Whatcom County Council

**Adam Bellinger, on jail capacity crisis:** "We need to come up with a solution. You know, I operate my business... I can't have my customers around this. It's not okay. You know, we need to have the capacity to help these people." **Tyler Byrd, on gun buyback programs:** "After listening to public comment tonight, the comment was made that I hadn't actually considered. And that was how this could... lead to additional gun theft. The hopes of turning that in for the on the cash side of things." **Erika Lautenbach, opposing shelter expansion:** "If you were to raise the temperature threshold to 40 degrees, we would be operating in May for seven nights in May. It is very often 40 degrees or a little bit less for a lot of the year. So I just want to be real about what we're talking about when we talk about 40 degrees. It could be 150 nights a year." **Executive Satpal Sidhu, on fiscal responsibility:** "We just passed the budget. We just increased the taxes. And we did the allocations

# A Community at a Breaking Point: The Whatcom County Council Meeting of January 14, 2025 ## Meeting Overview The Whatcom County Council convened at 6:04 p.m. on Tuesday, January 14, 2025, in a hybrid format with all seven members present. What began as a routine evening of property disposals and committee appointments transformed into something far more consequential — a raw, unfiltered confrontation with the mounting crisis of public safety, homelessness, and community trust that has engulfed the Pacific Northwest. Chair Kaylee Galloway presided over a meeting that would run until nearly midnight, punctuated by an overflow crowd that spoke with a passion and desperation rarely witnessed in municipal government. The agenda itself was typical: surplus property sales, stop sign installations, board appointments. But the public testimony revealed a community wrestling with fundamental questions about what government can and should do when the social contract begins to fray. ## Property Surplussing and Stop Sign Approval The meeting's formal business began quietly enough. Jerry Burns of Kendall asked whether the Strand Road property being surplussed had been a former landfill, a question Chris Elder from Public Works quickly answered: "I can confirm that there are no known landfills on the site." The resolution to declare the property surplus passed 7-0. The installation of stop signs at the intersection of South Pass Road and Goodwin Road generated more discussion, though still in the realm of normal traffic engineering. Three residents spoke in favor, with Bo Bumford and Jerry Burns both suggesting additional safety measures beyond the stop signs themselves. "It is past time for this improvement as this is a busy intersection used by thousands of cars each day," Bumford said. He recommended a four-way red blinking light and reducing the eastbound speed limit from 50 to 35 miles per hour on the narrow, shoulderless stretch of road. Public Works Director Elizabeth Kosa explained that speed limit changes would require a separate process involving traffic studies, though the council could request such changes. The stop sign ordinance passed 7-0. ## The Flood of Public Anguish Then came the open session, and with it, a torrent of community pain that would consume the next two hours. Thirty-eight people spoke, and their testimony painted a picture of a county where residents feel abandoned, endangered, and betrayed by the very institutions meant to protect them. Adam Bellinger went first, setting the tone with a specific case that illustrated the broader crisis: a young man in his twenties who had repeatedly committed violent acts but couldn't be jailed due to booking restrictions. "In September of this last year, he tried to kick down the door of another tenant," Bellinger recounted. "The next month in October, the same tenant randomly assaulted a man on the street in front of 22 North. This was caught on camera. He punched the man 11 times in the head... And when police arrived and wanted to take him to jail, they couldn't take him to jail." The pattern repeated — the man was detained in December for trespass but released again due to lack of jail capacity. "He finally just this month finally got put in jail on four outstanding warrants," Bellinger said. "We need to come up with a solution... We need to have the capacity to help these people." The testimony that followed was a cascade of similar stories, statistical observations, and philosophical arguments about the nature of compassion, accountability, and civic responsibility. Veronica Chapin, who raised a stepson who went to prison, offered a counterintuitive perspective: "He spent eight years, five and a half years out of an eight year sentence. And when he got out, he said it's he was glad he didn't get one year. He watched people that got one year. They came back. He did four and a half years. He had time to think he had time to learn tools." Diane Kitchen, a former PCO and union member, voiced the frustration of working residents: "I volunteered down at the lighthouse mission for the past seven years. Almost every guest I hear say come to Bellingham. There's tons of services. But then they don't want to work the programs there... Why are the homeless sitting on their butt and getting, you know, using all these drugs while we're busy busting our butts." The meeting's emotional peak came from Charlotte Harmon, a property owner and business operator who said she pays over $60,000 annually in property taxes: "I have never, ever, ever felt more unsafe in Whatcom County. I have kids and people that I know they're armed just to go to the mall to go to the grocery store to keep their kids safe. What is Bellingham? Whatcom County doing? What?" Her voice rising, Harmon continued: "Don't you dare tell me ever that you have a right to spend my money on homeless people that don't