BELLINGHAM, Wash. — The people of Bellingham are demanding the city do more to combat drugs and crime downtown.
Over the past several years the city has been doing more to fight crime, graffiti and open drug use, but some people are saying it just isn't enough.
"We've had vehicles stolen, bicycles stolen, propane tanks stolen," says Janet Lightner, owner of Boundary Bay Brewery. "There are altercations with houseless folks in the middle of the night. One of our workers was threatened with a can of gasoline. A person started a fire in the alley."
Lightner worries for the future of the city she loves.
"Downtown could become just a ghost town," she says.
Like many places, since the pandemic, downtown Bellingham has seen an increase in homelessness, crime, open drug use and violence.
The city has brought in "downtown ambassadors" to de-escalate conflicts, increased graffiti removal and sanitation, hired private security downtown, recriminalized public drug use and even instituted a court program to send addicts to therapy instead of jail.
But the problems persist.
Now, business leaders and the Downtown Bellingham Partnership are circulating a letter demanding the mayor add even more security downtown, ease booking restrictions for dangerous repeat offenders, add more people to clean the streets and crack down on open drug use.
"Our point is to indicate, yes you're going in the right direction, but don't let your foot off the pedal. You have to put the pedal down and keep it front and center as a priority," says Alice Clark, executive director of the Downtown Bellingham Partnership.
Mayor Seth Fleetwood says much of what businesses are asking for is already happening, but he promises more help is on the way.
"We're looking at whether we can create more emphasis patrols so we can have more officers walking the beat downtown. We're looking at increasing security in certain areas. We will identify what we can do right away and what will require some additional work," Fleetwood says. "The money is there. We can find the money."
Mayor Fleetwood stresses the concerns of people downtown are a top priority and changes will be made as soon as possible.