Bellingham Mayor Lund issues executive order to combat downtown fentanyl crisis

BELLINGHAM, Wash. — Newly-elected Bellingham Mayor Kimberly Lund issued an executive order that targets the rising number of drug overdoses being handled by Bellingham Fire Department personnel along with a matching increase in overdose deaths. The order notes actions already taken by the city, partner agencies and other organizations include:

• increasing law enforcement and security services
• diversion and alternative response programs
• community education

The actions directed by the order include:

• increased police patrols and emergency medical services downtown
• establishing a downtown hub for first responders
• giving priority to enforcing laws prohibiting the sale and distribution of illegal drugs
• increasing cleaning and sanitation services
• expanding services that enhance safety downtown and disrupt drug-related criminal activity

The following is the action items detail from the executive order.

NOW, THEREFORE, l, Kimberley Lund, Mayor of Bellingham, hereby order the following actions to address these concerns and mitigate the harm they cause to our community, to preserve life, and to disrupt the sale and use of drugs in public places:

1. Immediately establish a downtown public safety response office, using existing City space, to serve as a downtown base of operations for Bellingham Fire/EMS, Police and other response service partners. This allows first responders direct access to downtown incidents and activities.
2. Immediately expand the focus of the Bellingham Fire Department’s Community Paramedic Program to provide a quick response to overdoses in the downtown area and to expand outreach and treatment options to individuals suffering from substance use disorders.
3. Immediately explore how the City can support expanded access to methadone and other opioid treatments in high overdose areas, in coordination with other agencies.
4. Immediately form an internal task force, staffed by Police, Fire, Public Works and others, to coordinate weekly operations to enhance safety and well-being and disrupt drug-related criminal activity downtown and in other areas.
5. Immediately prioritize enforcement of laws prohibiting the sale and distribution of illegal drugs within the City, especially through renewed partnership between the Bellingham Police Department and the Whatcom County Drug and Gang Task Force and other federal entities directly related to the enforcement of these laws.
6. Immediately provide increased, more visible Police presence downtown, through additional emphasis patrols and community engagement activities.
7. Continue prioritizing expanded recruiting initiatives for commissioned officers to support increased patrols and enable the eventual reintroduction of specialty units.
8. Immediately increase the frequency of public Works cleaning, litter control and other sanitation services downtown.
9. Immediately form an internal work group to prepare a comprehensive downtown strategies plan to meet short and long-term needs. The goal of this work is to create and foster an increased environment of safety, economic vitality, and sense of community. The plan will include support for business and economic development, arts and cultural initiatives, new housing, and other ways to promote community solutions and bring people downtown.
10. Support increased public education about substance use disorder and the local impacts of the current crisis, in collaboration with the Bellingham Public Library, Whatcom County Health and Community Services and other partners.
11. Leverage all available resources to support the rebuilding of a healthy Bellingham community by pursuing financial resources at the county, state and federal levels to support these and related efforts.

City of Bellingham Executive Order 2024-01 (February 20, 2024)