Name: Bellingham City Council - Public Health, Safety, Justice, and Equity Committee meeting, Jun 1, 2026
Start: 2026-06-01
End: 2026-06-01
Location: City of Bellingham

City Council - Public Health, Safety, Justice, and Equity Committee

Mon, June 1, 2026

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City Council – Public Health, Safety, Justice, and Equity Committee — June 1, 2026

This committee meeting was chaired by Councilmember Dan Hammill, joined by Councilmembers Hollie Huthman and Skip Williams. Two items were heard: an annual update from the Bellingham-Whatcom County Commission on Sexual and Domestic Violence, and an action item on a federal FIFA World Cup security grant.

Annual Update: Bellingham-Whatcom County Commission on Sexual and Domestic Violence

Susan Marks, director of the Bellingham-Whatcom County Commission on Sexual and Domestic Violence (BWCSDV), delivered the commission's annual report. The commission was established jointly by the city and county in 1998 and receives $90,000 per year from each entity, supplemented by a $600,000 three-year Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women grant. The commission does not provide direct services itself but coordinates and supports organizations that do — including DVSA and Law Advocates — and convenes leaders from across sectors including law enforcement, courts, public schools, and healthcare.

Membership expansion: The commission recently added new seats, including a second school superintendent position, a representative from the Whatcom Racial Equity Commission, and two community-at-large positions, broadening its reach and stakeholder connections.

Sexual assault protection order case review: Under the federal grant, the commission conducted a deep review of nine civil sexual assault protection order cases from Whatcom County District Court — all filed pro se (without an attorney). Marks highlighted a troubling finding: Whatcom County has a significantly higher denial rate for temporary protection orders than other Washington counties, including Skagit. Reviewers observed inconsistencies among judges in applying the civil preponderance-of-evidence standard, excessive continuances that left victims waiting without protection, complex legal language that disadvantaged unrepresented petitioners, and limited consideration of power dynamics affecting consent. In response, the commission is arranging a training series for the full judicial bench on the neurobiology of trauma, and working to implement a mechanism — already authorized under state law — for courts to appoint attorneys for pro se petitioners when the respondent has legal representation.

Council President Stone asked about the root causes of the low approval rate. Marks explained that while the pro se nature of filings is a factor, the disparity with other counties suggests systemic issues, including judicial misunderstanding of trauma timelines and the significance of the temporary two-week order period.

Restorative justice (Reimagining Justice Project): The commission has not yet completed a restorative justice case due to ongoing difficulty securing dedicated funding, but has shifted strategy: facilitators are donating their time to pilot one case without additional funding, with the goal of producing a concrete example to strengthen future grant applications. Separately, the commission has begun conversations with county prosecution, public defense, and health services about a legally embedded restorative justice diversion process, following a week-long training attended by community representatives in April.

Schools work: The commission is launching a community of practice for school staff beginning next school year — three workshops per year bringing together people who work with student survivors and students who cause harm. A "Coaching Boys into Men" pilot is also in recruitment, an evidence-based violence prevention curriculum delivered by coaches to male student athletes. The commission is also facilitating a first-ever joint conversation between judicial officers and school superintendents on crafting protection order language that can be practically enforced in school settings.

Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People Summit: The third annual summit is upcoming and will feature a family and survivor panel, two keynote speakers (a Cherokee Nation attorney and Tulalip tribal member and federal advocate Deborah Parker), a youth panel, and a Lummi shawl ceremony. This year's summit will be action-oriented, with discipline-specific checklists for attendees.

Council members praised the commission's breadth of impact given its modest budget. Councilmember Williams reflected on how the field has evolved from crisis-only services toward long-term systems change. Councilmember Huthman expressed particular support for the restorative justice work. No vote was required; this was an informational update.

FIFA World Cup 2026 Security Grant Agreement with U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Deputy Police Chief Jay Hart presented a request to authorize the city to enter into a grant agreement with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for the federal fiscal year 2026 FIFA World Cup Grant Program. Bellingham is an official fan zone host city and will hold watch parties for six Seattle-based FIFA matches — primarily at Kulshan Trackside, with one event at a block party on the 1300 block of Commercial Street. The city anticipates large crowds, traffic issues, and elevated security risks, compounded by Bellingham's border proximity and expected cross-border traffic to both the Vancouver and Seattle FIFA venues.

Grant funds will be used to purchase two drones, protective equipment for a bicycle response team, and a portable X-ray machine for the hazardous devices unit, as well as to cover police overtime and standby costs during World Cup events.

