Bellingham City Council will resume its public comment period on Monday, Jan. 13, after a monthslong suspension due to security concerns.
The city has implemented new safety measures for future city council meetings: Attendees will be required to undergo metal detector screenings for weapons before entering city council chambers, conducted by two uniformed, armed security guards. On Jan. 13, security guards will conduct a temporary screening process, until a permanent metal detector arrives later this month, according to a city news release.
“We are taking this step with the intention that people attending council meetings will have an added sense of safety and be able to participate fully, knowing these security measures are in place,” Mayor Kim Lund said in the release.
The new security guards work for Homeland Security Operations, which also provides security services to the Bellingham Municipal Court. They are not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the city clarified in a news release. No ID checks or additional screening will be conducted by guards.
“Our goal is to create a safe environment for everyone, yet we know the presence of security personnel doesn’t bring the same feelings of safety for all,” Lund said. “We take that seriously, and as we add these new security protocols to city meetings, we want everyone in our community to know they are welcome at City Hall.”
The city expects to spend $17,000 on the extra security measures this year, Deputy Administrator Janice Keller said, but that number could change as the city adjusts the measures based on what is the most effective.
In conversations over the last two months, council members discussed the future of the public comment period, including moving public comment to the beginning of the meeting and splitting public comment into two parts.
City council member Michael Lilliquist argued that the key problem with the public comment is the order: by the time the public comment period happens at the end of the meeting, the council has often already voted.
“We vote, and then we listen. That’s backwards,” Lilliquist said. “We should listen then vote.”
But council members decided to keep the public comment at the end of the meeting. Members of the public can provide feedback to the city through email anytime, and on ordinances, the city takes three votes before the ordinance is actually passed, giving time for people to provide feedback between votes and meetings.
“I think when we get to that point of making a vote, we’ve already read hundreds of emails,” council member Lisa Anderson said.
The city’s Legislative Policy Analyst Iris Nott compiled information on how other Washington cities conduct public comment. Bellingham City Council President Hollie Huthman said all of the methods “have faults.”
“I think what we have found is one that seems to have the least amount of fault right now,” she said on Jan. 6.
Members of the public wishing to provide public comment at the Jan. 13 meeting must register to speak on sign-up sheets available outside of the chambers at 6:30 p.m. ahead of the meeting. Communications Director Melissa Morin encourages people to arrive early on Monday. Doors to City Hall will open at 5:30 p.m., and the security process will take longer on Monday than the future walk-through metal detectors, she said in an email.
Charlotte Alden is CDN’s general assignment/enterprise reporter; reach her at charlottealden@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 123.
