# Transit Innovation and Budget Decisions at Whatcom County Council Committee of the Whole ## Meeting Overview On Wednesday afternoon, August 6, 2025, the Whatcom County Council Committee of the Whole convened in a hybrid format at the County Courthouse to tackle two substantial agenda items that would shape both the county's transportation future and its fiscal priorities. All seven council members were present for what would become a nearly three-hour discussion spanning transit innovation, budget deliberations, and comprehensive planning. The meeting began with Council Chair Kaylee Galloway calling the session to order at 1:02 PM, setting the stage for presentations and debates that would reveal both the collaborative spirit and the careful fiscal stewardship that characterizes local government decision-making in Whatcom County. ## WTA's Vision: Beyond the Bus Les Reardanz, executive with the Whatcom Transportation Authority (WTA), opened the substantive portion of the meeting with an ambitious presentation titled "thinking beyond the bus." Accompanied by Maureen McCarthy, WTA's director of government and community relations, Reardanz painted a picture of a transit agency evolving to meet complex community challenges through innovative partnerships and strategic thinking. "Connecting people to opportunity" — that's our purpose," Reardanz explained, emphasizing how WTA serves not just as a transportation provider but as a community lifeline. "That's why we exist, is to make sure that we're connecting people to those opportunities. And by opportunity, meaning things like medical appointments, jobs, running starts, those kinds of things, including recreation." The numbers Reardanz shared revealed the scope of WTA's operation: millions of rides annually across both fixed-route buses and paratransit services, serving everyone from Western Washington University students to residents with disabilities who depend on paratransit for basic social connection. "We have, particularly those that ride paratransit as an example, that is their outlet, to be able to with disabilities, be able to get out of the house and go meet friends for coffee," he noted. ### Lynden Housing Innovation Perhaps the most striking example of WTA's evolved thinking was the Lynden workforce housing project. Rather than simply operating a traditional park-and-ride facility that wasn't reaching capacity, WTA partnered with the City of Lynden to transform underutilized transit propert…