Immigration clause concern: Councilmember Lisa Anderson (attending as a non-committee member) flagged a concern about Article 11 of the grant agreement, which contains federal immigration-related conditions referencing "illegal aliens" — language and requirements at odds with Washington's Keep Washington Working Act and the city's own policies. Deputy City Attorney James Erb explained that the city has an established process — arising from prior litigation against the federal government — of sending formal notice to federal grantors whenever such terms appear. A preliminary court injunction currently prevents those provisions from applying to Bellingham. Erb confirmed that accepting this grant does not obligate the city to comply with the contested immigration provisions, and that if the injunction were ever dissolved, the city would renegotiate those terms rather than automatically comply. Anderson indicated that without that clarification, she would have voted no.

Vote: Councilmember Williams moved to authorize the mayor to enter into the agreement. The motion carried 3–0 (Hammill, Huthman, Williams in favor). No abstentions or recusals. The item will be brought forward to the full council.

Key Takeaways

Whatcom County has an abnormally high denial rate for temporary sexual assault protection orders compared to the rest of Washington state; the BWCSDV is responding with a judicial training series on trauma neurobiology and other court reforms funded by a federal DOJ grant.

Restorative justice is moving toward a first pilot case, with volunteer facilitators absorbing costs to demonstrate viability and strengthen future funding applications.

The city will receive FIFA World Cup grant funding from DHS for police overtime, drones, protective equipment, and an X-ray machine — approved 3–0 by the committee.

Federal immigration conditions in the DHS grant agreement are not enforceable against Bellingham due to an existing court injunction stemming from prior city litigation; the city has a formal protocol for flagging and contesting such terms in federal grants.

The BWCSDV's third annual Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People Summit is upcoming and will focus on practical, action-oriented takeaways directed by local tribal priorities.

AI-generated summary from voice-to-text transcript. Not the official record. Verify important details with the source documents linked above.

What happened at this meeting

An update from the Bellingham-Whatcom County Commission on Sexual and

# Summary: Bellingham-Whatcom County Commission on Sexual and Domestic Violence Update

Susan Marks, director of the Commission (formed in 1998), presented the annual update on the organization's comprehensive approach to addressing sexual assault, domestic violence, and stalking. The Commission receives $90,000 annually from the City of Bellingham and Whatcom County, plus a $600,000 Department of Justice grant over three years, and has expanded its reach by adding public school representatives and members from the Whatcom Racial Equity Commission. Key findings from a sexual assault protection order case review revealed systemic barriers including high denial rates for temporary orders, inconsistent judicial application of legal standards, and excessive continuances (5-7 per case); staff recommended increasing approval rates, providing judicial training (already scheduled for winter), and improving language and disability access. Initiatives underway include a restorative justice diversion program in partnership with county prosecution and public defense, school-based trauma-informed response workshops and violence prevention programs like Coaching Boys into Men, and a planned 2026 summit on missing and murdered Indigenous women and people. Commissioner Haffen and Councilmember Williams praised the Commission's work for driving systems change and expanding from crisis management to long-term survivor support.

An agreement with the US Department of Homeland Security for a 2026 FIFA grant

Deputy Police Chief Jay Hart presented an agreement with the US Department of Homeland Security for a 2026 FIFA World Cup grant to enhance security and preparedness for watch parties in Bellingham, which will host six Seattle-based games primarily at Kulshan Trackside and one block party on Commercial Street. The funding will purchase two drones, protective equipment for a bicycle response team, a portable X-ray machine, and cover overtime costs, addressing anticipated large crowds and security risks. Councilmember Anderson raised concerns about Article 11 of the contract regarding immigration language and ICE collaboration, conflicting with the Keep Washington Working Act; Deputy City Attorney James Erb clarified that the city has a process to alert the federal government to existing litigation and preliminary injunction preventing these provisions from applying to Bellingham, and renegotiation would occur if the injunction were dissolved.

Agenda items (2)

Procedural (2)

24952ProceduralAn update from the Bellingham-Whatcom County Commission on Sexual and

The city will receive an update from the Bellingham-Whatcom County Commission on Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence about their ongoing work addressing sexual violence and domestic abuse in our community.

What happened

24956ProceduralAn agreement with the US Department of Homeland Security for a 2026 FIFA grant

Bellingham is entering into an agreement with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to receive federal grant funding to help prepare for the 2026 FIFA World Cup matches that will be held at Lumen Field in nearby Seattle.

