Whatcom County Council Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee

# Real Briefings — Whatcom County Criminal Justice Committee Meeting ## Meeting Overview The Whatcom County Council's Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee convened on Tuesday, December 9, 2025, at 12:45 PM in a hybrid format at the County Courthouse. Committee Chair Barry Buchanan presided over the 38-minute session, joined by committee members Tyler Byrd and Jon Scanlon. Other council members in attendance included Todd Donovan and Mark Stremler. This was a working committee meeting focused on two key agenda items: a comprehensive annual report from the Sheriff's Office delivered by Undersheriff Steve Harris, and a critical discussion about location options for the county's proposed behavioral care center. The behavioral health discussion represents a significant decision point for the county's broader justice infrastructure project, with a January deadline looming for final determinations. ## Sheriff's Office 2025 Annual Report Undersheriff Steve Harris opened the meeting by delivering a comprehensive overview of the Sheriff's Office operations throughout 2025, noting that Sheriff Donnell "Tank" Tanksley was attending crisis intervention team training — itself a reflection of the department's commitment to mental health-focused policing approaches. Harris painted a picture of an agency facing persistent staffing challenges while maintaining high service levels across multiple divisions. "Staffing remains a challenge in 2025 and with nine frozen positions, 2026 will also have challenges," he reported. "However, we're very thankful in our ability to onboard a dozen staff this year and the commitments that they've made to our community." The gains were offset by significant losses through retirements, resignations, and the unexpected death of longtime employee Altavia Chapman. The undersheriff highlighted several operational achievements that demonstrate the breadth of modern law enforcement responsibilities. Search and rescue missions nearly doubled from 38 in 2023 to 74 in 2025, reflecting both increased recreational activity in the county and the department's expanding role in emergency response. The Civil Division experienced a 33% increase in serving court documents, while the records division processed over 2,500 public disclosure requests — a substantial administrative burden that speaks to both transparency demands and the complexity of modern policing. Traffic enforcement remained robust, with deputies investigating 443 reportable collisions during the year, including six fatal and 15 serious injury crashes. Harris reported more than 5,700 infractions and over 800 criminal traffic citations issued, though this achievement was somewhat tempered by Council Member Byrd's pointed question about prosecutor follow-through. "How much does it frustrate you that the prosecuting attorney's office doesn't staff the infraction desk, so a lot of those get dismissed?" Byrd asked, highlighting a systemic problem where law enforcement work doesn't translate to judicial outcomes. "Yeah, it's frustrating that we do the work, and you're right," Harris acknowledged. "Unfortunately, they're facing their own issues that I will let Eric Richie or prosecutor comment on, but it is a frustration for us." The report showcased the department's technological modernization, including the implementation of GovQA for streamlined public records management and an expanded drone program that flew 183 missions during the year for suspect apprehension, crime scene documentation, and search operations. The canine program served as a regional asset with more than 200 deployments, while specialized units like SWAT conducted security assessments at all Mount Baker and Meridian school district facilities. Harris emphasized the department's focus on community-oriented policing, particularly through neighborhood deputy programs in Birch Bay and the foothills area, and a dedicated resident deputy for Point Roberts providing full-time coverage to that remote community. The corrections bureau demonstrated a strong commitment to professional development, logging over 5,700 hours of staff training and implementing new national certification programs. Jail alternatives programs reduced incarceration needs by an estimated 8,200 bed days, while inmate work crews contributed nearly 16,000 labor hours to county and civic projects, removing more than 92,000 pounds of debris while supporting local organizations. Emergency management activities included updates to major planning documents and preparation for the FIFA 2026 soccer tournament. The division responded to numerous incidents throughout the year, including what Harris called the "now almost infamous bee spill, in which millions of bees were released when a truck overturned on one of our county roadways" — a reminder that emergency management encompasses everything from natural disasters to agricultural mishaps. Harris concluded by thanking departing council members Tyler Byrd and Todd Donovan for their service, and expressed staff excitement about the future sheriff's office location being secured through the ongoing justice project. ## Behavioral Care Center Location Decision The committee's second agenda item addressed a critical decision point in the county's justice infrastructure planning: determining the location for a proposed behavioral care center that represents a key component of the broader incarceration prevention strategy. Deputy Executive Kayla Schott-Bresler provided essential context before the technical presentation. A behavioral care work group had recommended an "out of custody" model located at the county's Division Street campus, while both the Incarceration Prevention and Reduction Task Force (IPRTF) and the Finance and Facility Advisory Board had endorsed the out-of-custody approach without yet recommending a specific location. "To keep the program on track, we're going to need a decision from the council by the second meeting in January," Schott-Bresler explained, establishing the urgency behind the day's discussion. Adam Johnson, Senior Project Manager with STV, emphasized that his presentation represented "a placeholder program and site test fits" rather than final design work. "This is not the final product. This is not what it's going to end up looking like," he cautioned, describing the analysis as an exercise to determine whether proposed programs could fit at various sites using industry standard space programming. The analysis examined three potential locations, each with distinct advantages and challenges. ### The Work Release Center Option The first option involved repurposing the current work release center on Division Street, adjacent to the Anne Deacon Center for Hope. Johnson identified this as potentially "one of the more cost effective solutions" since infrastructure already exists. "Big pro is that there's already a building there. So you have all your infrastructure there. You have your electrical, your mechanical, all your plumbing, your services are already there in a building. You don't have to build a new building," Johnson