BELLINGHAM, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – Bellingham is reaching out to its neighbors up north to mend their increasingly strained relationship.

The city council voted earlier this week to send a letter to nine nearby Canadian cities upholding their commitment to “continuing a positive relationship.”

The letter comes amid a stark drop in Canadian travel into Washington that began in March and got worse in April.

Council member Dan Hammill says he’s already seen the effects from his role on the city’s Organized Crime Prevention commission.

“I sit next to representatives from various stores and franchises that you would all recognize, I don’t want to name them necessarily, but ones that you would go to and you’d see a lot of Canadian license plates in the parking lot,” Hammill said. “And at the last meeting two of the representatives said we’re just not seeing that as much anymore.”

Beyond the damaging effects on the city’s sales tax revenue, Hammill and other council members say the issue is more about the spirit of being a welcoming community.

City staff drafted the letter, which notes the many families in both countries who have come to depend on cross-border travel and commerce.

Mayor Kim Lund said at Tuesday’s State of the City address that it could take a month or longer to measure the economic effect of the drop in Canadian visitors.