Whatcom County Council

# The Human Face of Emergency Response: Whatcom County Council Authorizes Flood Relief for Vulnerable Children ## Meeting Overview On December 30, 2025, Whatcom County Council convened a special meeting that would prove to be more than just another government session—it was a gathering that captured the human cost of natural disaster and the urgent need for local government to step up when state and federal help remains uncertain. Called to order at 4:34 PM by Chair Kaylee Galloway, the hybrid meeting brought together all seven council members for one singular purpose: to consider Resolution AB2025-872, which would authorize the use of up to $750,000 from the Healthy Children's Fund to provide flood relief assistance for families with vulnerable children. The resolution was sponsored by Councilmembers Mark Stremler and Barry Buchanan, both of whom had witnessed firsthand the devastation left behind by the recent storm events that struck Whatcom County. The meeting would unfold over 57 minutes, revealing not just the mechanics of emergency funding, but the deeply personal experiences that drive public servants to action when their community faces crisis. ## A Christmas Tree on the Pile: The Genesis of Emergency Action The resolution's origins lay not in policy papers or budget discussions, but in a profound moment of human witness. Councilmember Mark Stremler began his presentation with a story that would resonate throughout the chamber: "Well, for me, it really started about eight o'clock one morning when myself and three others were assigned to help out at a couple homes in Nooksack. And this was the morning after the Waters had gone down. So we get there at eight o'clock and there's nobody around. Everybody had left their homes for higher ground, let's say." Stremler painted a picture of devastation that was both specific and universal—the scene that greets disaster volunteers and victims alike when the waters recede and the work of recovery begins. But it was one particular image that crystallized his resolve: "So the one house that we started on, it was a single mom, two young boys. I would call them very strong young men, because they started to haul their own belongings that were completely ruined, bringing them out of the house, bringing them out to the curb and dumping them there. And probably the most incredible scene was seeing one of them carry their Christmas tree out of the house and just throwing it on the pile." This moment—a child's Christmas tree joining the growing mountain of flood-damaged possessions—became the catalyst for what would unfold in the council chamber. "Well, it wasn't too long, and that entire street was just overwhelmed with debris that was coming out of homes," Stremler continued, "and so we proceeded to tear out all the flooring on to the next house." The councilmember's voice carried the weight of witness as he explained his transformation from observer to advocate: "I'm like, these people have a need, and they have a need right now. And since then, any assistance from the state or the federal government at this point, the way I see it, is unsure. Don't know. We've heard promises, but I'm not holding my breath, I guess, say it that way." ## The Network of Recovery: Building on Experience Stremler's personal awakening connected with existing infrastructure built from previous disasters. He had been working with the Whatcom Long Term Recovery Group—an organization seasoned by the 2021 flood and continuing their work ever since. "I am very confident that they have been doing a stellar job out there with the people," he said. "They they know what they're doing. They did it in the 21 flood, and kind of have been working on it ever since then, and now we're back at it again." This wasn't amateur hour—this was a community that had learned hard lessons about disaster response and was applying that knowledge to a new crisis. The councilmember's advocacy grew from direct observation of this competence: "I've been in communication with the long term recovery group, well, just on a personal level, working with them, you know, volunteering, but then also, you know, asking them what the needs are, the immediate needs." Co-sponsor Barry Buchanan added practical details to this foundation: "I did ask the group, the long term recovery group, to give us a plan on how they would use the money, and they have submitted that to us. I think it was early Monday morning or or Sunday or something, but it shows how that money could support the families that have been displaced." ## The Machinery of Emergency Response As the council moved deeper into discussion, the meeting revealed the complex apparatus that Whatcom County has built for disaster response. Deputy Executive Kayla Schott-Bresler explained the administrative structure: "All sort of disaster response and recovery contracts are flowing through dem Incident Command out at the EOC, and so we would expect any funds provided for human services needs would would flow through that same structure and be supported by the Human Services team at the health department." Sheriff Donnell Tanksley provided another layer of field perspective, sharing his own encounter with flood damage: "I did spend quite a bit of time in Everson, Sue mass and Nooksack, and I had the experience of just stopping on patrol at a house to help a family, and spent about an hour, hour and a half there, and my testimony is that when I walked into their living room and they wanted to move the floor tiles, only thing I saw was mud." The sheriff's account echoed Stremler's—the visceral reality of homes filled with mud, of families whose basic shelter had been fundamentally compromised. "Once we shoveled the mud out, then we got to the floor tiles and so on, and then we took out kitchen cabinets and things like that," he continued, building a picture of the scope of work required to make homes habitable again. Like Stremler, the sheriff emphasized the uncertainty of higher-level assistance: "I will tell you that there are many families here in Whatcom County suffering from