Whatcom County Council Public Works & Health Committee

The Whatcom County Council Public Works & Health Committee received the first external performance audit and evaluation of the Healthy Children's Fund, conducted by SEVA Workshop. The presentation revealed significant findings about the fund's performance since its inception, particularly concerning the substantial unspent balance of taxpayer money. Of the $26 million collected through the voter-approved levy, only 31% has been encumbered (contracted) and just 11% has been dispersed (actually paid out) as of July 2025. This leaves approximately $18 million unspent, a figure that Council Member Todd Donovan described as "pretty stunning to people when they hear that." The evaluation found that spending has been consistently lower than planned across both administrative and programmatic categories. Despite the slow spending pace, SEVA Workshop Principal Vivian Savath reported that the fund is beginning to deliver results, with over 41,000 clients served, eight new infant childcare slots created, and an innovative flexible drop-in program providing 192 slot days monthly. However, the evaluation revealed that awareness of the fund's services remains low in the community, and providers have experienced frustration with unclear guidance and lengthy contracting timelines. The evaluation provided five key recommendation areas: longer-term strategic planning, improved interdepartmental processes, policy clarification, enhanced communications strategy, and increased administrative capacity. SEVA Workshop found that the fund has operated at about 25% of its allowed administrative capacity, suggesting that fuller staffing could accelerate program implementation. Health and Community Services Director Sarah Simpson defended the cautious approach, explaining that nearly $14 million in new contracts are in the pipeline through recent RFPs for capital projects ($5.5 million) and childcare subsidies ($9.4 million). The committee plans to reconvene in January to discuss the department's response to the evaluation's recommendations once the final report is released December 31st.

**AB2025-867 - SEVA Workshop Healthy Children's Fund Evaluation Presentation:** - Action: Presentation received (no vote required) - Content: External performance audit covering fund operations through July 31, 2025 - Key Finding: $18 million of $26 million collected remains unspent and unencumbered - Follow-up: Department to return in January with response to recommendations **Upcoming Actions Identified:** - Final evaluation report release: December 31, 2025 - Department response presentation: January 2026 (scheduled by Chair Scanlon) - Child and Family Well-Being Task Force meeting: December 15, 2025 (Council Member Buchanan attending)

**Vivian Savath, on fund performance:** "As of July, there is a significant unspent balance. Spending has been lower than planned." **Council Member Todd Donovan, on the unspent funds:** "We're sitting on $18 million out of $26 million that hasn't been spent. That's, I think, going to be pretty stunning to people when they hear that." **Sarah Simpson, on pipeline projects:** "We have an RFP that closed just recently for $5.5 million for capital projects, and so those things are rolling, and contracts are being developed, and award letters have been sent out. And then our subsidy RFP just closed, and we're going to send out award letters planning to about next week, and that's almost a $9.4 million project." **Vivian Savath, on capacity as a through line:** "Capacity, I would say, is really a through line. If you think about it, if we're considering fund spend as a performance measure, the Healthy Children's Fund spent about a quarter of what was allotted for admin and encumbered about 31% of program funds." **Ann Beck, on public fund stewardship:** "We are so cautious about public funds, and it is our job as county staff to make sure that we are using public funds to the best possible use in the appropriate settings, and we wanted to get this right from the beginning." **Vivian Savath, on childcare slot barriers:** "There were a lot of operational and legal questions going into what the county can fund... there was a lot of back and forth around the issue of the gift of public funds and what the county can or cannot fund."

