Whatcom County  
Council (Special)  
COUNTY COURTHOUSE  
311 Grand Avenue, Ste #105  
Bellingham, WA 98225-4038  
(360) 778-5010  
Minutes - Draft Minutes  
Tuesday, May 5, 2026  
8:45 AM  
Hybrid Meeting - Council Chambers  
HYBRID MEETING - ADJOURNS BY 10:10 A.M. (PARTICIPATE IN-PERSON,  
SEE REMOTE JOIN INSTRUCTIONS AT www.whatcomcounty.us/joinvirtualcouncil,  
OR CALL 360.778.5010)  
COUNCILMEMBERS  
Elizabeth Boyle  
Barry Buchanan  
Ben Elenbaas  
Kaylee Galloway  
Jessica Rienstra  
Jon Scanlon  
Mark Stremler  
CLERK OF THE COUNCIL  
Cathy Halka, AICP, CMC  
Call To Order  
Roll Call  
Council Chair Kaylee Galloway called the meeting to order at 8:46 a.m. in a  
hybrid meeting.  
7 -  
Present:  
Elizabeth Boyle, Barry Buchanan, Ben Elenbaas, Kaylee Galloway, Jessica  
Rienstra, Jon Scanlon, and Mark Stremler  
Announcements  
Committee Discussion and Action  
AB2026-340  
1.  
Resolution establishing a preliminary planning budget cap, affirming governing  
commitments, and providing recommendations to the administration from the  
Whatcom County Council on the capital construction of the Whatcom County Jail and  
Behavioral Care Center  
Scanlon moved to approve the Substitute Resolution dated 5.5.2026.  
Boyle seconded the motion.  
Scanlon stated that he worked on updating the resolution with  
Councilmembers Boyle and Rienstra following the Council meeting on  
April 28. He provided an overview of changes made from the previous  
version of the document, such as the inclusion of a list of items Council  
would like to see prior to any debt authorization.  
Rienstra stated that they also added a request that the Executive present a  
model of a proportionally reduced jail footprint if the 50 percent floor for  
community services cannot be met within the given budget and current  
market conditions.  
Scanlon continued to highlight changes made from the previous version of  
the resolution.  
Boyle moved to amend the resolution by making changes to the bullet points  
(on page 5) as follows:  
·
Request the IPRTF/Law and Justice Council (LJC) to develop  
additional recommendations to fund the Justice Project  
Implementation Plan services, projects, and programs enumerated in  
ILA Part II, Section 3(e), including but not limited to the use of  
proceeds from any future sale of the LaBounty Road property, if  
such option is feasible, as well as grants, reimbursements, and  
excess revenue above conservative baselines; and  
·
Request the Executive to coordinate state budget lobbying efforts  
and federal appropriations lobbying efforts between the cities and  
the County to supplement local funding available for the services,  
projects, and programs in the Justice Project Implementation Plan;  
and  
Scanlon seconded the motion.  
Councilmembers discussed the motion.  
Kimberly Thulin, Prosecuting Attorney's Office, suggested adding "as  
permitted by law" to the second bullet point.  
Boyle amended her motion to add “as permitted by law” to the end of the  
second bullet point so that the bullet points read as follows:  
·
Request the IPRTF/Law and Justice Council (LJC) to develop  
additional recommendations to fund the Justice Project  
Implementation Plan services, projects, and programs enumerated in  
ILA Part II, Section 3(e), including but not limited to the use of  
proceeds from any future sale of the LaBounty Road property, if  
such option is feasible, as well as grants, reimbursements, and  
excess revenue above conservative baselines; and  
·
Request the Executive to coordinate state budget lobbying efforts  
and federal appropriations lobbying efforts between the cities and  
the County to supplement local funding available for the services,  
projects, and programs in the Justice Project Implementation Plan,  
as permitted by law; and  
Elenbaas stated that he would like to hear the cities’ input on the resolution.  
Satpal Sidhu, County Executive, stated that the resolution is not grounded in  
reality, and there are not enough resources to implement everything. He  
said the resolution seems to dismiss stakeholders such as the sheriff, the  
police chiefs, the design team, and the Executive's Office.  
Scanlon stated that speakers should not speculate about motivations.  
Sidhu stated that he does not want to be part of the project because it is  
doomed to fail due to Council interference.  
Elenbaas asked if they could hear from the other elected officials in the  
room.  
Galloway stated she would prefer to have the officials speak to the whole  
resolution rather than an individual amendment.  
The motion to amend carried by the following vote:  
Aye: 6 - Boyle, Buchanan, Galloway, Rienstra, Scanlon, and Elenbaas  
Nay: 1 - Stremler  
Scanlon stated that another change from the previous resolution was a  
request for continued investment in a data dashboard. The resolution also  
made changes to the final "be it resolved" statement.  
Elenbaas stated that the resolution does not seem to address the issues he  
has heard raised by city officials and others.  
Scanlon stated that he agrees with the critique of the work, including that  
the updated resolution was only released to the public that morning. He said  
that if Council is not ready to vote yet, they can take more time, as the  
budget cap has already been approved.  
Galloway invited the city mayors to speak.  
Kim Lund, City of Bellingham Mayor, said the mayors are responsible for  
upholding the laws of the state, which requires a right-sized jail. She stated  
that the mayors are willing to collaborate, but they are feeling unheard in  
this process. Lund said that there are concerns about the bullet point in the  
resolution requesting planning for a reduced jail footprint if the 50 percent  
behavioral health funding target cannot be met.  