What happened

Additional votes recorded in minutes

Authorize mayor to enter into FIFA World Cup grant agreement with DHS

aye 1

voice voteaye

Verbatim transcript available

118 transcript segments indexed

City of Bellingham Public Health, Safety, Justice, and Equity Committee minutes June 1, 2026, 1:00 PM Chair: Daniel Hammill Phone: 360-778-8200 Members: Hollie Huthman, Edwin H. "Skip" Williams Email: ccmail@cob.org Web: cob.org/council City Council committee meetings Standing committee members receive reports and information, ask questions, and vote on a recommended action for consideration by the full Council at the regular meeting.

Good afternoon and welcome back to the Bellingham City Council Committee Meetings. We're going to start this afternoon with public health, safety, justice, and equity. That committee is chaired by Council member Hamill, so I will turn it over to him at this time.

>> Uh thank you, Council President. Uh this afternoon I'm joined uh on the committee by Council members Huffman and Williams. We have two items before us um today. And the first one is an update from the Bellingham Whatcom County Commission on sexual and uh domestic violence.

There is no public comment period during committee sessions. Call to order and roll call Council President Stone called the meeting to order at 1 p.m. Present: Committee Chair Daniel Hammill, Third Ward Committee Member Hollie Huthman, Second Ward Committee Member Edwin H.

Bellingham Whatcom County Commission on sexual and domestic violence was formed jointly by the city of Bellingham and Whatcom County in 1998. The Commission inspires and coordinates our community's efforts to address sexual and domestic violence.

"Skip" Williams, Fourth Ward Public Health, Safety, Justice, and Equity 24952 1. An update from the Bellingham-Whatcom County Commission on Sexual and Domestic Violence Summary: Susan Marks, Director of the Bellingham-Whatcom County Commission on Sexual and Domestic Violence, provided an annual update on the commission's work.

Each year, staff from the Domestic Violence Commission provide an update to inform the Council of their work, as well as to provide education about the impact of domestic violence in our community Pardon me, in our community.

Council Members discussed the presentation and asked questions. 24956 2. An agreement with the US Department of Homeland Security for a 2026 FIFA grant Summary: Jay Hart, Deputy Police Chief, presented the grant agreement with the US Department of Homeland Security to enhance security at 2026 FIFA events in Bellingham.

And this afternoon uh we have uh Council President Stone is listed as one of presenters. Is that Is that not accurate? >> I believe that's an oversight from when this was initially before Committee of the Whole, and we were thinking that um yeah, it was best suited for your committee.

Council Members discussed the grant and asked questions. Action: Edwin H. "Skip" Williams moved to authorize the Mayor to enter into the agreement with the US Department of Homeland Security for a 2026 FIFA grant.

>> Okay, well, we we would love to welcome uh Susan Marks from Bellingham Whatcom County Commission on sexual and domestic violence um who is the director. Welcome, Susan. >> Uh Council member Stone, you're welcome to do the presentation if you'd rather.

Um yeah, thanks for having me. Susan Marks, she/her pronouns. I'm the director of the Bellingham Whatcom County Commission on sexual and domestic violence, and as um mentioned, I report out every year on the work we're doing, the funding that you are providing and what that's going to, and most importantly, what is happening with people in this community who are experiencing domestic violence and sexual assault.

So, this was already read, formed in 1998. We are a commission of the city of Bellingham and Whatcom County here to serve um um, and promote an improvement in systems for survivors and the community um, in Bellingham and throughout the county.

So, we don't do the direct services, we support the organizations who do direct services. Our members are in leadership positions um, basically all the sectors that you would think would be interacting with survivors, children, and um, people who cause harm.

Uh, we this year added a few new positions. Um, so thanks to the council and the mayor for allowing that to happen so that we could expand our connections with the organizations that are um, really doing work to serve survivors.

That included we added an additional position for um, someone from a public school. We've always had one superintendent and now we have two leadership positions. For a representative from the Whatcom Racial Equity Commission and then uh, two more community at large positions to be able to recruit um, again more voices to our table and um, Sarah Chaplin and Chief Mertzig serve on the commission um, in their roles for the city.

We are funded through the city of Bellingham and Whatcom County is our general operating support each now currently we get $90,000 each year from each of those entities. Um, we also have a grant from the Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women and our having a commission I will say throughout my experience applying and being in uh, phone calls and webinars with other organizations and communities who are thinking about applying is having this commission I think really makes us competitive in part because when people say, well how would I ever get a superintendent or a judicial officer to like call me back or be interested?

And we have some of those relationships. So, I think that really makes a big difference. Um, and having the city and the county support behind that brings the people to the table. So, when we want to apply it's really can we do this project not can we get a hold of these people?

