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Whatcom County Ferry Advisory Committee (WCFAC) Meeting

January 28, 2026 · Whatcom, WA
Source: Meeting minutes 2026-01-28 (PDF, 13 pp)
Retrieved April 14, 2026 from www.whatcomcounty.us ↗
Confidence: 100%
High

Attendees

✓ Rhayma Blake (Member)
✓ Janice Catrell (Member)
✓ Terry Diffley (Member)
✓ Pam Gould (Chair)
✓ Thomas Philpot (Member)
✓ Markis Dee Stidham (Member)
✓ Steve Thomas (Member)
✓ Tess Winds-Johnson (Member)
✓ Jon Scanlon (Whatcom County Council Member)
✓ Laura Frolich (Whatcom County Public Works Deputy Director)
✓ Present: 10/10

Decisions

#1

PASSED UNANIMOUSLY

#2

PASSED UNANIMOUSLY

Agenda Items

#1

New Replacement Ferry Update

Laura Frolich shared updates on the new replacement ferry, including the final design and secure financing requirements.
#2

Dry Dock Plans

Laura Frolich discussed the dry dock plans, including the review of bids and the 21-day dry dock outage dates.
#3

Public Disclosure Requests

Laura Frolich mentioned that one-third of the last 200 public disclosure requests received by the county were ferry-related.

Public Comments

9 speakers
Steve Thomas · Topic: New ferry size and number of lanes

Inquired about the size of the new ferry and the number of lanes.

Scott Josiah · Topic: County taxing district

Commented on the need for a county-wide ferry taxing district.

Barbara King · Topic: Taxing district timeline

Asked when the taxing district issue would be expected to be part of the County Council agenda.

Wendi Merritt · Topic: Fall 2027 outage and ferry design

Inquired about the expected duration of the Fall 2027 outage and the design of the new ferry.

Jo Philpot · Topic: New ferry hull design

Asked whether the hull design of the new ferry would handle a trip to Bellingham.

Tom Philpot · Topic: WCFAC purpose

Reminded attendees of WCFAC's purpose to review and make recommendations on ferry service issues.

Susan Hutton · Topic: Meeting time and Zoom option

Suggested holding meetings later in the day to accommodate more workers and exploring the option of joining meetings via Zoom.

Pam Gould · Topic: Fare adjustment

Inquired about the possibility of a fare adjustment later this year.

Steve Dupont · Topic: Dry dock planning

Commented on the short lead time for dry dock planning and its impact on medical surgeries and physical therapy.