give a damn and don't care about my safety or my grandkids safety. I'm furious." ## Contrasting Perspectives on Solutions Not all testimony aligned with calls for more punitive measures. Several speakers offered different approaches to the crisis. Toni Petch, representing a childcare provider, spoke about the economic importance of early childhood investment: "74% of my childcare falls into the slot of low income needing special help... What I wanted to address more than what I did in the email is the economic investment of childcare... the early years are the most learning." Parneet Kaur, a 24-year-old who works at Northwest Youth Services, brought the perspective of someone who "specializes in homeless outreach": "I love walking down the alleys and I love talking to people without homes because nobody talks to them. Nobody sees them. Nobody has compassion... I want to change the mindset that this community has." Several speakers applied for appointments to various advisory committees, seeking to contribute solutions rather than just voice complaints. But even among these more solution-oriented testimonies, the underlying crisis was omnipresent. Doug Revelle, who goes by "Yoshi," attempted to inject a note of common humanity: "Whether we want to admit it or not, we're all connected. Young man who committed the violence is one of us. Homeless people are one of us, whether we want to admit it or not... It's not liberals up here and conservatives down here or conservatives up here and liberals down here. Liberals and conservatives are equal partners in trying to solve these problems." ## Data Points and Statistics Some speakers brought specific data to bear on the discussion. Council Member Mark Stremler later shared information from Hans Ersinger Davis at Lighthouse Mission: when the Walmart encampment was cleared, only two people went to the shelter. Currently, there are 57 unused behavioral health beds at Lighthouse Mission, contradicting narratives about inadequate shelter capacity. Sarah Belleville, a 29-year-old State Farm agent, offered the perspective of someone who sees the crisis's insurance implications: "I'm seeing an exodus of people who've been here for generations leaving this town because they do not feel safe... Working in insurance and just what we saw in California, the insurance companies see these things coming. They pulled out of parts of California because no one was doing anything about the risk." Matthew Goggins spoke about the law enforcement perspective: "I have friends in law enforcement. They have to deal with criminal violators with outstanding warrants on a repeated regular basis... It just leads to a breakdown in law and order." ## The Gun Buyback Controversy The evening's most procedurally complex discussion centered on AB2025-046, a request for authorization to enter an agreement with the Washington State Attorney General for a $125,000 gun buyback program. What seemed like routine business became contentious as council members grappled with questions about effectiveness, staffing, and unintended consequences. Council Member Tyler Bird raised concerns he hadn't initially considered: "After listening to public comment tonight, the comment was made that I hadn't actually considered. And that was how this could... lead to additional gun theft. The hopes of turning that in for the on the cash side of things." Council Member Ben Elenbaas questioned the staffing implications: "We're creating this program that we're going to have to staff. And then we're going to have to staff doing research on whether the guns were stolen or not. Do we have a plan to staff this?" Undersheriff Steve Harris confirmed that the funds could support staffing but acknowledged they hadn't yet developed specific staffing plans. The discussion revealed broader philosophical divisions about the effectiveness of buyback programs. Sheriff Donnell Tanksley defended the program beyond its crime reduction potential: "It also oftentimes reduces suicide events or potential suicide events... Just maybe a few months ago, I had a person who lived in an unincorporated Whatcom County, a retired army veteran that didn't want to sell his firearms and he was just looking for a way to get rid of him." Council Member Mark Stremler expressed skepticism: "I don't think that the criminals are the ones who are bringing firearms to these buyback programs. They're not, they're not the ones turning in their firearms... I just think there's flaws in these gun buyback programs." After extensive discussion, Council Member Todd Donovan moved to hold the item and refer it back to committee, citing "new concerns that we did not hear this morning that we need to spend more time on." The motion passed 7-0. ## The Shelter Expansion Debate The evening's most politically charged discussion concerned AB2025-073, a letter from the council to the county executive regarding homelessness and shelters. The letter, co-sponsored by Council Members Galloway, Buchanan, and Scanlon, requested expanded shelter capacity and coordination with the City of Bellingham around encampment clearances. Council Member Galloway explained the letter's genesis: "One being around the fact that there had been some known activity in clearing encampments, namely the Baker view and Northwest. And we know, of course, when you move people along and they have nowhere to go, that doesn't help anyone." The letter also sought to lower the temperature threshold for the county's severe weather shelter from 32 degrees to 40 degrees, recognizing that it had been "a relatively mild winter, even though it feels cold outside." This request prompted sharp pushback from Health and Community Services Director Erika Lautenbach, who delivered perhaps the meeting's most direct staff presentation. "We do not support raising the temperature threshold," she stated emphatically. "We made an agreement that we would we