Um, the grant we currently have is for $600,000 over 3 years. It funds us, it funds DVSA, it funds Law Advocates and it's funding a number of trainings for judicial officers, court staff, guardians ad litem, um people who are doing bilingual advocacy.

So, um that is really helpful cuz it allows us to do we have a whole staff person who's able to focus on that work, which is to improve the civil and family court processes for survivors. So, that's parenting plans, divorce, and protection orders, which the municipal courts don't do those.

So, everyone in Whatcom County who wants one of these civil or family protections, um goes to district or superior court, and overwhelmingly they're doing it pro se, so without an attorney. So, part of making that process more accessible is to have people trying to navigate a system without an attorney that is set up through the legal system.

And then our what is now going to be our third annual summit on missing and murdered indigenous women and people, again the city and the county are funding our staff time so we can host it, but sponsorships are paying for all of the costs to make that happen, and we continue to seek more sponsorships as the event continues to grow each year.

So, and in your packets and at the end there will be a little information about this year's summit. So, we do things like we have meetings, and our meetings we try not to make them just to have meetings.

Um last week we had our annual meeting, and um we focused around workplace responses. So, the goal was to bring in what are survivors in our community saying about when they um are experiencing domestic violence or sexual assault and go to work.

And our state has a domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking leave law, um which not all employees, and maybe not all employers, are aware of or are granting. Um but also what are best practices in keeping people employed who are experiencing domestic violence and sexual assault.

Thinking about the internal facing, not just the external facing to the community, but we want to be organizations where people can keep their jobs and stay safe. So, we spent time looking at the data, thinking about what our strengths and barriers are, and um everyone wrote on a little index card something that they were going to do within 60 days within their organization.

And this is when it's really great that people remember for a moment that they are in leadership positions and they can make things happen. And so things are really happening um to notify employees about the desire to do trainings for managers, to um put out more resources into the community.

So that's really exciting. Um we develop tools, we provide and support and coordinate professional education and training. We gather data primarily through getting survivor feedback, doing case reviews, and getting feedback from stakeholders, people are working within the systems.

And then we're kind of there usually on like individual cases. People reach out just uh ask mainly is this is more complex than our policy, so what's a good practice or what is a good um way to move forward with this specific situation.

And a resource for basically everyone, so all the systems that people interact with, all of us interact with in our community, um which means that people who are survivors and their families are also interacting with these organizations.

Um and then in all of our work we are really focused on integrating um a way to make sure that we are addressing both the people who experience the most barriers when they seek um support and people who are most targeted for violence, um addressing root causes and bringing up topics that can often be under under um under reported, overlooked.

So for example, thinking about um sexual violence within intimate relationships is a lot of times that is the last thing that people want to disclose and talk about. And so we have to make sure our systems are really prepared to ask those questions.

Thinking about criminalized survivors, so survivors who end up arrested related to um something related to their survivorship. So how are we making sure this uh that they are getting services in the community, um all of those different things.

So our current projects, you have your work plan. Oh, you also have the um membership roster, I meant to mention that. You also have the work plan in your packets. Um our current project our current projects and a couple of these I'll speak a little bit more to is Reimagining Justice Project, which is our work on restorative justice, the missing and murdered indigenous women and people work, the Justice for Families Grant, which is that federal grant, um, and I'll talk specifically about a case review we did under that.

Um, and then some work with schools, including this community of practice that we're going to be starting and a Coaching Boys into Men pilot, and I'll briefly talk a little more about each of those. So, the sexual assault protection order case review, this one is one that we did that was funded by the Office on Violence Against Women Grant, and it was to look at people who were applying for civil sexual assault protection order, um, which means, again, overwhelmingly they're going to court by themselves without an attorney to ask for the civil protection that would mostly order someone to stay away from them and not contact them.

Um, and we had about 20 people on the team. In advance, we got about 40 different protection order applications and condensed them into deciding to review nine, um, which was like the hardest thing because I wanted to look at all of them, but already people put into a 3-hour meeting plus about 2 hours of prep time, so we kept it to nine, um, and identified the strengths and gaps in our, um, system.

All of these protection orders came from district court. Most protection orders that are sexual assault in this county are filed in district court, um, and we found some strengths. The number one being that they gave us all of their protection orders, all the filings, all the dockets, um, all of the judicial notes so that we could actually really look at what was, um, happening, what people were saying.

They sent recordings of all the, um, hearings. So, their willingness to open themselves up, uh, really made it so that we could do this. Um, they've done recent increases in electronic communication, which is great cuz one of the things we saw was like how much falls on the victim to communicate and to go back and to call, and they are now doing a lot more that's electronic that makes that a lot easier on the victim.

