BELLINGHAM, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – The Whatcom County Council is working to bring more details of the jail planning process into focus.

The council discussed the timeline for the new jail and behavioral health center at the committee of the whole meeting earlier this week.

The county is hoping to have a preliminary estimate of the project’s budget in May and finish a capacity study on both facilities.

Council member Jon Scanlon reminded the council to keep in mind the project’s goal to reduce incarceration when planning for the jail’s capacity.

“I think there’s some things that we could look at to say ‘Ok, if we were to do X, could we reduce the size of the jail by this,’ because we know that, based on other counties and states, when you make such policy change, you’re reducing incarceration,” Scanlon said at the meeting.

It has not yet been decided whether the jail and behavioral health center will be one or two separate buildings.

Design planning is expected to get underway in August of this year.

There will be several opportunities for community engagement throughout the year, including plans for an informational data dashboard on the county’s website.

The county’s goal is to have a final estimate of the project’s cost by the end of 2026.