FREE
September 26 - October 2, 2024 Community Newspaper of Blaine and Birch Bay HHHECRWSSHHH Postal Customer
IN THIS
ISSUE
Blaine City Council, page 2
Port responds to questions on public relations contract
Football remains undefeated, page 6
PRSRT STD U. S. Postage PAID Permit NO. 87 Blaine, WA 98230
New Semiahmoo Resort executive chef, page 9
Downtown Blaine gets festive for fall
B y P a t G r u bb
s Hill’s Chevron in downtown Blaine is embracing the start of fall with Halloween decor bigger than life. Photo by Louise Mugar
County investigative committee shares findings on sexual harassment handling By Nolan Baker
Bypassing Competitive Bidding? The Revised Code of Washington (RCW) mandates a formal bidding process for contracts between $50,000 and $200,000 unless the port has an alternative policy. Hogan explained that the port uses a Municipal Research and Services Center (MRSC) roster, allowing them to bypass the formal bid process for contracts under $100,000. Notably, the Conflux contract was priced just $604 under this threshold. While informal solicitation is allowed for smaller contracts, the law requires multiple firms be considered, and the process must be documented. Hogan said Fix directly approached Conflux Associates requesting timelines and deliverables. As evidence of competition, Hogan provided an internal review draft dated
Whatcom County Council’s three-member investigative committee released its findings on September 24 into how the county handled multiple sexual harassment complaints against former public works director Jon Hutchings. The investigation – which committee members Ben Elenbaas, Todd Donovan, and Barry Buchanan said was intended to set a scope of work for future investigations, not a fact-finding mission – interviewed 14 current and former county employees for their perspectives on how the county mishandled sexual harassment complaints. The report showed employees lacked trust of HR, the committee recommended the county hire an outside consultant to continue the investigation, and the county make code revisions for how it pays out harassment claims. County council previously approved $100,000 to fund an outside consultant (See Port, page 5) tjohnson;Seattle;Clean Air Heating & Cooling;C33432-154586;10x2-4C (24Fa-B1)to continue the investigation during its Receive up to $1,500 in rebates when you purchase the Ultimate Comfort System™*
Your Lennox® system. Your Lennox dealer. Perfect together. Perfect Together-24Fa-4c-B1.indd 10
September 10 meeting. The investigation revolves around a $225,000 settlement paid in November 2023 to a female county employee who reported Hutchings sexually harassed her in 2020 and 2021 while he ran the public works department. The payout was just under the $250,000 threshold for council to be notified, and media reports revealed Hutchings received a glowing letter of recommendation signed by county executive Satpal Sidhu and then-deputy executive Tyler Schroeder for his current position as public works director for the city of Lynden. Committee members said during their September 24 committee of the whole meeting that their purview was not to find if any person or department needed to be held accountable. The report outlined a general distrust of HR by county employees, and that Hutchings’ inappropriate behavior was an “open secret” to many in the county, including HR and the executive’s office.
OR Qualified Buyers make no payments, incur no interest for 12 months when financing a new Lennox® system*
“We heard that Dr. Hutchings’ behavior did not change over this period,” the report read. The report found that those interviewed spoke of a general concern that HR is neither accessible nor effective, “both in terms of the (See County, page 3)
INSIDE
In a highly unusual process, Port of Bellingham commissioners have authorized spending $100,000 for a public relations campaign to make the public like them without a word of discussion taking place about the program. During the commission’s August 13 meeting, commissioners approved a $98,535 public relations contract between the port and Conflux Associates as part of a consent agenda. Consent agendas are typically an aggregation of regular business items that are approved by commissioners without discussion. The commissioners approved both a three-year proposal from Conflux and a one-year contract prepared by executive director Rob Fix. When asked if commissioners ever discussed the campaign, port public affairs administrator Michael Hogan told The Northern Light on September 11, “The Port Commission did not publicly discuss the strategic communications campaign during a Port Commission meeting, nor was there any requirement to do so.” Hogan later wrote that the commission had not discussed the campaign in executive session, either. Fix placed the contract on the consent agenda, which was approved by commission chair Ken Bell.
TheNorthernLight
Coming Up . . . . . 14 Classifieds . . 11, 12 Letters . . . . . . . . . 4 Police . . . . . . . . . 14 Sports . . . . . . . . 6, 7 Tides . . . . . . . . . . 14
@TNLreporter
@TheNorthernLightNews
TheNorthernLight.com
PLUS up to $2,600 in Federal Tax Credits*
PLUS, Up to $4,000 in local utility rebates on qualifying equipment*
360-398-9400 www.CallCleanAir.com
1144 Aaron Drive, Lynden, WA 98264 Lic. #CLEANACMG851MG Offer expires December 6, 2024. *See dealer for details. ©2024 Lennox Dealers are independently owned and operated businesses.
8/29/24 3:09 PM