Um, and one thing that is really key that's best practice that not many locations in the state are doing is whether or not they grant the order when they're in hearing, they will say to the respondent who's the person accused of the sexual assault that they are not to contact that person.

There may not be an order in place, but in open court the petitioner and survivor let them know they want no contact. There's no reason to have contact. These aren't people with children in common. Um and so if they did contact them, then having been told in open court that they are not to have contact, then the victim does have a reason to come back and get an anti-harassment order.

So, even if they can't give that protection, which is very important, at least the respondent knows do not contact this person. Like that is what the primary thing they want and that's really important.

Um and we looked at the protection orders. One person said that um in their order this person continues direct and indirect stalking and harass me harassing by monitoring myself and husband to intimidate at work in local area.

I don't feel safe. So, that's what she put in her order and her order was granted. Um some of the things we found looking at the process, it is complex and time-consuming. Um sometimes there were continuances like five to seven continuances for a case and so people would like show up for their hearing whether in person on Zoom and then there would be a continuance especially if the respondent had an attorney and then the victim is pro se.

There was a lot of um things that could get pushed off. They just kept the victim that whole time waiting and going through this process. Um a lot of legalese again even though it's a pro se process. Um there's a lot of words that are challenging to understand what they mean if you're not an attorney.

Um judges have their inconsistencies in how they prepare for the hearing. Some are prepared differently than others. Um there seem to be differences and discrepancies in how people are applying a civil legal standard as preponderance of evidence, which is like 50.1% and the criminal standard is reasonable doubt, which I don't know what percent that is, but it's more like beyond a reasonable doubt, right?

And so a civil legal standard should be about is it more likely than not? Like you don't need proof, you don't need a law enforcement report. Um most applications would suffice because there's enough detail in them and have gone through the process that it's more likely it happened than not.

Um we have a very high denial rate of temporary orders in this county, which is something that has been true for at least 10 to 15 years and um much higher than any other county throughout the state, including Skagit County.

So, that was something that brought up a concern because those are 2-week orders and there are time when someone, if you filed a petition, then a notice goes to the other person that they're going to get a hearing for a final petition.

So, there's a notice that someone has filed something against them without that protection. Um and there often seemed to be a limited analysis in how power differences could affect affect consent and non-consent.

So, if your housing depended on someone, maybe you didn't have the power to consent in the way that someone thought you should or um yeah, your job depended on someone or you thought they could out you to your workplace.

So, those were some of the things we saw. And then we saw some great opportunities for action and again, because we have good partnerships in this grant and judicial offices who are on board, um increasing approval rates of temporary protection orders, putting together judicial training, which they've already agreed to do is have us host a series of trainings for them this winter, um identify a system for the court to appoint attorneys to pro se petitioners or survivors.

That's actually something that passed in a protection order law. I can't remember if it went into place in 2022 or 2023, but we need a system to be able to make that happen. But then, if a petitioner does not have an attorney and the respondent does, the court can appoint an attorney to the petitioner to represent them in that civil case.

Um help petitioners um help the courts can help petitioners understand how DVSA support can be useful. They're always giving out flyers and brochures, but some words about how DVSA could help them, not just in the hearing, but follow-up um with healing and support groups and things.

And then there are ways to increase meaningful language access and disability access. Um and I will say this one the courts are extremely aware of the limitations that uh we all have related to especially interpreters and translators and um mainly wanting to name that as a support for them as you know, we're all looking for ways to make our systems work better.

So, and in one um order, another person said, "Since the night of the assault, my life has changed. I'm a completely different person. I feel unsafe leaving my home or even going outside." Um another project I want to briefly talk about, I talk about this every year and some year I'm going to come and say, "We did our first case." Um but is this restorative justice project.

Our primary partners are the Dispute Resolution Center, Western Washington University, and an um a number of different individual kind of local consultants and facilitators who do this kind of work. Um and then also survivors cuz this is about developing survivor-centered restorative justice processes.

Um we've done a number of projects to get us to where we are today, learning from survivors, from literature, from people doing this kind of work, consulting with existing programs, applied for funding, none of which we've got yet, but next, we decided to switch our strategy.

We've been asking for funding to build the capacity to do a case and we have decided given that we have these great facilitators who are currently donating their time, um we are preparing to shepherd one case through restorative justice project without additional funding, pilot that case and evaluate it and then be able to show cuz one of the things we keep getting from funders besides the fact that they think, "This is great and we wish we could fund everyone and they're getting way more applications than they can fund." but also is wanting a little more specifics about what it could look like.

