In accordance with recent Washington State prohibitions regarding in-person attendance at public meetings, the Bellingham City Council will conduct its first remote meeting on Monday, April 13 at 7:00 p.m.. There will be no committee meetings in the afternoon. The agenda packet for the meeting can be viewed online.
Bellingham's Council members will participate in this meeting remotely through an online web-based meeting platform. Per Washington State Proclamation 20-28, in-person attendance at meetings subject to the Open Public Meetings Act is prohibited at this time.
Council meetings, including remote meetings, are streamed live via the City's website at meetings.cob.org and on the City's YouTube channel. Meetings are broadcast in high definition on BTV on Comcast channel 321, and in standard definition on Comcast channel 10. Members of the public who do not have cable or internet access may contact the City Council office to receive phone numbers in order to listen to the meeting via telephone.
The Council encourages the public to continue to engage with their Councilmembers, who will continue to serve the needs of their ward and community. Please note there will be no public comment taken at City Council meetings until further notice, as announced by Council on March 12. Instead, community members are respectfully asked to submit comments by e-mail to ccmail@cob.org or by phone to (360) 778-8200.
"During the COVID-19 crisis, it is important for the residents of Bellingham to know your government is still at work every day," Council President Knutson said. "We may not be at City Hall, but we are still conducting business. Please tune in on Monday night to attend our first remote City Council meeting. We hope to be back in Chambers as soon as the pandemic is over."
The Council will continue meeting remotely as originally scheduled and will only conduct essential City business at their meetings. Non-essential items have been postponed at least through the end of April.