind of like our traffic bible, and it was developed back in the 40s, and basically didn't change." The new approach flips that logic entirely. Instead of asking what drivers want to do, the city now asks what speeds are actually safe for everyone who uses the roads. Sullivan presented stark data that drove the point home: "At 20 miles per hour, you have over a 90% chance of surviving a collision with a vehicle, but just at 40 miles per hour, that drops to less than 10%. With every mile per hour faster that a vehicle is going, your chances go up exponentially of not surviving that crash." Currently, 56% of Bellingham's arterial streets are posted at 25 mph, but close to 40% allow speeds of 35 mph or higher. "That means 40% of our roads have a fairly low survivability rate for vulnerable road users," Sullivan noted. The new methodology, called City Limits and developed by NACTO (National Association of City Transportation Officials), considers two key factors: a multimodal safety index that accounts for pedestrian and bicycle activity, and roadway context that examines density, land use, and infrastructure. Sullivan walked through a real-world example using Alabama Street from F to James: "We have bike lanes, we have sidewalks, we have a couple hawks, right? So we have an indication of really high ped activity, we have high bike activity. That tells us that the multimodal safety index is high. There's a high potential for conflicts between vulnerable users and traffic." The street's context—lots of driveways, small blocks—earned it a "B" rating. High safety index plus B context equals a 25 mph speed limit. Brian from the audience pressed on a crucial point: "When you say you're observing bike and pedestrian activity, is that existing bike and pedestrian activity in what may be an overly hostile environment currently?" Sullivan acknowledged the catch-22: "We are very careful not to just say that's based on existing activity. That is one aspect, but that's also the potential of activity, and one of the things we look at is level of traffic stress. If we have a really high level of traffic stress, you're unlikely to have a lot of use, but that also indicates that you know, maybe we need to do something to reduce that stress, such as reducing stress." The results are dramatic. When applied citywide, the methodology produced no speed limit increases—only decreases. "We didn't set out saying, hey, let's just decrease all our speed limits. It just happened naturally," Sullivan said. The new distribution shifts significantly: 7% of arterials would drop to 20 mph (currently zero), while 30 mph zones would jump from 5% to 28% of arterials. All streets previously posted at 50 or 55 mph would be capped at 45 mph. Beyond arterials, the city plans to set a default 20 mph speed limit on all non-arterial streets. "If the roadway is not posted, then it is 20 miles per hour, by law, by city ordinance," Sullivan explained. The presentation also introduced "shared streets"—non-arterial streets with 10 mph limits where pedestrians and bicycles have priority. These require year-round active use, proper accessibility features, and traffic calming at entrances. Greg Hope, participating online, raised the enforcement elephant in the room: "Understanding that driving is a privilege that is very aggressively defended, I'm going to bring up the E word and ask if there have been any discussions about enforcement for when these changes are implemented. It's one thing to change the number on the sign, and in my observation, it's quite a different thing to have people comply with the changed law." Sullivan was direct: "We are not lowering the speed limits intending that people will automatically just start driving slower. The research shows that it's a mild impact on those. But what we're doing is we are looking at the research and seeing what is the correct safe speed for people to be driving." When actual speeds don't match posted limits after implementation, "that tells us we need to do some engineering." Mayor Lund noted that restoring a traffic safety division remains a top police department priority if staffing resources become available, possibly through a future public safety levy similar to what Mount Vernon voters recently approved. The discussion revealed the complexity of modern speed management. Jake from Happy Valley asked about state routes like Meridian, learning that local ordinances typically influence state decisions on speed limits within city boundaries. Others inquired about e-bikes, accident data, and the Community Streets program that studies traffic safety on residential streets and installs traffic calming measures. One commission member living on South Hill described dangerous speeding near student housing: "There's a lot of cars that will, like, go straight past our house, and it just... I wonder whether there's signage in neighborhoods that could... something that's a reminder that they're in a neighborhood." Sullivan directed her to the Community Streets program, which completed its first year studying the northern quadrant of the city and approved speed humps for four locations with the worst speeding problems. The speed limit changes won't happen overnight. The city expects to complete its draft report by month's end, create an implementation plan with phased rollouts and targeted outreach, and bring the actual ordinances to City Council for approval in early 2026. ## Post Point: The Bridge Strategy for Wastewater Solids The evening's second major presentation tackled one of Bellingham's most complex infrastructure challenges: what to do with the solid waste from the Post Point wastewater treatment plant. Public Works Director