So, we want to be able to show them that. So, then we'll be back looking for funding again with the hopes of housing a program at the Dispute Resolution Center um with consulting an advisory board that would include DV and um people with that knowledge.

And then we just entered into some conversations with the county prosecution, public defense, and health and community services uh group of people from our community went to a training on um a specific type of restorative justice process.

Um in April, people went for a whole week and came back excited and this will be one that will be embedded in the legal system. So, we started talking about how to move that forward and that's also exciting.

So, it would help people could be diverted from the legal system to address to engage in a restorative justice process if they met certain conditions um that would make it seem like they could change through that process.

And when we talked to survivors, one person said um it's been such an ongoing curiosity, what does making this right look like? And that's really what's about is making it right for people, not just making um whatever it is happened that our systems currently are prepared for.

And this is about creating more options, not taking away options we currently have. And then we've been um invited to do a lot of work recently with schools. Um we started in 2025, in the spring we hosted a couple of workshops that was for districts throughout the county in addition to private schools on um trauma-informed responses for student survivors.

And then this year we hosted a workshop in January that was on um working with students who've caused harm and so ways to provide education, repair, and accountability for students who are they're in middle school or high school, the groups we're working with and um they have often caused real harm and also it's a great age to provide some education about what they have done wrong, the harm they've caused, and ways to think and act differently.

Um and we've been asked to do more, so we're working towards starting for next school year a community of practice where we would host three workshops per year based on the surveys. Um three workshops per year, three to four hours in person, um all the people who are interacting directly with students and student discipline and support, um and really have things to keep going deeply into how to support survivors and how to support accountability and repair for students who are accused of harm.

And you know, it's really part of it is providing resources and part of this providing a space for all these people of different pieces of information and opportunities to share with each other so that they can learn from each other because these people don't all get together together in a room at the same time.

So, it's a great way to for all of us to learn together. And we're starting to recruit coaches. If you need coaches coach high school boys who you think would want to do this coaching boys in the men pilot.

It's an evidence-based violence prevention program. It's about 10 to 15 minutes a week of a curriculum that coaches get trained to present and helps build healthy relationships, healthy masculinity, empathy, consent skills in young male athletes with the idea that often they end up being leaders in their community.

And then a fun side project that came from our connections with both judicial officers and schools is one of the things we kept hearing was the challenges. So, judicial officer can enter a protection order and then the school can't always enforce it because they are required to provide education for both students depending on the size of the school, maybe very challenging to keep them within a certain number of feet from each other.

And so, again, we have a really open bench of judicial officers and superintendents that we're helping coordinate a time to bring them together to think about their specific language judicial officers can use in their protection orders that could be specific to school grounds which will protect that survivor there and allow the student to go to the accused student to go to school and also things that judicial officers can help schools with enforcement.

And besides just two students, sometimes there often there are two parents whose kid go to the same school and so how to enforce those protection orders. Kind of giving the schools the skills to do that.

And we're going to be talking about this actually at our July commission meeting. We're going to do a brief overview of our school prevention response and using this as a time to gather feedback and ideas.

We'll do We want to get some more input from students, families, and staff about what the needs are. So, if anyone would like to come to that meeting, I would suggest contacting me in advance cuz I'm not actually positive we're going to be at Whatcom Community College and it's good to know exactly where we are.

And also that doesn't tell you where at the college. Things change quickly. And then another event for your calendars is our 2026 summit on missing and murdered indigenous women and people. Um and include as previous years we're having the Lummi victims of crime shawl ceremony with um Anton George um who's a Lummi tribal member brings the drumming and sings the song he wrote on missing and murdered indigenous women and people.

Family and survivor panel. We have two keynote speakers. Um one is an attorney who's a member of the Cherokee Nation who supports uh families as they go through the legal system. Um and then another one uh Deborah Parker is a Tulalip tribal member and um founded a healing coalition for boarding schools and has done a lot of advocacy at the federal level.

Um and then we'll have storytelling, have violins closing today, a youth panel which was very popular last year. Um so, if you're able to come, it would be great. I know Bellingham PD will be there. They just told me it's already in their calendars.

Um so, and it really means a lot I think to be for our community members to see all of us there and supporting that work and this year we've decided to be very education focused with some clear action so everyone will leave with like a checklist of within your discipline here's some work that you can actually do.

Um directed by uh local tribes and what they're asking for. That's it. That's not it, but I tried to keep it brief. >> Thanks Susan. Akemi? Good. Commissioner Haffen? >> Thanks for the presentation uh as you give every year.

