On a recent Friday morning in the Blaine Pavilion, 21 people march in place, reach forward and pull back, tap heel to toe, and kick.
Most are sitting in chairs. A couple of them are standing up.
“Make it your own. You know what your body can do,” volunteer Sherry Austin said at the start of the 30-minute routine on Sept. 11 that she cued up on a big screen for the group of older adults.
The energetic chair yoga session is among the wellness activities offered through the Community Center, a door down from the pavilion, on G Street. Most of the financial support for senior programming at the center comes through Whatcom County government and the city of Blaine.
But the county could cut its share by 11.5%, or $10,180, for each of the next two years, under County Executive Satpal Sidhu’s proposed 2027-28 biennial budget, which he submitted to the County Council on Sept. 1.
The county is grappling with a multimillion-dollar budget shortfall in the next two years, leading Sidhu to start austerity measures in May.
In 2026, the county provided $88,378, which represents 50% of the senior programming budget, according to Heather Lindsay, executive director of the Blaine-Birch Bay Park and Recreation District, which oversees senior programming in Blaine.
The city provided $61,800 the same year.
“County and city funding have historically provided the operational support needed to keep senior programming affordable and accessible for our community,” Lindsay explained. “Seniors pay an annual membership fee, which helps support programming and activities, but those fees do not cover the operational costs of running the program.”
Senior programming in Blaine isn’t the only one facing a possible cut in county funding of $10,180 annually. Bellingham, Ferndale and Lynden centers are as well.
Early discussions of funding cuts in a workgroup raised alarm in Blaine among staffers and older adults who use senior programming at the Community Center, over concerns that they would be steep.
“We appreciate that the proposed reduction is significantly less than what was initially discussed,” Lindsay said to The Northern Light. “While any reduction in funding for senior programming impacts the resources to older adults in our community, we are grateful that the cuts are not as severe as we had feared.”
Senior programs in Blaine average about 3,800 participant visits a month, with people coming from Ferndale, Bellingham, Nooksack, Everson, Lynden and, even a few, from Canada.
In addition to fitness classes, members also enjoy lunch and a number of social gatherings that include live music, arts and crafts, educational workshops and games.
Before their workout started on Friday, several members made it a point to say the class wasn’t as busy as usual, perhaps because of the Labor Day holiday earlier in the week.
Austin said she’s had as many as 50 people in the class.
“It’s part of their schedule. It’s part of their life,” Austin said of the camaraderie and social connections provided to seniors through the programs. “It gives them some purpose in life. And it’s home. It is.”
The proposed cuts come on the heels of what had been an uncertain time for senior services in Blaine that began with a former executive director’s resignation and ended with the City Council transferring management from what had been the center’s nonprofit to the Blaine-Birch Bay Park and Recreation District in April 2025.
As for the district’s next steps as the proposed cuts go before the County Council for its budget decisions, Lindsay said the focus will remain on providing support to seniors in Blaine and Birch Bay.
“We will continue exploring options and working closely with the city and our community partners to ensure seniors remain a priority and that opportunities for senior programming continue to grow,” she said.
