HomeMy WebLinkAboutCriminal Justice Nov 5 2025Whatcom County
Council Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee
COUNTY COURTHOUSE
311 Grand Avenue, Ste #105
Bellingham, WA 98225-4038
(360) 778-5010
Committee Minutes - Final
Wednesday, November 5, 2025
10:50 AM
Hybrid Meeting - Council Chambers
HYBRID MEETING - MAY BEGIN EARLY - ADJOURNS BY 12:00 P.M.
(PARTICIPATE IN -PERSON, SEE REMOTE JOIN INSTRUCTIONS AT
www.whatcomcounty.us/joinvirtualcouncil, OR CALL 360.778.5010)
COUNCILMEMBERS
Barry Buchanan
Tyler Byrd
Jon Scanlon
CLERK OF THE COUNCIL
Cathy Halka, AICP, CMC
Council Criminal Justice and Public Committee Minutes - Final November 5, 2025
Safety Committee
Call To Order
Roll Call
Committee Chair Barry Buchanan called the meeting to order at 11:04 a.m.
in a hybrid meeting.
Present: 2 - Barry Buchanan, and Jon Scanlon
Absent: 1 - Tyler Byrd
Todd Donovan, Ben Elenbaas, Kaylee Galloway, and Mark Stremler
Announcements
Special Presentation
1. AB2025-739 Report from the Prosecuting Attorney's Office
Eric Richey, Whatcom County Prosecuting Attorney, reported and
answered questions.
He and councilmembers discussed the pressure that will be created for the
Prosecutor's Office when the Public Defender's caseloads are reduced and
there will likely be more litigation, when that will come into balance
between the two departments, that a workload study will help determine the
number of staff needed to do the work in the Prosecutor's Office, and
whether there are other revenue sources or cuts (besides a potential public
safety tax) they could identify if they have to increase staffing in the
Criminal Division.
This agenda item was REPORTED.
Committee Discussion
AB2025-619 Discussion of the Justice Center Project with the Executive's Office, Facilities
Management Division, and the Justice Center Owner's Representative
Adam Johnson, STV Project Manager, read from a presentation (on file).
Kayla Schott-Bresler, Executive's Office, answered why the "Base Scope"
only mentions "jail" in the base program since what they promised to voters
was much more than just the jail. She spoke about two core commitments to
the community, which are avoiding booking restrictions, and that 50 percent
of the countywide sales tax would go toward treatment and incarceration
prevention services in the community, in line with the Justice
Implementation Plan. Related commitments have to do with the fact that we
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Council Criminal Justice and Public Committee Minutes - Final November 5, 2025
Safety Committee
are building both a jail and a behavioral care center, and that we are going to
ensure that there is adequate programing space for treatment services,
reentry services, and those sorts of things.
Johnson continued the presentation. He answered when they anticipate that
the Joint Advisory Workgroup (JAW) will be convening, and stated toward
the end of November or early December. He answered what kind of
outreach is going on to some of the types of businesses listed on the
bottom left of page four of today's presentation, and stated they are very
early in the process, so outreach in general has not started yet.
This agenda item was DISCUSSED.
2. AB2025-773 Presentation and discussion by the Incarceration Prevention and Reduction Task
Force (IPRTF) Behavioral Care Center Workgroup on facility planning
Peter Frazier, Incarceration Prevention and Reduction Task Force (IPRTF)
Co -Chair, introduced the presentation on the Behavioral Care Center (BCC)
Workgroup and the process for planning for a behavioral care center.
Caleb Erickson, Sheriffs Office Chief Corrections Deputy, spoke about the
participants on the Behavioral Care Center Workgroup and the timeline of
key milestones and meetings since its formation.
Malora Christensen, Health and Community Services, gave an overview of
the BCC workgroup's process, key considerations and priorities, and
decision point pros and cons for what an effective behavioral care center
might look like in Whatcom County.
Erik Sigmar, Whatcom County Prosecuting's Attorney's Office, presented
on legal considerations and a behavioral care center diversion model with
consensus by representatives from the judiciary, the Public Defender's
Office, and the Prosecutor's Office.
Heather Flaherty, IPRTF Co -Chair, thanked everyone who participated in
the workgroup and spoke about the letter from Prosecutor Richey (on file)
which says that they support the offsite BCC concept on condition that the
new jail adequately accommodates the same services in -custody, including
but not limited to behavioral health and substance use disorder (SUD)
treatment.
Councilmembers discussed the next steps for considering the workgroup's
recommendation, and giving a chance for the public to weigh in before
making any core decisions.
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Council Criminal Justice and Public Committee Minutes - Final November 5, 2025
Safety Committee
Kayla Schott-Bresler, Executive's Office, answered when they need a
decision regarding on -site or off -site. She stated they will probably need it
in the next few months, and spoke about needing to assemble more
information first, and that they have asked STV to do a construction cost
analysis that compares co -location at La Bounty, or co -location at Division
with options to either do a work center reconstruction or build on a vacant
site. But the project team and the group are unanimous in their
recommendation for an out -of -custody model. She stated they will also be
modeling capacity needs for the behavioral care center.
Scanlon stated he wants to make sure they are also looking at a cost analysis
for behavioral and mental health needs in the jail, and that whatever is
decided is written down.
Stark Follis, Public Defender, gave his perspective on diversion (rather than
incarceration) at the point of arrest and that Whatcom County does not
currently have that. It is a momentous thing and gives him optimism.
Elenbaas stated there still has to be some form of accountability, meaning if
they are not in those programs, they are getting prosecuted.
This agenda item was PRESENTED AND DISCUSSED.
Items Added by Revision
Other Business
Adjournment
There were no agenda items added by revision.
There was no other business.
The meeting adjourned at 12:03 p.m.
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Council Criminal Justice and Public Committee Minutes - Final
Safety Committee
ATTEST:,00ii, u i 111,11i
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Cathy H;1kal dWRA ld k
November 5, 2025
WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL
WHATCOM COUNTY, WA
Barry Buchanan -via email 12/16/2025
Meeting Minutes prepared by Kristi Felbinger
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Barry Buchanan, Committee Chair