I always look forward to it. Um I think it just strikes me as you're talking how much work that you do on the amount of budget that you have. I think it is money very well spent. Um I kind of see it as you're influencing small steps of systems change to make our community safer.

Ultimately, the experience that people have with our systems as it improves, um, the more people will be willing to use those systems, um, and, um, find accountability and justice. So, uh, thank you so much for the work.

I really I really appreciate it. Um, but of course my my special, um, project is the Reimagining Justice for Survivors, um, the restorative justice work. And I went through the learning series many years ago now, um, where, you know, we were all kind of learning, well, what is restorative justice exactly and how does it exist and potentially how could it exist in our community.

And so, I'm really glad to see that that work is still ongoing. Um, I know that finding some funding was a little bit difficult. I think even just the first step of, um, helping people understand what restorative justice is and what would it look like.

Um, there's there's quite a work to be done there, but, um, I think that for our community more options for finding justice and accountability could be incredibly helpful. Um, and so, I I hope that that that work can continue and that somebody will give you a whole bunch of money to keep doing that at some point.

So, >> If you know any benefactors >> [laughter] >> love restorative justice like I do. Yeah. Yeah, thank you. I appreciate your support in that area for the years. Yeah. >> Councilmember Williams. >> Okay.

>> [laughter] >> I just want to say this is the world that introduced me to public service in Bellingham years and years ago. Um, and to see how much the scope of this work has expanded over those many years is very, um, it's something that I'm very appreciative of cuz I've experienced not not me personally, but I've known people that have experienced domestic violence and these and and dealing with these issues.

And to see that this has grown from just a crisis management situation to something that looks at the future and hopefully moves people forward in a way that they can become they can reenter society and reenter the real world and and um and be successful at navigating those waters.

I deeply deeply appreciate that. >> Thank you so much. Good to hear that historical perspective. When you're in it sometimes you wonder, "Are we making a difference?" And then things keep coming up and yeah, but it's nice to hear that >> back in my day it was crisis services.

>> Yeah. Yes. Still in that building. >> Yeah. >> Any [snorts] other thoughts, brother? Council members? >> I'm I just Go ahead, Council President. >> I just had a question about the you were saying the low approval rates of or rates for the temporary protection orders.

Um in any sense of why I mean if there was something that was deficient in what's being brought forward and a lot of those cases are pro se, so was there some uh gap or >> I mean that definitely is a piece of it.

However, our being different than other counties means that that can't be the whole piece. Um so one thing that we haven't done in many years is having um just a hearing for the temporary order, which would be with just with the petitioner and the judicial officer so they could actually ask questions if something isn't clearly represented um in their writing.

Another thing is um this will be a piece of the training on the neurobiology of trauma is we've heard that there can be some misunderstanding of what an immediate report is. And so, if you're filing a protection order maybe 3 to 6 months after an incident, it doesn't feel like a crisis need and just helping to recognize just the way gets to realize what happened to you to even realize I mean what we actually in trying to get survivor input we're asking people we wanted to hear from people who hadn't sought protection orders and it's very hard to find people who haven't heard of because people either haven't heard of them and thought they're for them or they've applied and had challenges.

So, um some of it is about people I mean it can take so long before you go through legal process and so just hoping that understanding of the neurobiology of trauma I think will be a huge piece and how important that initial 2 weeks what it doesn't maybe sound like needed like you'll have the hearing in 2 weeks but that just helping understanding of how dangerous that time can be for survivors um I think could also increase the temporary order.

So, a lot of the training they've committed to I'm hoping will help that process in the future. >> Good. >> Just quick follow up and so that training was going to be focused on the judicial officers or >> Yeah, um basically across the court system they are going to do training so the judicial officers actually two judicial officers went to a training um in April that we sent them to a national training on domestic violence sexual assault and that I think was very um they said it was nice that we are doing a lot and more than in some communities and learning very specific things that we can do differently that they brought back and then we're going to um bring in some trainers to train the entire judicial bench here.

So, but then also court clerks like I said guardians of light and kind of everyone who work family law attorneys. So, everyone who's kind of connected to the court system. And that our grant is paying for all those trainings which is great.

>> Committee of Council any further comments or questions? >> I just wanted to to point out that um pretty much I think everyone up here is either served on DV SAS's board which is a connected organization to the work that you do or the commission or in some way Mhm.

Um clearly this this work resonates with our leadership in this community and I the work as Councilmember Hubbard said is very important. Um so and thank you for coming every year and providing this update.