Joel Ing set the stage with a car analogy: "We're maintaining our vehicle so it is in good working order, and we are talking about... it's a multi-billion dollar infrastructure that we are maintaining, and it's kind of like on your car, you're maintaining your car, and this is an important element of that, but we're really kind of focused on what we're doing with the catalytic converter." Plant Manager Mike walked through the facility's evolution. When Post Point opened in 1974, it represented a major environmental upgrade from the original C Street plant near the current hatchery. "Really, we took the big chunks out, and the rest went to the bay. That was kind of what we had prior to 1974," he explained. A second incinerator was added in 1994, providing 50 years of consistent local treatment. The current controversy stems from a project that began ambitiously but hit multiple roadblocks. In 2015, staff began planning the Resource Recovery Project, a modern system using anaerobic digestion to generate energy and recycle biosolids through land application. The project reflected sustainability goals and produced the lowest carbon footprint of available options. But costs climbed relentlessly, and awareness of emerging contaminants like PFAS and PFOA created new concerns. "By 2022, the project cost for the biosolids conversion project had grown to more than $200 million," Mike said. "At the same time, new concerns about PFAS and other contaminants made biosolids reuse uncertain, and even today, while ecology still is recommending that as the final solution, many of us in the industry are questioning that and having real concerns about that land application of biosolids." City Council paused the project and refocused on maintaining reliable operations with existing systems. The alternatives came down to two options: landfilling the solids or upgrading the existing incinerators' emissions controls. While landfilling appears cheaper upfront, the 20-year analysis tells a different story. "The emissions project costs more upfront, but it keeps treatment on site and has the lowest long-term cost. Landfilling costs more over time and adds truck traffic and dependency on outside vendors." More critically, shutting down the incinerators creates a one-way decision. "If we were to enter into a trucking contract and shut them down, Northwest Clean Air would remove our permits. We would no longer be a permit facility for incinerating, and re-getting that permit going would... there's really no going back. It's a one-way ticket." The regulatory landscape makes restarting nearly impossible. "Washington State has not permitted an incinerator since we built ours in 1992," Mike explained. "So while we meet clean air standards, they wouldn't let us do it again. They would not let us build another incinerator." The risks of landfilling extend beyond cost. Any interruption in hauling—worker strikes, severe weather closing mountain passes—creates immediate operational risk. "We cannot have this stuff sitting around, because it starts to... you know, solids is a very benign word. This stuff is not... it's not good stuff, it's the worst of the worst, and it starts to digest itself, and it starts to have an intense odor, let's say." Other cities' experiences offer cautionary tales. Lynwood's incinerator was shut down after never achieving compliance since construction, primarily due to mercury contamination. They're now planning the same anaerobic digestion project Bellingham paused in 2022. Edmonds is attempting gasification technology, but their system isn't operational after years of delays and multiple personnel changes. "The plant manager filed a third million dollar lawsuit as a whistleblower for not being able to speak freely about the challenges," Mike noted. Mayor Lund expressed optimism about emerging technologies while acknowledging the risks: "For us to make an investment in brand new, like, it's not even a one-dot-oh technology, it is less than a one-dot-oh. It's an extraordinary roll of the dice of our community's monies... If we get this wrong, we would just be looking at costs that would make our affordability and livability challenges so much more complex." The scale of investment required for unproven technologies is staggering. Mike shared an example: "One of these emerging technologies is supercritical water oxidization. We talked with the vendor, we put pen to paper, they gave us a proposal to pilot a small portion of our flows at the plant, which would have treated about 3% of our flow, and it would have been $50 million for them to come set that up for one year. Just to test it." The chosen path—upgrading emissions controls—costs $50-60 million but represents a practical bridge strategy. The improvements will bring both incinerators up to current federal standards as if they were built today, eliminating their grandfathered status. "We're close to triggering that requirement on incinerator one, which is 50 years old. We're a lot, like, decades away from triggering it on incinerator two, so we're actually going to bring both incinerators up to the higher air regulation requirements." Jake from Happy Valley asked about the paused anaerobic digestion project costs: "So, in 2015, we were doing the anaerobic digesters plan, and in 2022, it got stopped. So how much did we spend on that for something we're not using?" Mike didn't have exact figures but estimated "a few million dollars"—substantial but manageable compared to the project's $200 million final price tag. The timeline ahead includes a comprehensive sewer plan beginning in 2026, with public engagement through the Water Resource Advisory Board and broader community input. Early