City News

Summer Activities Cancelled in Ferndale

Yesterday, the Whatcom Unified Command, which includes the Whatcom County Health Department, issued a recommendation to cancel all summer activities to limit the spread of COVID-19. Therefore, the City is cancelling Old Settlers’ Weekend, the Ferndale Street Festival, the Parks and Recreation activities and all other large gatherings and events through August 31st, 2020. This was done in consultation with the organizing committees of these events.

Press release from Whatcom Unified Command included below:

Whatcom Unified Command (WUC), which includes the Whatcom County Health Department as a lead partner, is working to prevent and mitigate the spread of COVID-19 locally. Consistent with that key objective, and in line with recent simulation models, the Health Department recommends cancellation of summer events throughout Whatcom County.

In a letter to community leaders today, April 14, Erika Lautenbach, Whatcom County Health Department director, noted that work already underway to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 has been showing results.

“We see positive effects of the efforts to contain the virus, in large part due to the social distancing measures put into place in March,” said Lautenbach. Governor Jay Inslee initially announced his Stay Home, Stay Healthy order on March 23; on April 2, he extended the order through May 4.
Modeling presented by the Health Department on April 13 indicate Whatcom County is “on the downside of the first wave of COVID-19 spread locally. Scenarios suggest that with continued social distancing, the next wave could be mitigated as well. However, if group gatherings resume too soon, the virus’ spread could be deadlier.

Lautenbach said that’s why she recommends that all summer events – including parades, community festivals and fireworks displays – should be cancelled.

“I recognize that this recommendation creates considerable disappointment,” said Lautenbach. “However, the long-term health of our community and our economy could be further damaged if we move too quickly to resume the activities that we know will put us at risk.”

For more information on COVID-related recommendations, visit the Whatcom County Health Department COVID-19​ webpage. For updates on WUC work to prevent the spread of the novel virus, visit WhatcomCOVID.com or the Whatcom Unified Command: COVID-19 Facebook page​.

April 15, 2020

Wednesday, April 15, 2020 Council Committees Information

The regularly scheduled Finance & Administration Committee meeting on Wednesday, April 15, 2020 will be held remotely via Microsoft Teams, with staff and Councilmembers accessing the meeting from individual locations. This complies with Governor Jay Inslee’s Stay at Home Order, which states, in part, that people should refrain from all public gatherings, including civic activities.

This is still an open public meeting as defined by the Open Public Meetings Act. The City will be using Microsoft Teams to livestream the meeting. Members of the public do not need to download anything to view the proceedings. The meeting can be viewed by clicking this link: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_YWU1MjM3MDgtMTIyZC00NDMzLWJmMjItZTAwNWJkNzlhMjk3%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%2234e51373-fdc5-4a29-a035-e73c7e5c58b8%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%225d4dc67e-43a8-46e1-b345-78486d85243c%22%2c%22IsBroadcastMeeting%22%3atrue%7d

The Finance & Administration Committee meeting will begin at 9:00 a.m.  The Public Works & Utilities and Planning & Land Use Committee meetings are cancelled.

April 14, 2020

Monday, April 6, 2020 City Council Meeting Information

The regularly scheduled City Council meeting on Monday, April 6, 2020 will be held remotely via Microsoft Teams, with staff and Councilmembers accessing the meeting from individual locations. This complies with Governor Jay Inslee’s Stay at Home Order, which states, in part, that people should refrain from all public gatherings, including civic activities.

This is still an open public meeting as defined by the Open Public Meetings Act. The City will be using Microsoft Teams to livestream the council meeting. Members of the public do not need to download anything to view the proceedings. The meeting can be viewed by clicking this link :Join live event at 6:00 p.m. on Monday, April 6.  

The public comment session at the opening of the meeting has been cancelled until further notice. Members of the public are encouraged to submit written comments to City Clerk Susan Duncan by emailing susanduncan@cityofferndale.org. Comments received prior to 5:00 p.m. Monday, April 6 will be included in the meeting record.

April 2, 2020

Most Construction Activities Required to Stop

UPDATE 4/20/2020 – The City has issued revised guidelines for residential and commercial construction. See more details here.

Most Construction Activities Required to Stop

Governor’s proclamation deems nearly all construction as nonessential

The City of Ferndale announced today clarifications to Governor Jay Inslee’s “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” statewide stay-at-home order as it pertains to construction, identifying nearly all construction as nonessential. This means most construction activities are required to stop during the order.

All construction activities allowed to continue under exemptions must comply with social distancing including appropriate health and worker protection measures before proceeding. 

“We know this is hard,” said Mayor Greg Hansen, “But these necessary steps can literally save lives.”

According to the memo issued by the governor’s office, the exceptions are construction related to essential activities like health care, transportation, energy, defense and critical manufacturing; construction “to further a public purpose related to a public entity,” including publicly financed low-income housing; and emergency repairs.  

The City will defer to the governor’s order as to the list of essential businesses and subsequent letters from the governor’s office identifying specific businesses or construction projects as essential.

City inspectors shall have the authority to determine what is allowable to prevent spoliation. In their discretion the installation of a roof, roofing materials, doors, windows, or structural elements necessary to prevent the degradation or failure of building elements.

Projects that have determined that they qualify as essential infrastructure and businesses as described below may request inspections:

  • Healthcare and Public Health facilities.
  • Emergency Service facilities.
  • Food and Agriculture facilities which manufacture or distribute and currently under construction.
  • Utility facilities related to transportation, communication, electric, water, wastewater. 
  • Critical manufacturing facilities including hazardous or chemical materials.
  • Financial facilities.
  • Residential construction projects that are currently under construction can continue to a point to prevent spoliation, damage or unsafe conditions. Projects shall be brought to a point of securing the structure to prevent personal and environmental damage of exterior and/or interior building elements and to negate unsafe conditions. This will be construed narrowly.
  • Residential construction related to emergency repairs and projects that ensure structural integrity or the health and safety of occupants.

