📋 City Council Regular Meeting
Mayor's Neighborhood Advisory Commission
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Meeting Summary
The presentation highlighted significant developments in the region's health and human services landscape, including new mobile medical units providing medication-assisted treatment stationed at Division Street, Lummi Nation's groundbreaking ceremony for a secure withdrawal management center, and ongoing coordination efforts around encampment responses. Jason emphasized the complexity of addressing homelessness, noting that while Bellingham is a "passionate and empathetic community," the issues require nuanced approaches that balance compassion with public safety concerns.
A major portion of the meeting focused on potential federal funding impacts to city services, with Mayor Strickland revealing that Bellingham could lose over $5 million in Medicaid reimbursement for EMS transport services, which would equate to 32 full-time positions — nearly 20% of the fire and EMS department. Senator Maria Cantwell's office had contacted the city that same day requesting quantification of these vulnerabilities.
The discussion also covered the severe weather shelter operations, which have been staffed by overworked county employees due to lack of qualified organizations willing to operate emergency shelters. The county had put out a request for proposals to run the winter shelter but received no responses, highlighting broader challenges in staffing and supporting these critical services.
Study Guide
## MODULE S1: STUDY GUIDE
**Meeting ID:** BEL-MNA-2025-02-19
### Meeting Overview
The Bellingham Mayor's Neighborhood Advisory Commission met on February 19, 2025, with Mayor Satya at City Hall. The meeting featured a detailed presentation by Jason Kvistberg, the city's new Strategic Initiatives Manager for Health and Human Services, who discussed his work coordinating services for the unhoused community. The commission also discussed potential federal funding impacts on city services.
### Key Terms and Concepts
**Strategic Initiatives Manager (Health and Human Services):** A newly created position at the City of Bellingham focused on coordinating health and human services partnerships between the city, county, and nonprofit agencies. Jason Kvistberg holds this role and his salary is funded through opioid settlement money.
**Alternative Response Team (ART):** A specialized team that responds to mental health crises and other non-emergency situations, providing an alternative to traditional police response.
**Ground Level Response and Coordinated Engagement (GRACE):** A street medicine team that provides wound care and medical treatment to people in encampments.
**Functional Zero:** A goal where a city or county maintains the capacity to house any unsheltered person within one month, keeping the number of unsheltered homeless below that capacity threshold at all times.
**Continuum of Care (CoC) Dollars:** Federal funding that flows from the federal level through state agencies to support homelessness services and housing programs.
**23-Hour Crisis Stabilization Center:** A planned facility that would serve as an emergency room diversion for people in behavioral health crisis, currently in development.
**Designated Crisis Responders (DCR):** Mental health professionals who handle involuntary treatment assessments for people experiencing mental health crises.
**Keep Washington Working Act:** State legislation that limits local government cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, recently prompting the city to form a compliance working group.
### Key People at This Meeting
| Name | Role / Affiliation |
|---|---|
| Mayor Satya | Mayor of Bellingham |
| Jason Kvistberg | Strategic Initiatives Manager, Health and Human Services |
| Janice | Mayor's Office staff member |
| Jake Charlton | Happy Valley neighborhood representative |
| Michael | City Council member |
| Councilmember (unnamed) | Streets neighborhood representative |
| April | Commission member |
| Raman | Beach Neighborhood Association representative |
### Background Context
The City of Bellingham created the Strategic Initiatives Manager position to better coordinate health and human services work, which had previously fallen to the community development department at an opportunity cost to economic development efforts. This role serves as a dedicated liaison between the city, Whatcom County (which has constitutional responsibility for health and human services), and nonprofit service providers.
The meeting occurred during a period of uncertainty about federal funding cuts that could significantly impact local services. The city identified over $5 million in potential losses from Medicaid reimbursements alone, which would equal roughly 32 full-time positions in fire and EMS departments.
Jason's work focuses heavily on encampment management, coordinating with service providers to ensure people have access to services before encampment clearances occur. This represents a shift toward more humane and coordinated approaches to addressing homelessness.
### What Happened — The Short Version
Jason Kvistberg gave a comprehensive presentation about his first four months as the city's health and human services coordinator. He explained how he's been building relationships with local service providers, riding along with outreach teams, and working to coordinate services before encampment actions. He described the complexity of addressing homelessness and addiction, noting that it requires balancing compassion for vulnerable people with neighborhood safety concerns.
The commission learned about Jason's role on multiple regional committees, including the Justice Project oversight committee, housing advisory groups, and the opioid abatement council. He outlined upcoming priorities like planning additional tiny home villages and exploring embedded behavioral health services with police.
Mayor Satya then discussed potential impacts from federal funding cuts, particularly a freeze on $3.6 billion nationally in homelessness funding and potential elimination of Medicaid reimbursements that provide $5 million annually to Bellingham's fire and EMS services.
The meeting concluded with discussion of the city's process for diversifying advisory board membership by requiring all members to reapply for their positions.
### What to Watch Next
- Jason's meeting with police leadership about expanding bike patrol coverage around Lighthouse Mission
- Progress on relocating existing tiny home villages to new northwest location
- Development of the 23-hour crisis stabilization center
- Federal funding decisions affecting local homelessness and health services
- Implementation of the new advisory board reapplication process
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