the floods. There are many children suffering as well. So you have my support 100% to use any available local funds. Council member stremler, I believe, is right in that waiting on state funds or federal funds, I just don't know if and when those funds might come in." ## The Scale of Need: 575 Families and Counting The meeting took on greater urgency as Amy Rydel from Whatcom County Health and Community Services provided concrete numbers to what had been powerful but anecdotal accounts. Her team had been operating from the Emergency Operations Center for three weeks, working on flood response through the Human Services Branch. "I can say that the needs that we're seeing are a lot around, of course, housing, more around basic needs, too, than we were expecting. A lot around food," Rydel reported. "You know, we're seeing people who, you know, we've got really strong partnerships with the what come, long term recovery group and the North sound Ach, and there's a really good referral pathway that's happening between those two entities." The scale became clear in her numbers: "I did have my team just run some numbers about how many children with families ages zero to five, we've seen kind of come through our intake process, and I can say that we've personally connected with over 575 folks who have reached out to us to let us know that they need help in some way of that we've got about 37 of those are families with children that are ages zero to five, so would fit within the requirements of the fund for assistance." This wasn't just emergency response—it was long-term displacement. Rydel explained the housing reality: "One of the things that we had out of the last flood, we had folks in hotels for up to nine months after the 21 flood, the need for temporary housing is going to be long, but we also don't want to discount the need for, you know, immediate food assistance, things like that." ## The Funding Bridge: Who Pays While We Wait The conversation revealed a crucial aspect of disaster response that often goes unnoticed—the financial bridge that organizations provide while waiting for official assistance. Councilmember John Scanlon pressed for details about current funding mechanisms, uncovering a story of organizational courage and risk-taking. "Right now, housing is being funded through the northbound Ach, through their budget, their board has approved some what we're thinking of as kind of bridge funding, so they understand that in making this commitment, that there is a possibility that they will not get reimbursed," Rydel explained. "So that's something that we're working with them really closely to monitor how long that they can float those costs." The North Sound Accountable Community of Health wasn't just providing services—they were gambling their own resources on the belief that reimbursement would eventually come. "They're well poised for for whatever we worked with them in the last response. And so they, you know, so they were reimbursed through when we received state and federal aid. And they understand the possibility that that may not be an option this time. And they, like I said, have been willing to sort of float those costs and front those costs, realizing that they may never, you know, recover these costs." The Community Foundation added another layer to this bridge funding, collecting money through their resiliency fund and small business fund. As Rydel put it: "So right now, it's through our local philanthropic dollars in individual donations." ## Legal Complexities and Healthy Children's Fund Parameters As the discussion progressed, legal complexities began to surface. The Healthy Children's Fund wasn't general county money—it was a specific fund with particular legal parameters and restrictions. County attorney Kimberly Thulin carefully explained the legal landscape: "The resolution that's before the body today for decision is really the shows Council's intention to support the use of the healthy Children's Fund expenditure up to $750,000 for purposes that fall within the scope of that fund, because there are legal parameters to that, and that would then go to the executive to because there is an emergency proclamation that still in his existence. Since we're still suffering from the disaster of the flood, they would then be subject to those rules with respect to contracting with for particular services." Thulin emphasized that the resolution was more symbolic than binding: "The resolution shows the intention. It doesn't have the force of law, and it's not authorizing the actual expenditure of funds." This legal framework became important as the council grappled with questions about reimbursement and future obligations. The fund had specific requirements about vulnerable children ages zero to five, and there were questions about what would happen if state or federal funds eventually arrived. ## Political Undercurrents: The Levy Lawsuit An unexpected political dimension emerged when Councilmember Tyler Byrd raised concerns about connections between the Long Term Recovery Group and ongoing legal challenges to the Healthy Children's Fund levy itself. "A number of the people involved in that group, as far as leadership and management goes, are also people that are actively involved in the lawsuit as it relates to this, the childcare Levy," he noted. The question had two parts: would there be a conflict of interest, and could the expenditure of these funds be used as evidence in the court case challenging the levy's validity? It was a delicate political moment that revealed how even emergency responses can intersect with ongoing policy disputes. Attorney Thulin provided reassurance: "As to the latter part of your question, with respect to the issue that's currently pending in the court of appeals on the ballot measure, I don't believe that that has any impact, because it's purely a legal issue that's before the court." She emphasized that the resolution would not create legal conflicts, and that any eventual contracts would still be subject to proper legal and financial review. ## The Interest Buffer: $1.5 Million