“The City continues to review, and process permit applications.  Recognizing that construction is vital to our community, our goal is to keep all permits in various review stages, moving full speed ahead so that construction can commence as soon as the emergency order ends. We thank our local applicants, builders and contractors for the collaborative effort during this time.” Haylie Miller, Community Development Director.

If projects are continuing construction that is not deemed “essential by the Governor’s Order” , the City will cease inspections and may proceed with enforcement (as necessary) to gain compliance.

For more information, contact Community Development Director Haylie Miller by phone (360) 685-2367 or email at HaylieMiller@cityofferndale.org.

March 26, 2020

Save Pipes, Don’t Flush Wipes

With the uptick in cleaning and sanitation, many of you are flushing wipes down into our sewer system. Please stop. There is no such thing as a flushable wipe, these materials do not break down and will clog our pump stations, causing serious damage to our utilities.

For more information or questions, please contact Ferndale Public Works at 360-384-4006.

March 26, 2020

New Ferndale Police Officer Sworn in

Even during a pandemic, there is plenty to celebrate. Today. the City swore in our newest Ferndale Police officer, Jeremy Freeman. He joins us from the Lynden Police Department and we are proud to have him on the team.

March 25, 2020

City of Ferndale Response to COVID-19 with Mayor Hansen

Mayor Greg Hansen shares some of the City’s actions to protect our community from COVID-19 and offers three ways you can help. For more information and resources available during this difficult time check out cityofferndale.org/covid19 or the Whatcom County page at whatcomcovid.com.

Spanish language version available below with Councilmember Herb Porter.

Complete text:

Hello Neighbors,

My name is Greg Hansen, and I’m the Mayor of Ferndale. Today, I am going to share with you some of the things we are working on as a City to keep all of us safe during this pandemic and what you can do to help.

Like many other communities around the world, we have closed public spaces to help slow the spread of this disease. This includes closing City Hall, the Police Station, our municipal court and our playgrounds. For the safety of our staff and others, we’ve empowered city employees to work remotely whenever possible. Despite the crisis, the work of the City continues and we are reachable by phone, email or through our website.

As you know, the state and county have enacted measures to close schools, bars, restaurants, libraries and other public places, and yesterday, the Governor issued an order to shelter in place.We know this is hard but these necessary steps that could save literally thousands of lives.

For those of you worried about your utility bills, rest assured, we are not doing shutoffs or charging late fees for the Feb. 28th bill. The next utility bill does not go out until April 30th and we are working to see what solutions are available then. We understand that people are struggling, and this is what we are able to do right now to help.

For families and businesses needing economic support, there is an ever-growing list of resources available. We have linked it in the description of this video.

For those of you worried about your building permit deadlines, please contact our community development staff who are ready to provide you the flexibility needed during this time.

The City is working closely with our neighboring communities. The County has established a Unified Command at the County Emergency Operations Center so that all first responders, medical professionals and public information officers in our area can work together seamlessly. We are proud to be part of this dedicated team working around the clock to protect our community.

Ferndale has always met challenges head on.  When there’s a big crisis, we always rise to meet it because that is what we do. We are Ferndale, and we look out for each other. That’s why we need your help. Here are the three things we need everyone in Ferndale to do.

First, stop the spread. That means staying home if you are sick, avoiding gathering in groups, limit trips to the grocery store and wash your hands with hot water and soap. This will help stop the spread of the disease.

But we also need to stop the spreading of misinformation.  In a crisis, bad information can make a challenging situation even worse. Please be prudent about what you share. Whatcom County has established a single website for all COVID related information, it is whatcomcovid.com. For Ferndale-specific details, please go to www.cityofferndale.org/covid19.

Second, support your Ferndale businesses. Whenever possible, shop Ferndale. We’ve assembled a list of restaurants providing takeout in our city at www.cityofferndale.org/takeout. Pick up some food and tip well, it really does help.  A number of other local businesses are modifying their operation to facilitate convenient pick up and deserve our support.  

Finally, look after each other. Call your elderly relatives, keep active as best you can and make sure that your neighbors have the help they need. I know that when we work together and take care of each other, we are stronger than any virus.

As always, we are here to help. If you have questions or need help, don’t hesitate to call or email.  Thank you.

March 24, 2020

Ferndale Police’s Role in “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” Order

In response to the Governor’s recent Stay Home, Stay Healthy order, the role of the Ferndale Police Department is to help educate people.  We are not being asked to detain, arrest, ticket or establish checkpoints for compliance.  Rumors of strict law enforcement or “martial law” are not true.

Instead, our role is educating residents on how to keep themselves safe, how to keep their families safe and most importantly, to keep the rest of the community safe, especially our vulnerable populations.

We understand some people need to carry out essential services, especially those working in health care, transportation, communications, energy, safety and security and providing food, water and shelter.

We know that Ferndale understands the severity of the situation and everyone is doing all they can already to keep themselves, their families and neighbors safe and healthy.

When officers encounter people not complying with an order, we will remind them, as appropriate, of the recommendation and restrictions. No law enforcement agencies have any desire to make any arrests or take anybody to jail for violations of the stay at home order. Rumors of individuals or businesses needing “passes” or “licenses” to conduct essential services are not true.

Rest assured we will continue to serve you every minute of every day and we will always enforce the laws that keep people safe.

– Ferndale Police Department

“Stronger Community Together”

March 24, 2020