could afford to be open for 55 nights at most. We made an agreement that this would be severe weather only... If any of those agreements are now in the very middle of the winter season on the table, we have a real challenge meeting that need." Lautenbach painted a stark picture of what a 40-degree threshold would mean: "If we look at last year, if you were to raise the temperature threshold to 40 degrees, we would be operating in May for seven nights in May. It is very often 40 degrees or a little bit less for a lot of the year. So... it could be 150 nights a year, which is no longer severe weather and really no longer winter shelter." County Executive Satpal Sidhu offered the most pointed criticism of the council's approach: "What I see, Council Members are trying to justify that, let's just do it anyways. This is something, this is the fiscal responsibility. We just passed the budget. We just increased the taxes... You have to take money away from the other services." Sidhu continued with a broader critique of the approach to homelessness: "We only see the visible people who are homeless today who are out there. Council should think about that how many people who are on the verge of becoming homeless, and we are supporting them. And you pull the rug under from them to help these people." The executive's frustration was palpable: "We cannot tax our way out of the homelessness by at county or city level. It has to be something else and our national policies are not supporting what common local governments are supporting. And we are bleeding ourselves because we are compassionate." Council Member Tyler Bird offered the most colorful analogy against the proposal: "I feel like the broke 18 year old, they couldn't pay as rent. That's terrible with finances and budgeting... At the beginning of last year, we felt like, Hey, everything was fine. We had enough money to do these different programs... At which point it was a mad dash to figure out how do we cut programs? How do we increase taxes? How much can we possibly increase taxes?" The debate revealed fundamental divisions about the proper role and capacity of local government. Council Member Jon Scanlon framed it as a moral imperative: "I continue to support this. Even if I know that we do have agreements for this winter, I want to continue to push a little bit to see where we can get as a community to provide to make sure that we're reducing deaths in our community." The letter ultimately passed by a narrow 4-3 margin, with Donovan, Buchanan, Galloway, and Scanlon voting yes, and Elenbaas, Stremler, and Byrd voting no. ## Committee Appointments Marathon The meeting's final act was an extensive series of appointments to boards, commissions, and committees — 18 separate agenda items that consumed over an hour. While procedurally routine, these appointments represented dozens of community members seeking to engage constructively with local government at a time when faith in institutions was clearly strained. Notable appointments included the Board of Equalization, where complex geographic representation requirements led to extended parliamentary maneuvering. The Planning Commission saw contested races, with the council ultimately appointing Rud Browne (District 1), Dan Dunne, and Nicholas Greif. The Public Health Advisory Board appointments generated discussion about diversity and representation, with eight positions filled from 12 applicants. Council acting as the Board of Health appointed Ashley Thomasson, Guy Occhiogrosso, Chris Kobdish, Shannon Boustead, Kendra Cristelli, Sue Rodgers, Lara Welker, and Rachel McGarrity. Perhaps most notably, Parneet Kaur, the 24-year-old homeless outreach worker who had spoken so passionately during public comment, was appointed to the Justice Project Oversight and Planning Committee's youth position. ## Closing and What's Ahead The meeting finally adjourned at 11:46 p.m., nearly six hours after it began. The formal agenda had been completed, but the deeper questions raised during public testimony remained unanswered. How does a community balance compassion with accountability? What is the proper role of local government when faced with complex social problems that clearly transcend local boundaries? How do elected officials respond to constituents who feel fundamentally unsafe in their own community? The gun buyback program will return to committee for further discussion. The shelter expansion letter will move forward to the executive, setting up likely continued debate about resource allocation and priorities. And the dozens of newly appointed advisory committee members will begin their work on issues ranging from climate impact to surface mining to child welfare. But perhaps most significantly, the evening demonstrated something often absent from municipal government: genuine democratic engagement with the fundamental challenges facing communities across America. The testimony was raw, emotional, and sometimes uncomfortable, but it was also authentic — a real-time portrait of a community grappling with forces that seem beyond its control. Whether the council and executive can translate that energy into effective policy remains to be seen. But on this January evening, Whatcom County's democratic institutions did what they're supposed to do: they provided a forum for citizens to be heard, to demand better, and to insist that their government respond to the challenges of the moment, not just the comfortable routines of municipal administration. The meeting ended, but the conversation it sparked will likely continue in coffee shops, neighborhood meetings, and future council sessions throughout the year. In a time when many Americans have lost faith in their institutions, Whatcom County's residents showed up, spoke up, and demanded that democracy deliver something better than the status quo. Whether it can remains the county's defining challenge.