and Growing Councilmember Stremler introduced a financial reality that shifted the entire conversation: the Healthy Children's Fund was generating substantial interest that flowed back into the fund itself. "That fund itself has generated over $1.5 million of interest that goes right back into that fund," he revealed. This changed the calculus significantly. "So I do not see how, if we went with the 750 how that's going to impact that fund, when this interest money continues to come in," Stremler argued. The implication was clear—the fund was robust enough to handle this emergency expenditure without compromising its long-term mission. This financial context gave weight to his broader argument about priorities: "We need to help these people, and we need to help them now, and whatever it takes, I think we need to make happen. I saw the county step up with the solid waste that's been, you know, accumulated out there, and I applaud the county for getting on top of that and being a part of that. And that happened like, I don't want to say, overnight, but darn near. So I really hope that the same attitude can happen with this, because those families, they need it, you know, tomorrow." ## The Philosophy of Emergency Response As the debate progressed, deeper philosophical questions emerged about the role of local government in disaster response. Councilmember Ben Elenbaas provided perhaps the most direct statement of priorities: "I guess in my mind, I don't really care what we're going to give up in the long run for the our Child and Family Well Being action plan, because right now, that doesn't matter to any of those zero to five year old kids who don't have a home or don't know where their food is going to come from." This sentiment—immediate human need trumps long-term planning—became a recurring theme. Elenbaas continued: "I don't really need the answer to that question of, what are we going to give up on the long run? Because right now, these folks are worried about basic needs like a roof and food, and so I'm prepared to support it without all of those details." His confidence in existing organizations reflected Stremler's earlier observations: "Knowing that the groups we have in place are very competent and, unfortunately, very experienced in in doing this recovery work." ## Legal Amendments and Technical Details The meeting's final phase involved careful legal amendments to ensure the resolution met legal requirements while preserving the council's intent. Attorney Thulin proposed specific language changes to address reimbursement requirements and legal parameters. The key change involved making clear that if state or federal disaster relief funds eventually arrived, they would be used to reimburse the Healthy Children's Fund expenditures. This wasn't about forcing reimbursement, but about complying with legal requirements that prevented "double dipping"—using multiple funding sources for the same assistance. Chair Galloway proposed changing problematic language from "may" to "supports" in describing the county's commitment to reimbursement. After some discussion about the precise wording, the council settled on language that expressed support for reimbursement while avoiding overly binding commitments. Two amendment votes proceeded, both passing 6-1 with Councilmember Todd Donovan dissenting. Donovan's opposition wasn't to the underlying resolution, but to what he saw as unnecessary tinkering with minor wording changes: "I really can't see the substantive difference in what we're doing with these very minor wording changes. So I'm voting no, just because this just seems kind of silly and trivial." ## Final Passage and Future Commitment The amended resolution passed unanimously, 7-0, with even Donovan supporting the final version. The unanimous vote represented more than procedural agreement—it reflected the council's recognition that emergency response transcends typical political divisions. Deputy Director Matt Klein from Emergency Management provided a final assurance that spoke to the professional competence underlying the political decision: "As we learn of federal funds or state funds that are available for reimbursement, and as we continue to work through both the individual assistance SBA and the public assistance process, we're going to be pursuing every avenue possible to reimburse county expenditures." Klein's commitment extended beyond this specific resolution: "We're doing our best to make sure the county dollars that are expended on the response are tracked in such a way that we can pursue reimbursement where it comes up." ## Closing: The Weight of Witness Chair Galloway's closing remarks captured both the immediate necessity and the structural reality of disaster response: "I think it's really important to understand that our local revenue structures can't support massive emergency response and recovery costs. So we do need our state and federal partners to come through. But I think if we can use local funds to to urge that along and to help families now, then that's, that's, that's good. We should do that." The meeting adjourned at 5:31 PM, having accomplished more than just authorizing expenditure of funds. It had revealed the human face of disaster response—from the child carrying a ruined Christmas tree to the sheriff shoveling mud from a living room floor to the county health worker fielding calls from 575 displaced families. Most importantly, it had demonstrated how effective emergency response requires both the competence of experienced organizations and the political will of elected officials willing to act when higher levels of government remain uncertain. In 57 minutes, Whatcom County Council had bridged the gap between individual tragedy and collective response, authorizing not just money, but hope for families whose immediate future had been washed away by flood waters. The resolution would now move to the executive for implementation, carrying with it the weight of witnessed suffering and the promise of a community that refuses to wait for distant help when local action can make a difference today.