recommendations are expected in 2027, followed by rate studies and final recommendations by late 2027. The goal is to identify and design the next solids management system by the mid-2030s, when regulations and technologies may provide clearer direction. ## Neighborhood Roundup: Challenges and Community Building The meeting's final segment revealed a pattern across Bellingham neighborhoods: declining board participation and creative responses to maintain community connection. Columbia neighborhood reported all officers leaving at year-end, with only two MNAC representatives remaining on the board, though "it looks like some people are willing to step forward." Fairhaven faces similar board struggles but continues successful events like their neighborhood Christmas celebration at Chuck and Center. Samish neighborhood takes a different approach, offering monthly hiking groups in the Samish Crest open space. "The third Sunday of every month, a small group of us have been leading short hikes up in the Samish Crest open space to show neighbors and not neighbors, the beauties and the wonders that are up there," Barbara June reported. The most dramatic example came from See Home Hill: "We are going dormant. Our board is too small to be functional... We're not shutting down, but we are not meeting until at least April." They need a minimum of eight board members but currently have "maybe three and a half, because two of the people are just so busy and not able to be at most meetings." This challenge sparked discussion about broader outreach and collaboration. The representative suggested partnerships with The Hamster, Bellingham's popular local newsletter: "There's that great hamster email that comes out twice a week. Could they do a little short post, like, hey, do you know that there's such things as neighborhood associations?" The idea of a newspaper article highlighting struggling associations also emerged as a way to recruit new volunteers. South Hill's Michael revealed an innovative response: five south-end neighborhoods (Happy Valley, South Hill, Edgmoor, and Fairhaven) now meet monthly to discuss common issues and build networks. "One of the things that could help MNAC is if we became more multi-neighborhood connected in some way. A northeast district, a southeast district, or something like that." This collaboration model caught Mayor Lund's attention. The city has successfully hosted "Ask Me Anything" forums downtown, bringing the entire department head team to answer community questions. "We would like to do that at a south end, and so with those five neighborhoods, we'd like to kind of do one for downtown... and then do a north side one, and so do three of those." The mayor noted this might replace individual MNAC meetings: "I think for us to be able to do that, we'd have to do it maybe not in addition to the mayor's neighborhood advisory commission meetings. Maybe instead of." Success stories provided hope. Birchwood reported competitive elections and full board representation: "We have all 11 seats filled, which is really exciting, and in general, I think our enrollment for dues-paying members jumped from 40-something to 80-something this year." Their approach includes door-to-door outreach, monthly potlucks, and connections with local organizing groups. Sunnyland continues thriving with creative events like "caroloke" (caroling karaoke) on December 12th, while York keeps things simple with focused goals: "What's worked for us is to focus on doing one or two things really well... we set our goal low so that nobody got burned out." Western Washington University provided updates on their Guaranteed Admission Program, automatically admitting students from five northwestern counties with 2.75+ GPAs. "We are sort of turning the whole admissions process kind of upside down," Chris Roselli explained, waiving application fees and admitting students first rather than creating barriers. Stella Keating reported successful VoterHub events with approximately 300 participants and ongoing efforts to bridge city government with student engagement. ## Closing & What's Ahead As the year's final meeting wound down, administrative reminders punctuated the conversation: open government training deadlines, Project Neighborly grant applications opening with mid-February deadlines, and year-end receipt submissions for budget processing. The mayor encouraged receipt collection by December 31st to process reimbursements in the 2025 budget cycle. The evening concluded with expressions of gratitude for the presentations and discussions. Commission members consistently praised field trips and walking tours as valuable experiences, with specific appreciation for Post Point and water treatment plant visits that demonstrated the city's infrastructure management. Several requested continuation of the Old Town walking tour concept, potentially including port development discussions and train quiet zone conversations. The successful collaboration between neighborhoods in the south end, the innovative Western admission program, and creative community events like caroloke suggested that while traditional participation faces challenges, community building continues to evolve and adapt. As Mayor Lund offered holiday wishes, the sense was of a community grappling with complex infrastructure decisions while maintaining the neighborhood connections that define Bellingham's civic character. The meeting adjourned with members looking forward to reconvening in January 2026, carrying forward both the technical knowledge shared about speed limits and wastewater treatment, and the community wisdom about what brings neighbors together in an increasingly complex world.

