Bellingham mayor gives ultimatum to homeless tent encampment
Residents of a tent encampment at a Bellingham park have one week to leave or they will be removed forcibly, Mayor Seth Fleetwood said Monday, March 8.
Fleetwood told the City Council that Public Works crew will begin moving tents and belongings on Tuesday, March 16, and anyone remaining at the site will be forced to leave.
“This encampment is not going to be of long duration,” Fleetwood told the council. “It was never approved or authorized and it won’t continue. Steps are underway to end this camp.”
Fleetwood cited ongoing health and safety concerns, along with the looming baseball and softball seasons, as the reason for ending the encampment at the Frank Geri Softball Fields near Fraser and Puget streets.
“It presents a serious public health and safety hazard,” Fleetwood told the council. “There’s a great deal of refuse there, including feces and needles that’ll have to be cleaned up before it can be used.”
A tent and makeshift dwelling caught fire and burned Monday morning at the site, the second such fire in recent weeks.
But Markis Stidham, an appointed member of the Whatcom County Homeless Strategies Workgroup, said that city officials have been disparaging the encampment at Geri Fields through a “disinformation” campaign.
“They’ve demonized the camp and they’ve demonized the advocates. I’ve never had a problem going there,” Stidham told The Bellingham Herald in an interview.
“I’ve called the Health Department daily, asking — begging — for services,” he said.
Stidham said that Geri Fields campers and volunteers support each other emotionally and with the tasks of daily life in their tent enclave.
“There’s been far more growth than there has been degradation,” Stidham said. “Yes, there’s been violence, but violence has always been there on the street.”
Several dozen tents and temporary shelters of pallets and other material were erected Jan. 28 at Geri Fields, after a previous encampment was dismantled and its occupants ousted from the lawns at City Hall and the Public Library.
Five people were arrested in an hours-long confrontation between police in riot gear and masked protesters Jan. 28 as supporters of Camp 210, as it was called, helped campers move and the city disposed of trash and collected salvageable belongings.
City officials previously ordered campers at Geri Fields to leave by Feb. 5, but no action to oust the campers was taken as bitter cold descended on Western Washington.
Instead, a warming shelter was opened for several days starting Feb. 9 and the Geri Field site became more entrenched and was the focus of frequent complaints from neighbors and nearby businesses.
Fleetwood said that a new notice to leave the site will be posted Tuesday, March 9, and that homeless outreach services — including addiction counseling and help with permanent housing — will be offered to residents of the Geri Fields encampment who want it.
At its website Monday afternoon, the city posted a statement affirming its intent to clear the camp and describing the $10 million annually that the city and Whatcom County spend on temporary shelter for those without a home and services to fight homelessness.
“We’re encouraging them to connect with services and leave on their own,” Fleetwood said.
Otherwise, Public Works crews will begin dismantling the camp, supported by police if necessary, Fleetwood said.
This story was originally published March 8, 2021 at 5:07 PM.
