Whatcom County residents get one more chance to shape the county's biggest public safety decision in a generation. The county is holding its third community engagement workshop on the proposed new jail on Wednesday, July 22, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Squalicum Boathouse, and it is expected to be the last public input session before the County Council settles the facility's size and scope in mid-August.
Attendees will get a walkthrough of the proposed jail size, facility features, the planned behavioral health center, and the other components of the county's Justice Project. County staff will be on hand to answer questions and collect feedback that goes to the council ahead of its decision.
What's on the Table July 22
The central question is scale: how many beds the new facility should hold, and how much of it should be devoted to services rather than cells. The Justice Project pairs the jail itself with a behavioral health center intended to route people in mental health and substance use crises toward treatment instead of a cell block, one of the commitments county leaders made when they took the project to voters.
Size drives everything else in a project like this: construction cost, staffing levels, annual operating budget, and how much room the county has for the treatment and diversion programs residents were promised. That is why the county has spent the summer asking residents to weigh in before the number gets locked. Details on the Justice Project are posted at whatcomcounty.us.
The behavioral health center is the piece to watch closely. It is the county's answer to a problem every sheriff and public defender in the state talks about: jails functioning as the region's largest de facto mental health facility. How many crisis stabilization beds it holds, who operates it, and how directly law enforcement can bring someone there instead of booking them will determine whether the facility actually changes outcomes or just sits next to a newer jail.
How We Got Here
Whatcom County has been arguing about replacing its downtown Bellingham jail for more than a decade. The existing facility is decades old, chronically crowded, and has been described by county officials across multiple administrations as unsafe for both staff and the people held there. Voters rejected jail funding measures in 2015 and again in 2017, with much of the opposition centered on the share of the plan devoted to incarceration versus treatment and diversion.
The turning point came in November 2023, when county voters approved a public safety sales tax to fund a new approach: a smaller jail than earlier proposals, paired with behavioral health facilities and crisis services. The Justice Project is the county's implementation of that mandate, and the community workshop series is part of the accountability piece, giving residents a look at how the promises are translating into a building program before final decisions are made.
Why This Meeting Matters More Than the First Two
The first two workshops gathered early input while the design options were still fluid. This one lands weeks before the county expects to make its final call on size and scope, which makes it the last realistic moment for public sentiment to move the outcome. After mid-August, the project shifts from what to build toward how to build it: design, siting details, contracts and construction schedules.
If you have opinions about the bed count, the behavioral health center, or how the facility should balance security with treatment, July 22 is the meeting where those opinions still have room to land. The workshops draw a broad crowd for a reason: families of people who have cycled through the current jail, downtown residents and business owners who live with the status quo, corrections and health care workers, and taxpayers who simply want to know what the sales tax they approved is buying. Residents who cannot attend can still submit comments through the county's Justice Project channels on the county website, and County Council meetings include public comment periods ahead of the August decision.
Getting There
The Squalicum Boathouse sits at Zuanich Point Park on Bellingham's Squalicum Harbor waterfront, a Port of Bellingham facility with free parking and a view of the marina. The workshop runs 6 to 7:30 p.m., and past sessions have included open-house style stations along with the presentation, so arriving on time gets you the full picture.
The jail decision is one of several major public investments moving through Whatcom County this summer; the Port of Bellingham just landed $23.5 million to rebuild its North Pier shipping terminal, and Ferndale's fire district has moved its busiest station to 24/7 staffing. Mark the calendar for July 22, and watch for the council's size-and-scope decision in mid-August.
