WHATCOM COUNTY, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – A debate over the Whatcom County severe weather shelter got heated at a Whatcom County Council meeting.

A letter drafted by Council member Kaylee Galloway drew both criticism and support from council members and the County Executive during the Tuesday evening meeting.

Galloway’s letter called for the County Executive to coordinate opening the Severe Weather Shelter when encampment clean-ups would occur.

It also called for opening the shelter for a full 14 days beginning on Friday. The letter states the county budgeted money for up to 55 days of open shelter for this winter.

The letter pushes for a new budget plan to up the winter weather threshold for opening the shelter to be raised to either 35 or 40 degrees. And finally, the letter asks for the county to partner with the City of Bellingham and HomesNow! to construct another tiny home village.

The demands drew criticism from multiple council members and Executive Satpal Sidhu, who argues that there is no budget for opening a shelter more than previously agreed upon.

“This is the fiscal responsibility,” Sidhu said. “We just passed the budget. We just increased the taxes and we did the allocations. I would really like to remind the council that you have to take money away from the other services.”

Council member Ben Elenbaas says that he would agree with what the letter states if the shelter was not open for the 14 consecutive days and some other alterations were made.

“We should have someone present us with a budget at 35 and a budget at 40 degrees and a plan to cost share with the City of Bellingham so that we are informed on what exactly that looks like,” Elenbaas said.

Meanwhile, those in support of the letter wanted to bring in local entities to share the load of opening the shelter, including Council member John Scanlon.

“There is data from the CDC showing that even at 40 degrees — whether it’s in January or whether it’s in May or September — 40 degrees is a threshold, particularly if it’s raining, where you can lead to hypothermia,” Scanlon said. Proponents of raising the shelter threshold have cited this statistic in interviews with My Bellingham Now.

The letter was approved by the council in a 4 to 3 vote to be sent to Executive Sidhu for a formal response.

Sidhu responded to the council’s draft letter prior to the discussion Thursday, iterating his points during the council meeting. He said in an email that it is too late to revisit the plans for this season.

“The request for consideration of a new temperature threshold, namely 35 degrees and 40 degrees, is not something we can attend to at this time.  This also would require a new permit, which takes several months. We can provide the requested information following the winter season, but preliminary data indicates the cost could double and, at 40 degrees, more than triple for operations,” said the email.

Erika Lautenbach, director of Whatcom County Health and Community Services (WCHCS), echoed that the costs would increase dramatically if the threshold increased during the council meeting.

Sidhu’s email ends with some solutions that the county council could pursue instead of doing what the letter asks:

“We continue to make efforts to coordinate services and communicate regularly with the City of Bellingham. WCHCS provides funding through an annual RFP to homeless service providers for a variety of shelter and support services. The needs are high; we know there are too many people suffering without shelter.  This effort requires a national strategy and funding, additional providers in the community and a broader response than what a city and county government can support.

“We must all continue our advocacy efforts at the federal level and with other institutions and faith communities.  I also recommend we conduct an assessment to understand the barriers to outside providers, including non-profits and faith-based organizations, for operating shelter services.  Engaging with other providers will help the county understand why they no longer provide shelter services and where possible, address and remove barriers.  Whatcom County government, through a mix of existing staff, temporary staff, and volunteers, cannot alone solve the great need for shelter.

“We are updating the Strategic Plan to End Homelessness this year and that is a great time to have policy discussions around different investments in the housing continuum – all of which are desperately needed as too many people suffer without reprieve.”

Editor’s Note: Information from Executive Sidhu’s letter has been added to this story.