# Whatcom County Committee Advances Lake Management Plan and Conservation Easement On a crisp December morning in Bellingham, Whatcom County's Climate Action and Natural Resources Committee gathered for what would prove to be a substantive session on environmental stewardship and agricultural preservation. Chair Kaylee Galloway called the hybrid meeting to order at 10:25 a.m., with committee members Todd Donovan and Mark Stremler present alongside the full council. ## Meeting Overview The committee faced an ambitious agenda with three significant items, each representing different facets of Whatcom County's approach to natural resource management. From the complex forestry challenges of the Lake Whatcom watershed to the urgent threat of invasive mussels and the delicate balance of preserving farmland while supporting agricultural families, the 56-minute meeting covered substantial ground in environmental policy. ## Lake Whatcom Watershed Forest Management Plan Unveiled The centerpiece presentation came from Matthew Schmidt of Northwest Natural Resource Group, who unveiled the culmination of a year-long planning process for managing 12,200 acres of forest land around Lake Whatcom. Bennett Knox, Parks and Recreation Director, introduced the presentation by emphasizing the collaborative nature of the effort with the City of Bellingham. "We appreciate Council putting this forward as funding to develop this forest management plan," Knox said, noting that the project was funded with Park Special Revenue funds and enhanced by the city's community engagement capacity. Schmidt walked the committee through what he described as a 30-year ecological forest management plan, designed around five core objectives: water quality protection, forest health and resiliency, wildfire resistance, wildlife habitat preservation, and recreational access. The primary objective remained water quality, given Lake Whatcom's role as a drinking water source for much of the region. The forester explained how the watershed's history shaped current conditions. "Forests in the watershed were originally stewarded by native peoples," Schmidt noted. "With the arrival of settlers in the 1850s, the primary forest began to be harvested." This led to a pattern where nearly all old-growth timber was removed by the 1950s, followed by natural regeneration, then secondary harvests in the 1980s-2010s that were replaced with Douglas fir plantations. Today's forest reflects this complex history: about 50% naturally regenerated second-growth forest, 10% plantations, and 35% mixed conifer and hardwood stands. Schmidt's assessment revealed that roughly half the watershed is already on a good trajectory to meet management objectives, while the other half—primarily overstocked young conifer stands and plantations—requires active management. The plan's recommendations center on two main strategies: variable density thinning and strategic planting. "Thinning mimics natural processes, reduces stress, allows trees to grow larger and in doing so accelerates stand development," Schmidt explained. The approach can be either commercial, where harvested trees are sold, or non-commercial, where cut material is left to decompose on the forest floor. Water quality protection remains paramount throughout the recommendations. Schmidt addressed sediment delivery concerns, noting that "modern forest regulations that have come out of the last 25 years are increased, you know, evidence is increasing that they're very good at limiting sediment delivery." The plan includes extensive road assessments and maintenance recommendations to prevent erosion during major storm events. When Council Member Ben Elenbaas asked whether the plan would pay for itself, Knox provided a realistic assessment: "The short answer is, it's not going to fully pay for itself, but there are prescriptions in here that could generate revenue and be used to offset costs." Some overstocked areas could support commercial thinning operations that would help fund other management activities. The implementation challenge loomed large. Knox explained that Parks and Recreation had prepared by adding a land management supervisor position, but acknowledged the substantial increase in departmental responsibilities. "We have been building towards this and look forward to working with the executive's office and council to bring this about," he said. Aly Pennucci from the Executive's Office noted that while adopting the plan wouldn't commit the county to every recommendation, it would provide direction for developing operational work plans. She acknowledged that no complete financial analysis existed yet, explaining that "adopting the plan doesn't mean you are adopting you are saying yes to every priority or every strategy." Council members pressed for more concrete fiscal information. Elenbaas specifically requested that future plans include fiscal notes so the council could understand financial trajectories before adoption. Knox assured the committee that when specific prescriptions move forward, "we will have additional analysis. There will be a further inventory of the stand conditions and we'd be able to give more information on the total costs associated with that action." ## Rapid Response Plan for Invasive Mussels The committee then turned to a more urgent threat: invasive freshwater mussels. Gary Stoyka from Public Works presented a rapid response plan developed collaboratively with the City of Bellingham and Lake Whatcom Water and Sewer District. The threat has grown more immediate recently. "In 2023, zebra and quagga muscles were discovered in the snake river in Idaho, which is now getting close to very close to us," Stoyka explained. Washington and Oregon remain the only states in the lower 48 without established infestations of these destructive species. A new concern emerged with the 2024 discovery of golden mussels in San Francisco Bay, adding another potentially devastating species to the watch list. These invasive mussels can wreak havoc on water infrastructure and ecosystem health if they become established. The response plan establishes clear roles and responsibilities. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife holds ultimate authority for addressing aquatic invasive species infestations, with the City of Bellingham serving as the primary local implementer. Whatcom County's role would be supportive, potentially including participation in response teams, information distribution, specific response actions, and possible enforcement of recreational use restrictions on Lake Whatcom. "The county's responsibilities and burdens would be relatively relatively low," Stoyka assured the committee. "We would be looking at, in most cases, minimal, minimal cost." Chair Galloway emphasized the critical importance of prevention, noting Lake Whatcom's multiple roles as "our drinking water source for about 50% of the county. It's our plan A. It's our plan B. It's our plan C. It's our plan D. Everything so much relies on like, welcome." The committee unanimously recommended the resolution for council approval, recognizing the plan's importance despite its hopefully unnecessary implementation. ## Agricultural Conservation Easement Approval The final substantive item addressed the intersection of agricultural preservation and family farming succession. Alexander Harris from Planning and Development Services presented a proposal for an 89-acre agricultural conservation easement on a dairy farm northwest of Lynden. Paul Schissler, chair of the Conservation Easement Program Oversight Committee, provided context on the program's evolution and current challenges. The committee had been gathering feedback from existing easement holders to improve the program and was working on a report about additional funding sources to address the shortage of local conservation futures revenue. Harris outlined five easements already in the pipeline, representing 1,200 acres and $3.8 million in total costs. Remarkably, the county had secured grant matches covering 78% of these costs, with only $842,000 coming from conservation futures funds. "We work really hard to look for state and federal matching sources so that our small conservation futures dollars don't get spent up too quickly," Harris explained. The Steensma family farm easement represented an exceptional opportunity, scoring higher than any previous application in the program's history. The property earned full points for soil quality and strong marks for water rights, combining excellent farming conditions with five development rights that would be extinguished. "This conservation easement will actually be a tool that's being used to help with the farmland succession," Harris explained. The next generation of the farming family wanted to continue and expand the dairy operation, and the easement would make the land more affordable by removing development potential. The funding structure demonstrated creative resource leveraging: roughly $525,000 from conservation futures, with additional support from the state Recreation and Conservation Office's farmland preservation program and the Department of Ecology's new Puget Sound Riparian Systems grant program. Council Member Elenbaas raised substantive concerns about conservation easements based on what he characterized as "unintended consequences" that could harm farming operations. "Any conservation easements in the future will take into account the ability to farm it now and into the future with general farming practises," he said, referencing comprehensive plan language he had proposed. His specific concerns included whether riparian easements would create additional setbacks beyond those required by fish-bearing stream regulations, potentially consuming more productive farmland. He also worried about restrictions on impervious surfaces and other limitations that might constrain future farming operations as the dairy industry continues to evolve. Harris acknowledged these were valid concerns, noting the easement hadn't been drafted yet but that the program tried to "leave a lot of elbow room for agriculture as much as possible." The biggest restrictions typically came from state funding sources, such as a 2-4% limitation on impervious surface coverage across the entire parcel. Karen Steensma, representing the farming family, joined the discussion remotely to provide the landowner's perspective. "Contiguous land in this part of the county is really rare for farmers," she explained. "It tends to stay on our road. It tends to stay in families for generations." The Steensma family had recently acquired an adjacent parcel with water rights dating to 1904, creating a substantial contiguous farming operation. "This has allowed us to say, okay, we do, we don't feel so constrained here by really development pressure land prices that we have an opportunity to move forward with the next generation," Steensma said. Her background in wildlife biology influenced the family's long-term stewardship approach. They had already been caring for wooded areas along the creek for years, making the riparian component of the easement a natural extension of existing practices. Council Member Stremler, who had discussed the project with John Steensma, Karen's husband, expressed strong support. "The whole family is just very excited about this and their dairy," he said. "It seems like those are all addressed and they're comfortable and very positive about this. So, I see this as a good move." The committee unanimously recommended the conservation easement for council approval, recognizing both the program's value and the need to continue refining its implementation to support rather than hinder agricultural operations. ## Closing & What's Ahead The meeting concluded at 11:21 a.m., slightly ahead of schedule, with all three major items receiving committee approval for advancement to the full council. Chair Galloway reminded members about ongoing opportunities for public service on various advisory committees, noting the pending vacancy on the Conservation Easement Program Oversight Committee as Schissler reaches his term limit. The session demonstrated the complex balancing act required in natural resource management, where ecological protection, agricultural viability, drinking water security, and economic sustainability must all be weighed carefully. Each agenda item represented years of planning, community engagement, and technical analysis, yet also opened new chapters requiring ongoing attention and resources. As the committee adjourned, the broader challenges remained: How to fund ambitious forest management plans? How to prevent ecological catastrophe from invasive species? How to preserve agricultural land while supporting farming families? The morning's work advanced these conversations substantially, but the real test would come in implementation and long-term stewardship of these critical natural resources.