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Bellingham City Council

BEL-CON-2025-12-15 December 15, 2025 City Council Regular Meeting City of Bellingham

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Executive summary

The Bellingham City Council wrapped up 2025 with their final regular meeting on December 15, focusing primarily on emergency flood response, infrastructure improvements, and routine administrative matters. The most significant action was the unanimous approval of an emergency declaration to address damages from the December 10 flooding event, which waived competitive bidding requirements for critical repairs to roads, sewer systems, and waterfront infrastructure. The council also passed their updated 2025 Comprehensive Plan with an amendment supporting faith-based community facilities and approved a major contract for James Street multimodal improvements that came in $1.4 million under budget. All 17 action items on the agenda passed unanimously, demonstrating strong council unity on the year's final business. Mayor Lund used her report to thank the council for their collaboration and highlight the city's "one city" approach to governance, while Council President Huthman reflected positively on her first year in the leadership role. The evening was notable for its efficiency and unanimity, with no public testimony on any item and all votes passing 7-0. The council addressed both immediate emergency needs and long-term planning priorities, setting the stage for continued infrastructure investment and community development in 2026.

Key decisions

**AB 24796 - Emergency Flood Response Declaration:** Passed 7-0. Authorized emergency contracting procedures for flood damages, including Hannigen Road culvert failure ($100,000-$200,000 estimated), Woburn Street repairs, Little Squalicum Pier stabilization, and sewer backup remediation. Staff recommendation aligned with council action. **AB 24785 - James Street Multimodal Improvements Contract:** Passed 7-0. Awarded $3,880,135.05 contract to RAM Construction for segments 3 and 4, covering Telegraph Road to Gooding Avenue. Came in $1.4 million under engineer's estimate of $5.2 million. **AB 24775 - 2025 Comprehensive Plan:** Passed 7-0 with amendment. Added "faith-based" facilities…

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Policy discussion

**Emergency Response Procedures:** The council addressed the December 10 flooding that caused significant infrastructure damage across the city. Staff outlined impacts including 10 residential sewer backups, a water main break, Baker Creek culvert failure on Hannigen Road, and damage to Little Squalicum Pier. The emergency declaration enables staff to proceed with necessary repairs without normal competitive bidding delays, recognizing the critical nature of restoring transportation networks and public safety infrastructure. **Comprehensive Planning and Community Wellbeing:** Council Member Lilliquist proposed adding "faith-based" facilities to the list of community wellbeing uses that should face reduced regulatory barriers. The amendment addressed concerns that religious institutions, like healthcare and childcare facilities, contribute to comm…

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Stakeholder positions

**Mayor Kimberley Lund** emphasized the "one city" governance philosophy, thanking the council for collaborative leadership and highlighting successful flood response efforts. She noted that much of the city's flood control infrastructure performed as designed during the December 10 event. **Council President Hollie Huthman** reflected positively on her first year as president, expressing surprise at how much she enjoyed the challenging role and praising the council's accomplishments in 2025. **Council Member Michael Lilliquist** led advocacy for including faith-based instituti…

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Notable quotes

**Council President Huthman, on her year as president:** "I never thought I wanted to be president, and so it's a bit of surprise to find out how much I actually enjoyed it. It was definitely a challenge. I felt like a good challenge, but it is a challenging position to be in, and thank you for being a great council." **Mayor Lund, on community collaboration:** "As elected leaders, we are allies with the shared mission. And we are interconnected in our important work on behalf of the communit…

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What’s next

The final 2025 Comprehensive Plan will take effect following this approval. The Parks, Recreation, and Open Space Plan will be published for final public review next month with council adoption scheduled for March 2026. Emergency flood repair work will commence immediately under the emergency declaration, with Hannigen Road closure expected to continue until cu…

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What changed

The city now has emergency authority to proceed with flood damage repairs without competitive bidding delays, addressing immediate public safety and transportation needs. The 2025 Comprehensive Plan is officially adopted with new language supporting faith-based community facilities alongside healthcare, childcare, and educational uses. A major infrastructure contract is locke…