I think it's really important that the public hears this as well as the um the council members here. So, thank you very much for coming today. >> Thank you for making the time for me each year. >> Okay, we'll move on to the second item and final item this afternoon.

[clears throat] This is an agreement with the US Department of Homeland Security for a um FIFA grant. The objective of this grant program is to provide targeted funding to enhance security and preparedness for the 2026 FIFA World Cup events hosted in Bellingham.

This grant will be used for overtime and equipment and here to take us through is Deputy Police Chief Jay Hart. >> Thank you. All yours. He uh the objective of the federal fiscal year 2026 FIFA World Cup grant program is to provide targeted funding to enhance security and preparedness for the FIFA World Cup events.

Funding authority for this grant is the US Department of Homeland Security. Um as one of the state's official fan zone locations here in Bellingham, uh we'll be hosting watch parties for six of the Seattle based FIFA games primarily at the Kulshan Trackside with one match also being held uh at a block party uh in the 1300 block of Commercial Street.

Due to these events, uh we believe there's a potential for large crowds and traffic related issues which in turn could bring significant security risks on those days. Uh we also anticipate an additional layer of crowding uh and traffic related issues due to our proximity to the border and the expected increase in FIFA fans traveling through Bellingham to arrive either at the Vancouver FIFA site or the Seattle FIFA site.

Um this funding will enhance our ability to prepare for, protect against, and respond to these security threats or emergencies during the World Cup matches. Um the funding will be used to purchase uh two drones, protective equipment for a bicycle response team, and a portable X-ray machine for our hazardous devices unit.

It will also be used to cover overtime and standby time costs associated with the World Cup events. So, it is our request that you authorize the city to enter into this agreement with the Department of Homeland Security for the 2026 FIFA World Cup grant.

>> Thank you, Deputy Chief. Uh, committee? Questions? Okay. Uh, we are asked for uh approval on that as uh the actual request. Um, go ahead, Councilmember Anderson. >> Um, I don't know if Maryland is uh prepared to uh share what was shared with me earlier.

There is a section in here um, in the contract, Article 11, which talks about um, requirements regarding immigration and what they list here as illegal aliens, which we don't use locally. Um, but something was shared with me how this is not enforceable, but I had a concern because it involves ICE and, you know, having to uh co- you know, collaborate with them, which goes against the Keep Washington Working Act.

So, uh Maryland said there was some information that might be able to be shared. >> Good afternoon, Council. Deputy City Attorney James Erb. So, we As you may recall, uh the city uh participated in some litigation against the federal government sometime ago around uh some of the changes um, in approach to issues involving immigration and also our diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.

Uh, so we have a process established uh through the City Attorney's office with the Mayor's office to uh essentially send um, a formal notice to the federal government whenever we're accepting grant funding because their terms are usually like one size fits all.

Uh, like the ones that Councilmember Anderson were pointing out. Uh, so we alert the federal government to the fact that we are parties to this lawsuit, that there's a preliminary injunction that prevents those particular provisions from applying to the city of Bellingham.

And if that injunction were to be dissolved or go away, all that would mean is that we would just renegotiate with the federal government around the terms that we object to. Um, so this is not a way of uh, accepting this grant funding does not mean that we will suddenly have to comply with the uh, new federal rules with which we disagree and which the court has said we do not have to comply with.

Any questions? >> Thank you, cuz I'm did a deep dive last night and all the federal regulations stated in here, so I definitely was concerned and would have voted no tonight just because of what was in here, so thank you for that reminder and also sharing just in case anyone in the public should look at this and have the same concerns.

It's nice to know that this would not necessarily be applied to us because of that injunction and if so, we'd renegotiate. I I did have a follow-up. I assume worst case scenario is if the government if somehow that um, decision went against those who are party to that um, litigation, worst case scenarios we might have to pay back if they don't renegotiate with us correctly somewhere down the line.

Would that be a a correct statement? >> I mean, I think that's probably the worst case scenario. Um, unlikely, but possibly. >> I'm hoping unlikely given how long things take to get through the court that we might have a different administration looking at things.

Thank you. >> Councilmember Williams. >> Yeah, I'd like to I'd like to recommend that that we move to authorize the mayor to enter into this agreement. >> Okay. Motion's been made. No second's necessary.

Any further discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor signify by saying I. >> I. >> Opposed, abstentions, recusal. The motion carries 3-0. I'll bring that forward tonight. Thanks for the explanation from the administration.

Thank you, Deputy Chief. That takes us to end of committee. >> Thank you very much, Councilmember Hammel. So, the next committee this afternoon is Parks and Recreation. That is scheduled to begin at 1:40.