Timeline material on the delinquent proposed life safety renovations for the Whatcom County Jail / Noisy Waters Northwest

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October 9, 2019 Dena Jensen

As Whatcom County moves forward with the beginning phases of their Public Health and Public Safety Initiative regarding behavioral health services, incarceration, and justice reform needs in Whatcom County — discussed in a September 19, 2019 post here on Noisy Waters Northwest — I thought it would be good for us to have some historical background and a list of materials related to the County’s progress in addressing critical life safety renovations at the existing downtown Whatcom County Jail.

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‘26,000 bucks a door is just a hard pill to swallow’: delinquent renovations of the Whatcom County Jail / Noisy Waters Northwest

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Click the graphic to access the YouTube video of the Whatcom County Council March 12, 2019 meeting.

March 20, 2019 Dena Jensen

County Council Member Rud Browne expressed the sentiment twice at the Whatcom County Council March 12, 2019 regular meeting during the Council committee reports segment near the end of the meeting. One exact quote was: “Yeah, so anyway, anyway, so, I just, 26,000 bucks a door is just a hard pill to swallow.”

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Can we be accepting of the current pace of long-overdue jail renovations? / Facebook Post, Noisy Waters Northwest

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Screen Shot 2018-11-23 at 4.45.23 PM

Click the link to access the draft minutes for the 11/20/18 Whatcom County Council Finance and Administrative Services Committee meeting

November 23, 2018  Dena Jensen

Here’s a heads-up that at the November 20, 2018 Whatcom County Council Finance and Administrative Services Committee meeting there was a brief update on the state of the Whatcom County Jail renovations during the semi-annual report from Whatcom County Facilities Management Project & Operations Manager Rob Ney. Here is the link to the audio; Mr. Ney starts speaking about the jail at 26:30: https://www.dropbox.com/s/9q3a1p526pfpwvg/Finance%20Nov%2020%202018.mp3?dl=0

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Help us stop failing the jail / Noisy Waters Northwest

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many existing system deficiencies strauss.jpg

January 24, 2018  Dena Jensen

On Tuesday, January 30, 2018, now that new Council Members are officially sworn in, the Whatcom County Council’s Finance and Administrative Services Committee (freshly composed of Council Members Rud Browne, Tyler Byrd, and Satpal Sidhu) and Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee (which now is served on by Council Members Barry Buchanan, Tyler Byrd, and Satpal Sidhu) will be discussing some issues related to urgently needed renovations of the Whatcom County Jail in downtown Bellingham.  The Council will then revisit, and potentially vote on, results of the earlier committee discussions at their evening meeting at 7 p.m. that night. Continue reading →

Stay on top of actions that will help reduce further injustice at the Whatcom County Jail / Noisy Waters Northwest

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Scope of services being proposed incremental jail renovations

November 7, 2017  Dena Jensen

To try to stay on top of actions that will help reduce further injustice being perpetrated on incarcerated individuals at our downtown Bellingham jail I sent a letter today to Whatcom County Council and Deputy Executive Schroeder today about the consent agenda item on the Council’s Finance and Adminstrative Services Committee agenda tomorrow (11/8) about renovations on the downtown Bellingham jail. You can send one too! : council@co.whatcom.wa.us.

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Stand up for dignity / Letter to Whatcom County and Bellingham City Councils, Noisy Waters Northwest

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NO HUMAN IS ILLEGAL FOR NWNW

October 11, 2017  Dena Jensen

Subject: Further perspective on ordinances to protect members of our undocumented immigrant community

Dear Whatcom County Council and Bellingham City Council:

I wrote to all of you last week regarding creating ordinances that would provide more protections for members of our undocumented immigrant community. I recently had a local government official share their perspective on that letter with me. In this case, it doesn’t matter who made the statements because I think portions of the perspective expressed to me were similar to those I have heard expressed at council meetings. Continue reading →

Time to stop increasing liability and accept accountability for our neglect of the existing jail / Letter to Whatcom County Council, Dena Jensen

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kelli and korthuis no spell check 3 mill jail

September 22, 2017  Dena Jensen

Here’s my latest letter to the council regarding the need to renovate the existing jail facility now. It was sent to council@co.whatcom.wa.us, and copied to all the city councils, the County Executive, and the Sheriff. Keep writing and calling!

Dear Whatcom County Council:

I am writing to call on you to move forward as quickly as possible with renovations on our existing Whatcom County Jail facility on Grand Ave., that will address necessary and critical life safety issues.  Continue reading →

Notes and perspective: The 9/12/17 design2 LAST presentation on renovation of the Whatcom County Jail / Noisy Waters Northwest

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September 15, 2017  Dena Jensen

On September 12, 2017, Lauri Strauss, CEO of design2 Last, gave a presentation to the Whatcom County Council’s Finance and Adminstrative Services Committee regarding anticipated renovation to the existing county jail facility located adjacent to the Whatcom  County Courthouse in downtown Bellingham. Continue reading →

9/12/17 presentation scheduled of Design2 LAST findings included in Building Assessment Studies and Cost Estimates Phase 1-B Report / Facebook post, Noisy Waters Northwest

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design2 LAST exec summary page 071717

Click the graphic to access the full 7/17/17, Design2 LAST Building Assessment Studies and Cost Estimates for Capital Improvements at the Jail

3 hrs  September 8, 2017  Dena Jensen

This is the first time I have been able to locate this July 2017 Design2 Last study on the Whatcom County website although I kept thinking I was hearing it be referred to. This week on the Council Agenda for the Finance and Administrative Services Committee meeting (being held at 10:45 a.m. on Tuesday, September 12, 2017) it says there will be a “presentation by Design2Last of findings included in the Building Assessment Studies and Cost Estimates Phase 1-B Report for capital improvements at the jail (AB2017-047A).” Continue reading →

‘An unwillingness to spend money’ to keep the Whatcom County Jail facility functioning: Where does the buck stop? / Facebook post, Sj Robson

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elfo and louws sketches

3 hrs  September 1, 2017  Sandy Robson

Back on August 2, 2017, I had written a piece about having heard Whatcom County Sheriff Bill Elfo, who was a guest on KGMI’s “Saturday Morning Live” (SML) July 22, 2017, conservative talk radio program, hosted by local Tea Partier, Kris Halterman. Sheriff Elfo was there to discuss the proposed new Whatcom County Jail which would be funded by a sales tax, a tax that would last for the next 30 years. The jail sales tax proposition will appear on the November general election ballot, to be rejected or approved by Whatcom County voters. Continue reading →