explained. However, significant challenges emerged. The existing warehouse-style building lacks the natural lighting required for residential behavioral health treatment, creating potential structural engineering problems. "It's a precast concrete built up building, and creating the amount of daylight space that's required for this type of building could pose a challenge," Johnson noted. More critically, this option would delay the project substantially. The work center couldn't be converted until after the new jail is completed, staffed, and operational — pushing the behavioral care center opening to 2030. Council Member Byrd probed the structural feasibility: "Is there a way to get some answers on the structural engineering questions that would be needed for the work center before making a decision?" Johnson confirmed that additional investigation would be needed, while Deputy Executive Schott-Bresler suggested the council should first determine whether they're seriously considering the work center option given its timeline implications. ### Division Street New Construction The second option would construct a purpose-built facility on vacant Division Street property originally intended for a 23-hour crisis center. This approach would allow optimal design for behavioral health care, including proper daylighting and therapeutic environments. "The big, the first big pro that we have is that we can purpose build behavioral care center on the site, which allows for all the proper daylighting," Johnson explained. The facility could potentially begin construction in tandem with the jail project, enabling diversion programs to start earlier. Site constraints include the narrow property configuration and some unresolved issues with the City of Bellingham regarding wetlands and stormwater management. The location would still provide proximity to existing behavioral health services at the Anne Deacon Center. ### La Bounty Site with the Jail The third option would locate the behavioral care center at the La Bounty site alongside the new jail facility. This option provides the greatest design flexibility and could accommodate future expansion, but comes with the highest construction costs due to poor soils requiring deep foundations and extensive wetland mitigation. Council Member Donovan raised a critical concern about this location: "Am I remembering correctly, that there were some advantages to not locating near the jail from that was some from the recommendations we got?" Chair Buchanan confirmed: "There was a stigma issue, number one, that was one of the issues. And the other one is the, of course, the proximity to other behavioral health units on that property." ### Financial Analysis and Timeline Implications The cost comparison revealed significant differences both in construction expenses and timeline impacts. Johnson's analysis showed the work center renovation as least expensive, the Division Street new construction as moderately priced, and the La Bounty site as most costly due to site preparation requirements. However, the timeline analysis proved equally important. While the work center offered potential cost savings, its delayed availability until 2030 would substantially impact the county's ability to implement diversion programs during the critical early years of jail operation. Council Member Byrd explored the implications of cost differences: "I'm wondering in the cost difference between these so the lower cost there for the work center, what could we potentially do with that cost savings? Where would you allocate that to the rest of the project?" Deputy Executive Schott-Bresler provided a nuanced response: "I wouldn't necessarily also call this cost savings. These costs are probably more than we originally anticipated spending on this project." She noted that while saving money benefits the overall project, the executive supports the advisory committees' recommendation for the Division Street campus location. Council Member Byrd then raised the work center's market value as a factor: "What is the market value of the work center if we sold the building?" While specific figures weren't immediately available, staff indicated the value could be $6-8 million, representing significant potential revenue if the building were sold rather than repurposed. ### Alternative Approaches and Future Planning The discussion opened consideration of additional options. Council Member Byrd suggested exploring acquisition of an existing building better suited for behavioral health care than the work center, potentially allowing the county to sell the work center and purchase a more appropriate facility. Deputy Executive Schott-Bresler acknowledged this possibility while noting it would require clearer direction from the council about preferred approaches to avoid indefinite delay of all options. Rob Ney from Administrative Services provided important context about the work center's current value and future potential. The building houses not only jail operations but also the county's only warehouse and various other services. "There's all kinds of things that we could do with this building," he noted, while expressing professional skepticism about renovation costs: "I don't know that this isn't as inexpensive as it appears on paper." Schott-Bresler outlined the broader vision for behavioral health services integration: "The community goal has been to build out this Division Street Campus as a true continuum of care. And there are other services, such as youth and patient treatment, pharmacy services, intensive outpatient treatment and other things that could be located in the work center in the future." This perspective framed the decision as not just about immediate needs but about long-term development of comprehensive behavioral health infrastructure. ## Closing & What's Ahead Chair Buchanan concluded the meeting by confirming the January timeline for decision-making on both the custody model and location questions. "Council so you heard deputy executives, we are going to be looking at this at the second meeting in January to make some sort of a decision," he announced, inviting council members to meet with staff during the intervening month to prepare for that critical choice. The meeting adjourned at 1:23 PM, leaving the committee with substantial information to digest and a complex decision that will significantly impact the county's approach to behavioral health care and incarceration prevention. The choice involves not just immediate construction considerations but fundamental questions about how the county integrates behavioral health services, manages public resources, and implements its broader justice reform vision. The January decision will need to balance cost considerations, timeline implications, therapeutic effectiveness, and community acceptance — all while advancing the county's commitment to reducing incarceration through improved behavioral health interventions. The discussion revealed the complexity of translating policy goals into operational reality, particularly when existing infrastructure, budget constraints, and community needs must be carefully balanced.