How much did Bellingham spend on the removal of a downtown homeless encampment?
The City of Bellingham spent almost $75,000 on the removal of a downtown homeless tent encampment in late January, according to public records obtained by The Bellingham Herald.
The Bellingham Police Department spent approximately $29,000 on labor costs, according to the public records.
The city’s public works department spent approximately $45,355 on personnel, equipment and material costs, records show.
Personnel costs for the city public works department totaled $34,081.50, according to the public records. More than 650 hours were worked by at least 64 public works employees from Jan. 28 through Feb. 1, records show.
At least 27 employees worked more than eight hours on Jan. 28, with 14 employees working more than eight hours on Jan. 29, the records state. One employee worked 16 hours during the camp removal, the records state. The day following the homeless encampment removal, two employees spent five hours each cleaning the sidewalks, according to the records.
Equipment costs for the public works department totaled $8,458.37, while material costs totaled $2,815.21 according to the records.
The equipment costs show that the city used at least three excavators, two mini excavators, one backhoe and seven dump trucks, according to the records. The city also purchased or rented supplies, such as hand sanitizer, disposable face masks, light towers, a pressure washer, graffiti cleaning supplies and other materials, the records show.
A homeless tent encampment, known as Camp 210, started in November on the lawns of Bellingham City Hall at 210 Lottie St. and the Bellingham Public Library at 210 Central Ave. Camp 210 was an occupied protest over the lack of shelter available in the area for homeless people. Volunteers estimated that between 90 to 120 people were living there.
Early on Jan. 28, more than 100 law enforcement officers in riot and tactical gear from Bellingham police, the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office, Washington State Patrol, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Bellingham public works crews with heavy machinery and large dumpsters arrived to clear the area a day before the city’s deadline for the homeless encampment to leave.
Protesters used wooden pallets to block officials from clearing the encampment, giving volunteers time to help the residents gather their belongings and leave.
Three law enforcement officers were assaulted but unharmed by the time protesters left around 3:30 p.m. on Jan. 28, according to city officials. Five people, at least three of whom are homeless themselves, were arrested.
That same day, volunteers helped the encampment move to the lower parking lot near Frank Geri Softball Fields off of Puget Street.
The city provided a legal notice for the new encampment near the ball fields to move early last week by 4 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 5. As of Monday afternoon, residents of the encampment have not moved and the city has not taken any action to clear the encampment.
Public records requests filed by The Herald for costs attributed to the state patrol and Whatcom County have not yet been fulfilled.
Each agency was responsible for its own costs, according to the public records.
This story was originally published February 8, 2021 at 2:56 PM.