Greg Hansen, City of Ferndale Mayor, stated that Ferndale residents voted  
for a right-sized, humane jail without booking restrictions, noting that  
Ferndale would struggle to sign an interlocal agreement that cannot  
guarantee the removal of booking restrictions.  
John Perry, City of Everson Mayor, stated that the jail has been a topic of  
conversation for the 17 years he has been in office. He said his biggest job  
as mayor is public safety, and the project began because there was a shared  
understanding that a new jail was necessary, but there is a sense that is now  
being de-prioritized.  
Mary Lou Steward, City of Blaine Mayor, stated that every day that a  
decision is delayed increases the cost of the jail.  
Roger Funk, City of Blaine Police Chief, stated that he has been in law  
enforcement for 30 years, and the need for a new jail has been under  
discussion for that entire time. He said an individual was re-arrested three  
times recently but could not be booked into jail because of capacity  
limitations.  
Scott Korthuis, City of Lynden Mayor, stated that the bulk of the  
community voted for a larger size jail for public safety.  
Galloway stated that each person has a perspective about why voters  
approved the ballot measure in 2023, but no one has the full picture, as  
voters have individual motivations.  
Donnell Tanksley, Whatcom County Sheriff, said the county has been  
working on this project for many years and the goal posts keep changing. He  
said he feels he has been symbolically added to committees, but his voice is  
not valued, and he was not consulted about the concept of a proportionally  
reduced jail footprint size. He stated that it is impossible to provide a report  
regarding projected operational costs of the jail given that he does not know  
how big it will be, how many beds it will have, etc.  
Elenbaas stated he would like to hear from the Bellingham Police  
Department.  
Rebecca Mertzig, City of Bellingham Chief of Police, stated that the  
community expects compassion and accountability, and it's possible to do  
both, and it requires a right-sized jail.  
Scanlon stated that a note in Exhibit A of the resolution emphasizes that  
construction of the Behavioral Care Center should be considered a  
behavioral health investment and part of the 50 percent of funds devoted to  
services. He stated that he apologizes he was not able to talk to everyone in  
advance of putting forward this resolution, and he understands there are a lot  
of emotions behind this. He said the resolution does not change the amount  
of funding Council voted on at their last meeting.  
Rienstra stated that the new jail is necessary, and she wants to make sure it  
meets the needs of staff working in the jail. She said it's also important to  
spend money in the most fiscally responsible way, and the data shows that  
services work to reduce recidivism and crime. She said the resolution was a  
good faith effort to request more options prior to making any debt  
authorizations.  
Stremler stated that he does not want to saddle the next generation with the  
problem of having to navigate another too-small jail in years to come.  
Boyle thanked the mayors for their comments and said that  
councilmembers are listening and trying to find a middle ground that  
provides a right-sized jail and needed services so the community will not  
need to continuously be building bigger and bigger jails.  
Buchanan stated he was happy with the original resolution.  
Councilmembers continued to discuss the resolution.  
Scanlon moved to strike the bullet point that reads "if the 50% floor cannot  
be met..."  
Rienstra seconded the motion.  
Kayla Schott-Bresler, Executive's Office, stated that it has taken 20 years to  
reach this point with the cities, and the administration has concerns about  
the uncertainty the resolution raises even with the 50% language removed.  
She said they are looking at debt issuance in spring 2027. She encouraged  
Council to hold off on a vote to allow more time for discussion.  
The motion carried by the following vote:  
Aye: 7 - Boyle, Buchanan, Galloway, Rienstra, Scanlon, Elenbaas, and  
Stremler  
Nay: 0  
Galloway moved to hold the resolution until the next (Criminal Justice and  
Public Safety Committee) meeting on May 12.  
Boyle seconded the motion.  
Councilmembers discussed the motion to hold.  
The motion to hold carried by the following vote:  
Aye: 5 - Boyle, Buchanan, Galloway, Rienstra, and Scanlon  
Nay: 2 - Elenbaas and Stremler  
This agenda item was DISCUSSED AND MOTION(S) APPROVED.  
MOTION 1:  
Motion approved to amend the Substitute Resolution 5.5.2026 by making changes to the bullet points on page 5 so  
that they read as follows:  
•Request the IPRTF/Law and Justice Council (LJC) to develop additional recommendations to fund the Justice  
Project Implementation Plan services, projects, and programs enumerated in ILA Part II, Section 3(e), including but  
not limited to the use of proceeds from any future sale of the LaBounty Road property, if such option is feasible, as  
well as grants, reimbursements, and excess revenue above conservative baselines; and  
•Request the Executive to coordinate state budget lobbying efforts and federal appropriations lobbying efforts  
between the cities and the County to supplement local funding available for the services, projects, and programs in the  
Justice Project Implementation Plan, as permitted by law; and  
MOTION 2:  
Motion approved to strike the bullet point (on page 4 of Substitute Resolution 5.5.2026) that begins "If the 50% floor  
cannot be met..."  
MOTION 3:  
Motion approved to hold the resolution until the next (Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee) meeting on May  
12.  
Items Added by Revision  
There were no agenda items added by revision.  
Other Business  
There was no other business.  
Adjournment  
The meeting adjourned at 10:20 a.m.  
ATTEST:  
WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL  
WHATCOM COUNTY, WA  
______________________________  
Cathy Halka, Council Clerk  
___________________________  
Kaylee Galloway, Council Chair  
Meeting Minutes prepared by Jenna Gernand