## MODULE S1: STUDY GUIDE **Meeting ID:** BEL-MNA-2025-11-19 A structured study guide helping readers understand the meeting's content and context. ### Meeting Overview The Mayor's Neighborhood Advisory Commission (MNAC) met on November 19, 2025, for their final meeting of the year. The meeting featured two major presentations: one on Bellingham's new speed limit setting policy and another on the Post Point wastewater treatment plant's solids management system. ### Key Terms and Concepts **85th Percentile Speed:** The traditional method of setting speed limits based on the speed at which 85% of drivers naturally travel. Bellingham is moving away from this decades-old approach in favor of context-based speed setting. **Arterial vs. Non-Arterial Streets:** Arterials are major roads classified as collectors, primary, or secondary that carry higher traffic volumes. Non-arterials are local residential streets primarily for accessing homes. **Multimodal Safety Index:** A measurement system that evaluates the potential for conflicts between vulnerable road users (pedestrians and cyclists) and vehicles, considering factors like sidewalk presence, existing activity, and expected activity. **Shared Streets:** A designation allowing speed limits as low as 10 mph on non-arterial streets where pedestrians and bicycles are the primary users, with specific design requirements for accessibility and traffic calming. **Post Point:** Bellingham's wastewater treatment plant that processes both liquid and solid waste streams from the entire city through a network of over 20 lift stations. **Biosolids:** The solid waste byproduct from wastewater treatment that must be disposed of or processed. Current methods include incineration or land application after treatment. **PFAS (Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances):** Emerging contaminants of concern found in wastewater that have raised questions about the safety of traditional biosolids disposal methods. **RTO (Regenerative Thermal Oxidizer):** Part of the emissions control upgrade that burns exhaust at higher temperatures, similar to diesel exhaust systems on modern trucks. ### Key People at This Meeting | Name | Role / Affiliation | |---|---| | Mayor Lund | Meeting Chair | | Shane Sullivan | Transportation Department | | Riley Grant | Public Works Communication Expert | | Joel | Public Works Director | | Mike | Deputy Public Works Director | | Greg Hope | Columbia neighborhood alternate (online) | | Jake Charlton | Happy Valley representative | | Bri O'Hare | Lettered Streets representative | | Chris Roselli | Western Washington University | | Stella Keating | Western Washington University | | Annie Sorich | Sunnyland representative | ### Background Context Bellingham is undertaking two major infrastructure initiatives that reflect broader challenges facing municipalities nationwide. The speed limit policy represents a shift from car-centric planning toward "Vision Zero" approaches that prioritize vulnerable road user safety. Research shows that pedestrians have a 90% survival rate when hit at 20 mph, but less than 10% at 40 mph, making speed management a life-and-death issue as cities grow denser. The Post Point situation illustrates the complex challenges of aging infrastructure and emerging environmental concerns. Built in 1974, the facility has served reliably for 50 years, but new contaminants like PFAS and evolving regulations are forcing cities to reconsider traditional waste management approaches. The $50-60 million emissions upgrade represents a "bridge" investment to maintain compliance while emerging technologies develop, reflecting the difficult balance between environmental goals, fiscal responsibility, and operational necessity. ### What Happened — The Short Version The transportation team presented their new methodology for setting speed limits throughout Bellingham. Instead of basing speeds on how fast people currently drive, they now consider street context (downtown vs. highway) and safety factors (pedestrian activity, bike lanes, accident history). The result: most arterial streets will see speed limits reduced, with no speeds above 45 mph and new 20 mph zones in downtown and urban villages. All non-arterial streets will default to 20 mph unless posted otherwise. The utilities team explained their approach to Post Point's solids management challenges. After pausing a $200+ million biosolids project in 