Whatcom County’s online permitting system is down for maintenance through 8 a.m. on Monday. During this time, customers may not access their portal, and staff in county offices will be unable to issue permits, check statuses or take payments. The scheduled maintenance will bring significant improvements and new features online, including the ability to pay invoices and track statuses from custom dashboards for health department customers. “We are excited to bring more services online to improve the customer experience and streamline staff workflows,” Sue Sullivan, environmental health manager said in a news release. “We will also move to paperless billing, so businesses will get annual renewal invoices via email and can pay online using the new secure portal. These online features are things many of our customers have been asking for, and now we’ll be able to provide.” Planning and Development services customers who need assistance during the outage should email PDS@co.whatcom.wa.us, and Health and Community Services customers that need assistance should email environmentalhealth@co.whatcom.wa.us.
On Dec. 1, Whatcom County Parks and Recreation will launch its new online reservation system. Several new features will accompany it, including advanced search filters, interactive park maps and automated notifications. The update will also introduce rolling reservation windows, where new dates will become available daily, instead of having one annual opening day. With the new system, customers will also be required to create an account when making reservations, and some of the booking policies will be updated. For more information and to see all coming updates, visit whatcomcounty.us/m/newsflash/Home/Detail/5774.
The city of Blaine has received a proposal from a party interested in owning and operating the Plover in Blaine, City Manager Mike Harmon said at the city council meeting Monday. The city published a request for proposals for the beloved Plover ferry on Oct. 5. Harmon said that the party has requested $20,000 from the city for its first year of operation. He believes that the party plans to operate it as a passenger ferry in some capacity, while also using it for boater training courses. He hopes to meet with the interested party to find out more specifics about their plan. If the city and the interested party come to an agreement, the city council would need to approve the Plover’s sale.
The Blaine City Council approved Monday the city’s adoption of the Whatcom County Hazard Mitigation Plan update. The plan is updated and submitted to the Federal Emergency Management Agency every five years. Updating the plan is required to maintain eligibility for federal mitigation or pre-disaster funding for Whatcom County and other jurisdictions in the county, such as Blaine. The plan’s update added new hazards including cybersecurity, extreme heat and the release of hazardous materials.
