(The Center Square) – The Bellingham City Council is resuming public comment periods during council meetings after being suspended for two months.
The city suspended public comment period last November through the end of 2024. It is resuming in-person public comment periods starting Jan. 13.
People who attend city council meetings will be required to undergo metal detector screening for weapons before entering council chambers. Two armed security guards will be present for screenings, but will not check identification of anyone entering the building.
Weapons screening will only be required during evening council meetings at this point.
Some city council members said that commenters have grown more hostile and threatening to them since the COVID-19 pandemic, causing them to suspend public comment periods.
“The nature of the comments have changed – the comments at one point during [the COVID-19 pandemic] turned nasty and hateful,” Bellingham City Councilmember Michael Lilliquist said during the council meeting on Monday. “At other times we’ve simply been abused as a soap box for someone to score political points on other topics.”
Lilliquist added that the fundamental problem is what people are wanting to say to them, rather than council members not wanting to hear commenters.
The city hired Homeland Security Operations to conduct weapons screenings. Janice Keller, deputy administrator at the Bellingham Mayor’s Office, told The Center Square that the anticipated annual cost of the new procedures being piloted totals approximately $17,000.
“Approximately $7,000 of that is equipment costs and the rest is for our 2025 contract with the company providing security personnel,” Keller said in an email.
The return to public comment period on Jan. 13 comes as the city council expects a public hearing that is likely to draw significant community interest.
According to a news release, further safety measures for city hall are planned in 2025.