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Full meeting narrative

## Meeting Overview The final Bellingham City Council regular meeting of 2025 convened on the evening of December 15th in Council Chambers, with all seven members present: President Hollie Huthman, Hannah Stone, Daniel Hammill, Skip Williams, Lisa Anderson, Michael Lilliquist, and Jace Cotton. The meeting lasted just over 45 minutes, making it a mercifully brief end to the year — something President Huthman noted with satisfaction as she opened the proceedings. The evening carried a dual significance: not only was it the last meeting of the year, but it coincided with the University of Washington men's soccer team winning their first national championship. "Go dogs," Mayor Lund declared during her report, capturing the celebratory spirit that punctuated what was otherwise a routine evening of municipal business. Despite the short agenda, the meeting addressed substantial matters including flood response emergency measures, labor agreements, major infrastructure projects, and the adoption of the city's updated comprehensive plan. The tone throughout was collegial and efficient, with unanimous votes on every item — a fitting end to what President Huthman would later describe as a year the council "should be really proud of." ## Harris Avenue and Alder Street Easement Relinquishments The meeting opened with two public hearings on easement relinquishments — the kind of technical municipal business that rarely draws public attention but demonstrates how government manages public assets accumulated over decades. Mike Wilson, Assistant Director of Public Works, presented both items with the matter-of-fact efficiency of someone who has explained countless easements to countless councils. The first involved two surplus sewer easements at 801 Harris Avenue, property owned by the Port of Bellingham. The easements dated back to 1926 and 1939 — artifacts from an era when the city's infrastructure planning looked very different than today. "The port of Bellingham... they're pursuing stormwater improvements on their site," Wilson explained. "There's no new buildings on this site proposed. It's just some cleanup relative to a stormwater project that they've got going." Council Member Lilliquist cut to the heart of what made these easements obsolete: "Would these easements only be of use if our desire was to direct sewage into the water untreated?" Wilson confirmed the observation, noting how the easements ran directly to the waterfront — a relic from times when su…

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Study guide

### Meeting Overview The Bellingham City Council held its regular meeting on December 15, 2025, which was the final meeting of the year. The council addressed routine business including sewer easement relinquishments, emergency flood response authorizations, committee appointments, labor contract ratification, and adoption of the city's comprehensive plan update. ### Key Terms and Concepts **Sewer Easement Relinquishment:** The legal process by which the city gives up its rights to access private property for sewer infrastructure when those easements are no longer needed for utility service. **Emergency Declaration:** A formal resolution that allows the city to bypass normal competitive bidding requirements to quickly respond to urgent situations that threaten public health and safety. **Comprehensive Plan:** A long-term policy document that guides how the city will grow and develop over time, including land use patterns, transportation systems, and community services. **Collective Bargaining Agreement:** A contract negotiated between the city and a union representing city employees that establishes wages, benefits, and working conditions. **General Obligation Bonds:** Municipal bonds backed by the full faith and credit of the city, used to finance major capital projects like the new 911 dispatch facility. **Franchise Agreement:** A legal contract granting a private company permission to install and operate infrastructure (like fiber optic cables) within city rights-of-way. **Committee of the Whole:** A council committee format where all seven council members participate, used for presentations and discussion of city-wide issues. **Land Acknowledgement:** A formal statement recognizing that the city sits on the traditional territory of Indigenous peoples - specifically the Lummi, Nooksack, Samish, and Semiahmoo peoples. ### Key People at This Meeting | Name | Role / Affiliation | |---|---| | Hollie Huthman | Council President (Second Ward) | | Hannah Stone | Council Member (First Ward) | | Daniel Hammill | Council Member (Third Ward) | | Edwin "Skip" Williams | Council Member (Fourth Ward) | | Lisa Anderson | Council Member (Fifth Ward) | | Michael Lilliquist | Council Member (Sixth Ward) | | Jace Cotton | Council Member (At-Large) | | Kimberley Lund | Mayor | | Mike Wilson | Assistant Director of Public Works | ### Background Context This meeting occurred during a challenging time for the region, following significant flooding on December 10, 2025, that impacted Whatcom and Skagit counties. While Bellingham avoided the worst regional impacts, the storms still caused emergency conditions requiring rapi…

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