2022 due to cost escalation and PFAS concerns, the city chose to upgrade the existing incinerator system's emissions controls for $50-60 million. This "catalytic converter" approach maintains local control and reliable operations while buying time for new technologies to mature. A comprehensive sewer plan starting in 2026 will evaluate long-term options with community input. Neighborhood representatives shared updates on local activities and challenges, with many reporting board membership struggles since COVID while celebrating successful community events and field trips. ### What to Watch Next • Early 2026: City Council consideration of the speed limit policy and implementation timeline • Mid-2026: Beginning of public engagement for the comprehensive sewer plan • December 2025: Transportation Commission report on Community Streets Program results • Ongoing: Monitoring of emerging wastewater treatment technologies and PFAS regulations ---

## MODULE S2: FLASH CARDS **Meeting ID:** BEL-MNA-2025-11-19 **Q:** What percentage of Bellingham's arterial streets are currently posted at 35 mph or higher? **A:** Close to 40% of arterial streets are posted at 35 mph or higher, which correlates with low survivability rates for vulnerable road users. **Q:** What survival rate do pedestrians have when hit by a vehicle traveling 20 mph versus 40 mph? **A:** At 20 mph, pedestrians have over 90% chance of survival. At 40 mph, survival rates drop to less than 10%. **Q:** What is the default speed limit for non-arterial streets under Bellingham's new policy? **A:** All non-arterial (residential) streets will default to 20 mph unless otherwise posted, established by city ordinance. **Q:** What is the minimum speed limit possible on designated shared streets? **A:** Shared streets can have speed limits as low as 10 mph, but only where pedestrians and bicycles are the primary users. **Q:** How much will Bellingham's emissions control project at Post Point cost? **A:** The emissions control upgrade will cost $50-60 million, which is comparable to replacing a catalytic converter on a car relative to the plant's $3 billion value. **Q:** When was Post Point wastewater treatment plant originally built? **A:** Post Point was built in 1974, replacing the previous treatment facility at C Street near the current hatchery location. **Q:** What happens if Post Point's incinerators are shut down for trucking/landfilling? **A:** If shut down beyond maintenance periods, Northwest Clean Air would remove operating permits, and the city could not restart them without permitting as new facilities. **Q:** How long would it take to design and build a new solids treatment system? **A:** Staff estimates 10-15 years from selection to operation, based on their experience with the paused biosolids project that took 8 years to reach 30% design. **Q:** What was the approximate cost of the biosolids land application project that was paused in 2022? **A:** The project cost had grown to more than $200 million by 2022 when it was paused due to cost escalation and PFAS concerns. **Q:** How many neighborhood associations reported board membership challenges at this meeting? **A:** Multiple neighborhoods including Sehome, Columbia, Fairhaven, and Cordata reported struggling with board participation and member recruitment since COVID. **Q:** What innovative admissions program did Western Washington University announce? **A:** The Western Guaranteed Admission Program automatically admits students from the five northwesternmost counties with 2.75 GPA or higher, waiving application fees. **Q:** When will the comprehensive sewer plan public engagement begin? **A:** Public engagement for the sewer comprehensive plan will begin in mid-2026, with early recommendations in early 2027. **Q:** What is Bellingham's current capacity timeline for wastewater treatment? **A:** Without changes, the city will reach capacity around 2040, though the liquid side upgrades from 2012 extended capacity to approximately 2060. **Q:** How many sewer lift stations operate throughout Bellingham? **A:** Over 20 sewer lift stations are hidden around the city in nondescript buildings, pumping wastewater uphill so it can flow by gravity to Post Point. **Q:** What percentage of arterial streets will be 20 mph under the new speed policy? **A:** Up to 7% of arterial streets will be 20 mph, focused in downtown areas and urban villages under appropriate conditions. ---