Whatcom County Council

The Whatcom County Council met for its first regular meeting of 2026 with all seven members present, processing a packed agenda that ranged from routine administrative business to urgent flood recovery advocacy. The meeting's most emotionally powerful moments came during public testimony, where flood victims from Sumas, Nooksack, and Everson delivered raw, desperate pleas for action on river management after repeated devastating floods. The technical work of the evening centered on numerous committee appointments, with the council appointing all 13 applicants to the Public Health Advisory Board and confirming 19 executive appointments to various advisory bodies. The council unanimously approved an ordinance allowing commercial food preparation on Lummi Island, responding to community advocacy from the operators of the Galley Cafe and the Gathering Place community center. This represented exactly how local government should work according to Council Member Scanlon—community identifies a zoning problem and brings it to council for resolution. The council also made a significant decision on the Justice Project Behavioral Care Center, voting 6-1 to proceed with an out-of-custody model at the Division Street location. The evening's most urgent testimony came from flood victims who spoke with increasing desperation about the lack of progress since the devastating floods of 2021 and the recent flooding in late 2025. Multiple residents described living in campers and RVs, eating from microwaves, watching their children suffer panic attacks, and facing the prospect of repeated flooding as waterway capacity appears to have diminished significantly. Jason Postma presented detailed data showing that river levels that historically never caused flooding in Sumas are now triggering major inundations, suggesting the community has lost approximately three feet of flood capacity. The meeting concluded with council members expressing determination to push for comprehensive flood solutions, with several emphasizing that "everything should be on the table" in terms of mitigation strategies. Council Member Scanlon noted that upcoming meetings next week would bring together various governmental entities to develop concrete recommendations that the community could then advocate for collectively.